Sleeping with your cat or dog in the same bed

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blaskoman

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I know many people who are HUGE animal lovers. I don’t begrudge them for their emmotional attachments to their pets. However I do find offense when their love crosses the line (in my view). I particularly find it disturbing that many people actually share their beds with their pets. I do know of many cases in which people actually hug their pets while they sleep (whether it be for warmth or affection)…I find this wrong for a number of reasons: firstly, it is unhygenic to do so, and secondly, the act of sleeping with an animal elevates the animal to human level in a sense (which I feel God did not intend)…Wondering what your take is on this?
 
blaskoman said:
I know many people who are HUGE animal lovers. I don’t begrudge them for their emmotional attachments to their pets. However I do find offense when their love crosses the line (in my view). I particularly find it disturbing that many people actually share their beds with their pets. I do know of many cases in which people actually hug their pets while they sleep (whether it be for warmth or affection)…I find this wrong for a number of reasons: firstly, it is unhygenic to do so, and secondly, the act of sleeping with an animal elevates the animal to human level in a sense (which I feel God did not intend)…Wondering what your take is on this?
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I would have agreed with you two years ago (not for religous reasons, but for hating dog hair) until I got a puppy (which thank goodness isn’t much of a shedder).

Before we picked her up I said not dog on the couch, on the bed, in the chairs, etc… After a while (a SHORT while), I would have her in my lap to pet her while watching tv before putting her into the crate to bed. Well, sometimes I fell asleep with her right there in my lap. Now, it’s a habit.

I do understand your view, and assume you don’t have pets, but I honestly took a 180 when I got my pup.
 
I would guess that MANY generations of sheep herders would disagree with you that God didn’t intend for animals and humans to be able to sleep within the same area.

Guess I also see humor in your question since Jesus was born in a manger that was intended for animals 🤷 Every nativity scene I have seen shows that the animals were there.

I am a HUGE dog lover. Although, I will not sleep with them. DH & my income depends on a good night sleep. Our cat on the other hand does sleep in our bed and after about 15 years I doubt she is giving it up 🤷 BTW: Never once in 15 years has my cat made me ill or givem me a disease, nor have I made her ill or given her a disease.

I guess I wonder why you are offended about what someone does that does not harm you, them or anyone else and is not a sin??? 🤷
 
blaskoman said:
I know many people who are HUGE animal lovers. I don’t begrudge them for their emmotional attachments to their pets. However I do find offense when their love crosses the line (in my view). I particularly find it disturbing that many people actually share their beds with their pets. I do know of many cases in which people actually hug their pets while they sleep (whether it be for warmth or affection)…I find this wrong for a number of reasons: firstly, it is unhygenic to do so, and secondly, the act of sleeping with an animal elevates the animal to human level in a sense (which I feel God did not intend)…Wondering what your take is on this?
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I see nothing wrong with a person’s Pet sleeping in the same bed. Our Dog creeps up in the middle of the night & squeezes in between DH & mine’s feet. Our Dog is 56 lbs. & our bed is a double, so it’s a tight situation. He has a nice bed on the floor at the foot of our bed, but because when we are not at home, he stays in our room & sleeps on our bed, he dosen’t quite get that while we are home, he should sleep on his bed on the floor:shrug: . It’s really no big deal because we love our Dog and to address one of your comments, he’s clean. I’m not sure what you mean or where you are going with the comment about elevating an animal to a human level by sleeping with it:confused: . As an animal lover, I find your post a bit disturbing:( .
 
In modern times, we do not require an animal’s warmth to get us through the night, as assuredly was not the case in the example cited (eg sheep herders).

To clarify, I’m not personally offended to know that some sleep with their pets. I simply feel disgusted to hear about it. My cousins are big dog lovers, and I’ve had many heated discussions on this topic with them…My main quibble is that HUGE animal lovers often look upon their cat or dog as a member of the family, and equal. I’ve even heard some say that they’d save their pet over a stranger in some potentially dangerous situation. Thus, there is a certain type of elevation to the owner/pet relationship. They offer undue affection to the animal (by sleeping with it)…that’s the way I see it.
 
We had several dogs through my childhood and some, the smaller breeds, sometimes slept in our beds. In the early years of our marriage we had 2 cats they sometimes slept in our bed too. Once we had a pet rat who used to go curl up in bed with our daughter.

While I’ll agree that it’s not the most hygienic habit, the worst they ever shared with us was fleas. Today, I probably wouldn’t allow it – but then I don’t happen to have a pet at the moment; were I to acquire one I don’t doubt that the no pets in bed rule would soon be out the window. Those fuzz balls tend to wrap us around their little paws in a very short time.
 
It grosses me out, but animal germs are a real problem for me. So for instance, I wouldn’t spend the night at a friend’s house where the pet had also slept in the guest bed I was offered.

It is more troublesome for me when I see a pet lover sharing an ice cream cone with their pet or kissing the pet on the mouth. This isn’t a religious issue to me, it just turns my stomach.
 
blaskoman said:
In modern times, we do not require an animal’s warmth to get us through the night, as assuredly was not the case in the example cited (eg sheep herders).

To clarify, I’m not personally offended to know that some sleep with their pets. I simply feel disgusted to hear about it. My cousins are big dog lovers, and I’ve had many heated discussions on this topic with them…My main quibble is that HUGE animal lovers often look upon their cat or dog as a member of the family, and equal. I’ve even heard some say that they’d save their pet over a stranger in some potentially dangerous situation. Thus, there is a certain type of elevation to the owner/pet relationship. They offer undue affection to the animal (by sleeping with it)…that’s the way I see it.
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**I think you are making some big leaps… there are MANY MANY MANY pet lovers out there and only a small percentage would act in the way you describe (saving a pet over a human etc). But those types of people aren’t wrong because they love their pets, they are wrong because they DON’T love their fellow human beings!

I think the whole “let the pet sleep in the bed thing” is really a very common occurrence among pet owners (especially cats… ever try telling a cat “no”? lol) and isn’t disgusting. I personally have a dog and a cat but neither sleep in my bed. But that’s personal. I wouldn’t think anything of someone else who’s pet does sleep in their bed.

Now, what I DO find gross is those people who let their dogs lick their faces or share ice cream cones!:eek: blech!!! But, of course that is just an opinion and obviously not all pet lovers share it:shrug:**
 
blaskoman said:
In modern times, we do not require an animal’s warmth to get us through the night, as assuredly was not the case in the example cited (eg sheep herders).
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If my gas bill goes up any more when this winter comes, our dog might be invited into our bed to keep us warm 😃 JK

I need to wrap things up at work to head home to my animals (well my dog comes to work with me so just to the cat). I will touch on some of your new points tomorrow!!
 
blaskoman said:
In modern times, we do not require an animal’s warmth to get us through the night, as assuredly was not the case in the example cited (eg sheep herders).
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You’re not from Minnesota, are you. 😉
To clarify, I’m not personally offended to know that some sleep with their pets. I simply feel disgusted to hear about it. My cousins are big dog lovers, and I’ve had many heated discussions on this topic with them…My main quibble is that HUGE animal lovers often look upon their cat or dog as a member of the family, and equal. I’ve even heard some say that they’d save their pet over a stranger in some potentially dangerous situation. Thus, there is a certain type of elevation to the owner/pet relationship. They offer undue affection to the animal (by sleeping with it)…that’s the way I see it.
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We currently have 4 cats, 2 of which like to sleep with us. They aren’t spotlessly clean, but then neither are we. In fact, a cat’s mouth is far cleaner than a humans, just FYI. They know their place is at our feet and are pretty good about staying there.

As to thinking any animal as good as or better than a human being, that’s just a silly notion on their part. I’d certainly save a human, even a serial killer, before I’d save one of our cats, and I dearly love our cats.

You are disgusted by people who carry their love for animals way too far. And that’s your right. I too find that sort of overblown affection ridiculous, but one of the symptoms of caring too much for animals is not letting them sleep with you. Children especially, since they can be protected by even a cat. In their proper place animals can be little friends, jesters, and teachers of many virtues, such as patience and unconditional love.
 
Our 17 year old cat has slept with us since she was 4 months old. Often when I sleep on the couch (see my other posts about snoring DH), I will have all 3 cats on me - one on my chest, one on my tummy, and another on my feet.

My kids have all napped at one point or another with either a dog or cat curled up with them. I have the cutest picture of one of my boys who crawled into the dog’s kennel with his blanket and fell asleep. The dog is protectively curled around him.

I don’t think it elevates the animal to human level. It is a comfort thing. Do you elevate your teddy bear to human level? No…it is a comfort thing. As for being hygenic, none of us have ever gotten sick from our animals, ever.

Cats…you can’t tell them where to sleep. They just do it. Afterall, it IS their house you are living in. 😉
 
blaskoman said:
I know many people who are HUGE animal lovers. I don’t begrudge them for their emmotional attachments to their pets. However I do find offense when their love crosses the line (in my view). I particularly find it disturbing that many people actually share their beds with their pets. I do know of many cases in which people actually hug their pets while they sleep (whether it be for warmth or affection)…I find this wrong for a number of reasons: firstly, it is unhygenic to do so, and secondly, the act of sleeping with an animal elevates the animal to human level in a sense (which I feel God did not intend)…Wondering what your take is on this?
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My take on this is that you don’t have enough to do that you spend time worrying about how other people treat their pets. 🙂
 
mary bobo, glad you can spare the time from your busy schedule to read my thread.
 
blaskoman said:
I find this wrong for a number of reasons: firstly, it is unhygenic to do so, and secondly, the act of sleeping with an animal elevates the animal to human level in a sense (which I feel God did not intend)…Wondering what your take is on this?
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Few mammels are unhygenic, esp domestic pets that are properly cared for and healthy. Frankly, most carry fewer hygene or other health issues than humans. I grew up napping at various times with elephants, dogs, cats, a pet skunk and raccoon, various reptiles, and a few other animals too. Never caught a single thing from any of them, not even a bad smell. Although my children aren’t privledged to have as eclectic a variety, they regularly sleep with the dog and or cat, both of which are indoor pets.
blaskoman said:
In modern times, we do not require an animal’s warmth to get us through the night, as assuredly was not the case in the example cited (eg sheep herders).
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Actually it was rarely done for warmth. In fact, in many southern hemispheres they did and still do it because it’s dual protection from predators and simple convienence. It is very rare for these conditions to lead to ill health in the humans or the animals. In fact, many studies have been done showing BETTER immune systems when animals are present.
My main quibble is that HUGE animal lovers often look upon their cat or dog as a member of the family, and equal. I’ve even heard some say that they’d save their pet over a stranger in some potentially dangerous situation.
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My cat and dog are beloved members of the family, but, although we’d be bawling little babies over the loss of the pet, we wouldn’t hesitate to help a human.
 
Where was our Lord born?

Moreover, I think the story St Francis may have bear relevance. I remember that he and his early brothers, staying in a small hovel, allowed themselves to be displaced by a donkey.
 
Chovy said:
It grosses me out, but animal germs are a real problem for me. So for instance, I wouldn’t spend the night at a friend’s house where the pet had also slept in the guest bed I was offered.

It is more troublesome for me when I see a pet lover sharing an ice cream cone with their pet or kissing the pet on the mouth. This isn’t a religious issue to me, it just turns my stomach.
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I like my dogs, but I feel the same way about sleeping in someone’s guestroom where a pet has slept or sharing any type of food.

We have “dog-free” zones in my house. Two of our guest rooms are “dog-free” zones as well as the dining room and parlor. The dogs KNOW they are not to enter those rooms and they are blocked from entry. I HATE going to my sister’s house to her guestroom where her 25 lb long, haired cat has lounged all over the bed, on my suitcase, etc…

I can’t see myself sharing an ice cream cone with my dog (not sure my dogs have ever had ice cream) but I’m sure some do.
 
blaskoman said:
I know many people who are HUGE animal lovers. I don’t begrudge them for their emmotional attachments to their pets. However I do find offense when their love crosses the line (in my view). I particularly find it disturbing that many people actually share their beds with their pets. I do know of many cases in which people actually hug their pets while they sleep (whether it be for warmth or affection)…I find this wrong for a number of reasons: firstly, it is unhygenic to do so, and secondly, the act of sleeping with an animal elevates the animal to human level in a sense (which I feel God did not intend)…Wondering what your take is on this?
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  1. You need a hobby.
  2. Our dogs are good dogs and if they want to sleep in our bed, that’s fine with us (especially in the wintertime).
  3. I can’t find anything “unhygenic” about it.
 
BostonMyrtleBea said:
I can’t see myself sharing an ice cream cone with my dog (not sure my dogs have ever had ice cream) but I’m sure some do.
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Our Dog has his own “couch” in the living room & a Doggy bed that goes back & forth from the bedroom to the family room. He is not allowed on our couches in either room. As far as sharing Ice Cream, I don’t. Then again, he has his own Ice Cream called Frosty Paws 😉 !
 
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