A few days ago I was at my niece’s birthday party and I came home absolutely exhausted. I just took a quick shower and fell asleep a few seconds after I reached my bed. It wasn’t long after that that I felt something on my head. It was Pearl! Awww, but wait! Why does my cat sleep on my head?
I’ve seen it in the movies many times, but it never happened to me before. I always thought it was just a funny stereotype about cats. But, I guess I was wrong and they really do sleep on their owners’ heads. Should I be honored? Or is it her way of saying she actually doesn’t like me?
It’s difficult to understand them sometimes, so I decided to search for some answers. After carefully collecting information about this “stereotype”, I finally made a list of some of the most common reasons cats decide to sleep on our heads.
It felt amazing to finally understand my fluffball better. And since you’re here I assume you’re also your kitty’s new favorite sleeping spot. Don’t worry, I’ve prepared everything you need to know. Enjoy this quick cat lesson!
Why does my cat sleep on my head? 7 most common reasons
Let me guess, you got scared because you felt something on your head, but when you woke up, there she was. Your favorite fluffy roommate…Sleeping on your head. Not the best feeling ever, I assume?
Even though it seems like cats do it simply because they want to, there are actually many reasons why they might choose your head as their new sleeping spot. Here are the 7 most common reasons that can happen.
1) She loves you and wants to cuddle
Let’s start with one of the cutest reasons. Your kitty might be trying to fall asleep on your head because she loves you so much that she wants to be close to you whenever it’s possible. Even though cats are famous as pets who aren’t really affectionate and who like to be alone, that’s not necessarily true.
Most felines who live indoors actually like to cuddle and spend time with their owners. They love playing, napping, and even playfully fighting together. So if they miss that during the day, they’ll at least try to sleep as close to you as possible to make up for the missing activities.
If you’re bothered by her sleeping on your head (and I guess you are) you can move her somewhere else near you. That way she’ll still be close enough, but you won’t have to stand having something on your head.
2) It’s warm there
What’s something that cats like almost equally as playtime, food, and napping? It’s warmth! I’m sure you’ve already noticed that your kitty prefers summer over winter. Cats get cold much easier than dogs, or humans, so sometimes when you aren’t cold, that doesn’t mean your kitty isn’t.
Every cat owner gets a chance to see their fluffball spending lots of time in front of the fireplace, or any other heating system they have installed. Even during the hot summer days, they will still spend a lot of time on the window sill or on the floor where the sun rays hit.
So, don’t be surprised to see her trying to fall asleep on your head. Maybe she feels like it’s a perfect temperature for her to enter the dreamland.
3) You smell nice
Ever since the first time I asked myself “Why does my cat sleep on my head?” I’ve been thinking that my scent must be one of the reasons why. So I did my research and surprise, surprise, I was right! Our scent is actually one of the most common reasons!
Cats have one of the most powerful senses in the whole world. It goes from their hearing to their power to smell things that are far away. Yes, they can see us, but they mostly recognize us by our unique smell. And it reminds them that we’re protecting them from the dangers they’re afraid of.
If your cat is sleeping on your head, it could be because you smell nice. And that makes her feel relaxed so she can go to sleep peacefully.
4) Your cat feels safe sleeping on your head
The weather is changing and it brings colder days. But that’s not all, we also don’t get to enjoy as many sunny days as we get during summer. And of course, it has enough power to affect our mood. Most people get seasonal depression for at least a few days when these changes come around.
Unfortunately, we aren’t the only ones who can get a bit depressed or anxious from time to time. Your kitty can also feel blue sometimes. And when she feels that way there’s nothing she wants more than to spend time cuddling or playing with you.
That’s the time when she feels scared and sad, and she has many irrational fears. Luckily, your presence helps her a lot, and that’s why she might choose your head as her safe space. She knows that you’ll always be there to protect her, but sleeping next to (or in this case on) you is making her even more sure.
5) She wants to groom you
Did you know that when kittens are born they like to sleep close to each other so they are all warm? Some of them even continue doing that when they grow up. But most of them switch to grooming each other. It’s one of the most common ways how felines show their love and appreciation.
So if you’re wondering the same, one of the reasons could be that she wants to groom you. She loves you so much, but she can’t tell you that so she needs to find some other way to show you how much she cares about you.
When she sits on your head, she is in a good position to groom you and later on fall asleep feeling happy because she made sure you know she loves you.
6) It’s comfy
No one would like to sleep in an uncomfortable place, right? So why wouldn’t our kitties try to find the most comfortable spot in our homes? Unfortunately for us, most of the time, that comfy spot is actually our head.
I don’t think we’ll ever fully understand what’s so comfy about it, but it seems that cats find it fascinating. After thinking about it for some time, I figured that it was possible my long hair warms my Pearl. Ziggy was never a big fan of sleeping on my head, but Pearl… I’ll tell you how I managed to stop her.
7) Your kitty is marking her territory
And of course, we all know that cats are territorial animals. They’ll do everything in their power to prove that something is theirs and only theirs.
And who’s the person they love the most? Their owner, of course. If you have more pets then it’s likely that one of your cats will try to sleep on your head just to prove that you belong to her. Cute or creepy? I’ll leave you to answer that question on your own.
How to stop her from sleeping on your head?
When you imagine any cat sleeping on her owner’s head, it really does look cute. But would you really like her to sleep there every night? I don’t think anyone would answer “Yes” to this question.
People say that “Sharing is caring“, but some things really don’t need to be shared in order to show that you care. So here’s how to stop your kitty from using your head as her favorite sleeping spot.
1) Give her more attention
One of the reasons your kitty might want to sleep on your head is that she misses having you around. Are you busier lately than you were before? Does she spend more time alone than usual? If yes, then it might be the reason why she wants to be so close to you when you’re at home.
The best way to stop her from sleeping on your head is to give her more attention when you’re awake. You can try playing with her right before it’s time to go to bed. That way, she won’t miss you as much and she’ll probably sleep on her own.
2) Close the bedroom doors
We always try to find complicated solutions because it feels like they’re gonna work better. However, most of the time the simplest solutions are the ones that work the best. So, have you tried closing your bedroom doors at night?
Most cats aren’t really able to open the closed doors, so if you do this you will most likely block her way into your room. And that’s how you’ll also block her chance to use you as her new comfy pillow.
3) Train her
I know it sounds difficult, and training dogs is much easier than training cats. However, it’s far from impossible! Cats love treats and new toys. So most of the time, they’ll do anything you want from them just to get something they like in return.
Use that trick to teach them how to sleep in some other place in your home. Where did your cat sleep before she decided that your head is the best spot? If you use treats, it’s going to be easy to bring her back to that old napping spot.
4) Make a special comfy place for her
It’s likely that your head is much comfier than the place where she usually enters the dreamland. So if you want her to sleep somewhere else, it’s a good idea to provide her with a warm and fluffy cat bed.
Those two things are the most important for them, especially because they spend half of the day sleeping. And you can also include a small soft blanket because they adore them.
5) Put your shirt in her sleeping place
And finally, as we’ve already mentioned, kitties mostly recognize us by our smell. So whenever they feel sad, scared, or they miss us, they will go find something that smells just like us. For example, our pillow… or us.
You can take one of the shirts you usually wear and place it on her bed instead of a blanket. Or if you have two pillows, you can give her one of them that you don’t use. It will still have your scent on it. That way, she’ll always feel your scent near and she’ll feel safer and happier.
Final thoughts
And we’ve reached the end of our short, but hopefully interesting cat lesson. I hope that you will never ask yourself “Why does my cat sleep on my head?” again. We’ve had a chance to see that there are many different reasons why she chooses that spot, but those 7 ones are the most common.
Always keep in mind that no matter how cute it might seem, you still shouldn’t let your kitty sleep on your head. There are many infections, allergies, and diseases you can get if she sleeps on your head or your pillow.
Try to remember all the ideas I’ve given you about how to stop her, and I’m sure they will work fine! They did for me and lots of my friends. Good luck!
