Why does my cat ignore the bed I bought?
Cats frequently reject store-bought beds because the materials, scents, or locations do not align with their natural preferences for security and warmth. This leaves owners wasting money on unused pet supplies while their cats opt to sleep in boxes, on furniture, or on human belongings instead.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using the cat bed as a pillow for yourself to make the cat want it
- 2Moving the bed to a different room or floor workspace
- 3Providing cardboard boxes instead of expensive cat furniture
- 4Setting up a catio
- 5Waiting for the cat to adjust to the new space over time
- 6Sprinkling catnip on the cat tree
- 7Moving the cat tree to a different location in the house away from windows
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My cats would fight over that bed...”source ↗
“I have a big fluffy bed like that, two cats of my own, plus in the last while I have fostered five other cats, and not one of them has used it.”source ↗
“I bought a bed for Batista and he never paid any attention to it.”source ↗
“My cat refused to use the cat bed I bought her so I used it as a pillow for my head on the couch while loudly annoucing how much i loved MY new pillow”source ↗
“Bought my cat a cushion. She ignored it.”source ↗
“He is a quiet guy who likes sleeping in tight and weird places like this 😄.”source ↗
“I recently moved and for some reason after moving my cat will not use her tree anymore, she used to use it every day.”source ↗
“Does anyone know how to get her to use it again or why she stopped using it ?”source ↗
“You can spend a fortune on the nicest cat tree and they’ll still decide the random box is their new favorite spot”source ↗
“Yes 😂 even in my cabinet”source ↗
“My two 9-months-old cats sometimes nap in the spaces of my bookshelf.”source ↗
“I have another one who sleeps on the top of the refrigerator 😂😂”source ↗
“My cat will not step in or use the hammock basket. Kinda hinders her, since it’s part of the sequence of jump spots.”source ↗