Cats are mysterious creatures. We cat owners know this for sure.
We never know what we will see them doing next.
Staring at a wall. Sitting on a perch and observing you with her face half hidden so that only her eyes and ears are visible.
Or as is going to be the topic of this post your cat bringing her toys to your bed.
Their unpredictable nature is what keeps making us fall in love with them over and over again doesn’t it?
So why exactly does your cat bring toys to your bed?
There are a few different reasons why your cat might be doing this.
- She wants to play with you.
- It’s a sign of your acceptance into her world.
- She is teaching you how to hunt.
- Your cat is possessive of her toy.
- Your cat is proud of her hunting skills and is showing off.
- She needs a reward, treat or attention.
- She wants her toy fixed.
While that definitely answers why your cat bring toys to your bed I want to your attention to a much interesting question.
Why do cats express behaviors like these?
In other words, what dictates them to unpredictable acts like these.
Is it just the instincts carried over from their time in the wild or is it something more. Plus what should you do when and if your cat brings a toy to bed?
In the upcoming sections of this post, I will take into account queries around this topic and clarify many such doubts that often pop up into your head.
What Does It Actually Mean When Your Cat Brings Her Toys With her To Your Bed?
Let’s go into little more details into the various reasons we discussed above.
You will find that most of these reasons have their roots into her ingrained wild tendencies which need to find expression in our controlled domesticated environments.
Ok Let’s begin.
Your Cat May Wish To Play With You
This is of course the most simplest of all the possibilties.
We cat owners know how active cats can get at night.
And after her full day of sleeping, she may now be full of energy and wants to spend some of it via playing with her favorite toy.
Which conveniently enough is lying in your bed accompanied by your cat’s stare of anticipation.
Spending some active playtime if that is indeed what your cat wants will be a very wise step here.
This is because of the simple fact that allowing her to express her excess energy via some active playtime will keep her healthy.
The journal of veterinary behavior observes that cats that get sufficient exercises in the form of playtime tends to develop less physical ailments.
Not just that doing so will help you sleep easy because she will not take out her energy on your house and wake you up at night.
Your Cat Has Finally Accepted You In Her World
This usually applies if you have recently in the past adopted a cat and she has finally accepted you as her own.
Cats take time to adjust themselves in their surroundings and with the people around them.
And when they finally do the signs are pretty obvious.
One of the obvious signs that cats use to express the fact that they are comfortable around you is by slowly blinking at you.
Bringing some of her toys or maybe just her favorite toy of thing can be her signal of her affection towards you.
In this scenario, your cat will not be as excited as would have been the case if she wanted to play.
Her aura and her demeanor will express a calm out look which is in cat language a clear indication that your cat is comfortable in your presence and is showing her affection to you by bringing you a gift.
She Is Teaching You How To Hunt
There are quite a few opinions among cat experts about this.
Some say your cat thinks you are a lousy hunter and can’t fend for yourselves and is thus doing the work for you.
Well, one can understand why someone will think like that.
Because the demeanor of a cat is generally accepted as a raw, aloof and mean one.
This is of course not entirely true. But you would see the appeal in why people will conclude the lousy hunter thing.
Here is what is really happening.
Cat will often bring semi-dead hunts to their young ones so that they can learn how to hunt.
This does not necessarily translates to she thinking you are not a good hunter.
Because in feral colonies it is often observed that cats after they have had their fill still continue to kill potential preys and bring them back to the colony for the young ones and for ones they can’t hunt.
And so while our cats have been domesticated for more than 10,000 years now, as nature would have it they still carry their predatory and wild instincts.
And your cat bringing toys to you in your bed especially if her toy moves around or squeaks can be an expression of this behavior.
Your Cat Is Possessive Of Her Toy
I think you may have observed this at some point.
Your cat chooses a favorite toy and trots around in the house.
What is happening is the toy is triggering her prey retrieval instinct.
Which in simple words means that she is emulating the toy with a prey that she wishes to retrieve and secure in a safe haven.
And she sees your bed or places around your bed as safe place to secure her hunt.
Pretty cute don’t you think?
If this is indeed the case, any effort from you to try and take away the toys may be met with aggression or a slow growl.
I think at this point you must definitely read this post that I created on different cat sounds and their meaning.
It will help you a lot.
Leave your cat be with her toy if you indeed observe this behavior.
She Thinks She Is Cool And Is Looking For Some Acknowledgement
I think it is now becoming clear to you that a cat’s play is really just her wild tendencies finding innocent expression.
So when she is catching her favorite squeaky toy she thinks she has done a good job and is probably looking for some acknowledgement of her achievement.
Capturing her toy is being related in her mind as a sense of achievement.
She is probably expecting some kind of reward for her “exceptional performance” in stalking, sneaking, capturing and hunting down her prey.
Your cat is simply boasting about her hunting prowess to her fellow cat i.e., YOU.
Once again the demeanour of your cat like what is the position of her tail when she is bringing her toy to your bed becomes important.
Most likely she would express the same body language that she uses to get some love from you.
So don’t shy away from thoroughly encouraging your cat in the way she likes it.
She Is Looking For Some Kind Of Reward, Attention Or Treat
This often happens when your cat has associated her use of the toy to get some attention, reward or treat from you.
For example, in order for her to be involved with a toy or activity you might have used treats to reward her involvement.
This could have been reinforced in her psyche and she is now using the pattern to get some more treats or attention out of you.
They are very smart I am telling you.
There was a study published on behavioral tendencies in cats that prove that there are many cases where cats crave food and attention even more than toys.
If this is why your cat is approaching you with her toy in bed it should not always but it should be accompanied with a soft meow or trill.
She Wants Her Toy Fixed
Its amazing how similar cats are to our kids.
When it comes to cats you have to understand that they love routines.
They love feeling cozy and secured. Why else do you think they like boxes and closed spaces?
And therefore they are very particular about their territory, where they eat where they sleep and eliminate.
The same translates to her toys as well.
If she knows her favorite toy is not behaving in a way it normally behaves she will know something is out of routine and she will therefore present her toy to you in hope to see it fixed.
Identifying this reason will be fairly simple.
She won’t usually come to your bed with your toy again and again.
Once you fix her toy she will continue in her task to strategically ignore you.
Sometimes fixing her toy may mean just replenishing some catnip into her stuffed toy which has lost its aroma.
In a house with multiple cats, one of your cats may even turn up complaining that her sibling has played with the toy and she doesn’t think that toy is her’s anymore.
With cats its all about the scents and smells.
But I know you know that.
What Do You Do When Your Cat Brings You A Toy?
Okay this is very exciting.
There are many courses of action that can be taken here.
Let me relay my personal favorite first.
See If Your Cat Wants To Play Fetch
Let’s say your cat brought herSmartyKat Rat Pack Kicker Plush Catnip Cat Toy - Randomly Selected Color, Jumbo to you in your bed.
By the way if your cat doesn’t already have one you must get one for her ASAP.
- DESIGNED FOR ACTIVITY: The shape and size of the kicker toy triggers an innate predatory response in cats; it's designed to hold up to rough and aggressive play, providing cats a sturdy plush to tackle, wrestle, and kick to satisfy their instincts
- RANDOMLY SELECTED COLOR: A random color variant will be selected and shipped; customers cannot choose their desired color variation at this time
- STIMULATING: Catnip contains aromatic oils that give cats a euphoric buzz and stimulates their instincts; most cats respond to catnip with a burst of energy, or frenzied behavior, followed by a period of blissful relaxation
- PROMOTES EXERCISE: Encourages your cat to tackle, grapple, wrestle, kick, and pounce, engaging them in physical activity that transforms playtime into exercise to help improve your cat's health and fitness
- FEEL OF REAL PREY: The oversized cat toy features soft plush, felt, whiskers, and a dangling tail, mimicking the multitextured feel AND size of real prey to help stimulate your kitty's hunting instincts and entice play
Anyways it can be any similar toy.
Try and take it from her if she permits and throw it at a little distance from where you are.
But be careful don’t throw it too far or you may piss her off.
Just throw it a little distance away from you on the bed itself.
Now something amazing may happen. If she brings her toy back be a little more patient and throw it a little farther away.
If she keeps bringing her toy back to you.
Congratulations your kitty is a retriever cat.
Or in other words with a little bit of similar training you can play fetch with your cat.
Spend Some Active Playtime Before Bed
Cats can be really active at night.
I am sure as a cat owner you must know this. Maybe you don’t have a cat that doesn’t like playing fetch but yet an active playtime before bed can be very good for cats.
A little bit of exercise before bed will be very good for your kitty and not to mention you.
That’s because if you tire your cat enough there is a good chance she won’t be messing around the house too much while you sleep and disturb you in the night.
The signs that she wants to play will be very clear by the general energy your cat may be expressing.
That and you will find that your cat will not resist you picking her toy.
This is a clear indication that she wants to play.
Allow her to expend here energy by playing with her and hopefully by the time you are done playing with her, she maybe looking for a comfy spot besides you to crash.
Or even if she doesn’t sleep the edge from here energy will go away so that she wouldn’t create chaos when you are asleep.
Acknowledge Her Action
As I mentioned cats relate their play toys with actual prey.
And if you see clear signs that she is pretty proud of the “prey” she just caught like a raised tell and gentle meow pet her and give her the attention she demands to let her know she has done a great job.
On occasions where you sense that she has brought the toy for you in a sense of teaching you how to hunt, show your gratefulness towards her by gentle pets and some playtime with the toy.
And on some rare occasions when your cat brings a dead animal, bird or mouse to your bed, as difficult as it may sound don’t freak out.
Don’t do the mistake of punishing your cat for it.
You have to understand the innocence from where she is acting. She is just trying to care for you in the way she understands best.
Punishing, shouting or panicking will only lead to her loosing trust in you.
Give Her A Safe Place To Store Her Hoard
We know that some cats like to hoard stuff they really like.
And if you sense whether that is the case.
The usual signs would be some resistance when you try to touch the toy or a mild growl even.
In these cases, just let her be.
Don’t try to snatch the toy forcefully if she doesn’t want to leave it.
A good course of action would be to keep a small box by your bedside or under your bed where she feels she can store her toys safely.
Cats are anyway very picky with their stuff and we know it. And they can loose interest just as easily too.
So its only logical to let her have her ways with toys and things that she prefers.
Fix Her Toy
I don’t think I need to relay this point at all.
But if you observe that the catnip in her stuffed toy has lost her aroma.
Replenish it with some good quality catnip like this one and see her go bonkers once again.
If its a squeaky toy that has lost her squeaks see if you can fix her.
You get the general idea right?
Because we have been talking about cat toys so much in this post.
Let me just relay some of my recommend toys that your cat or cats must have if they already aren’t.
If you have some of them that’s great but if you don’t I would highly recommend getting one of these toys to see if your cat enjoys them.
Which I am fairly sure she will.
Best Most Engaging Toys For Cats
- ENTICES CATS: Perfectly sized, lightweight toys that cats can easily pick up, carry, and play with; these soft plush mice are also filled with catnip for extra fun and excitement during playtime, making them even more irresistible to feline paws
- STIMULATING: Catnip contains aromatic oils that give cats a euphoric buzz and stimulates their instincts; most cats respond to catnip with a burst of energy, or frenzied behavior, followed by a period of blissful relaxation
- FEEL OF REAL PREY: The cat toys feature soft plush, felt ears, and dangling tails, mimicking the multitextured feel of real prey to help stimulate your kitty's hunting instincts and entice play
- SOLO OR INTERACTIVE PLAY: Perfect for hide-and-seek games with your cat, which ignites their hunting instincts and provides them with much-needed mental stimulation; the toys are also great for solo play for the independent kitty in your life
- EASY TO USE: Lightly squeeze catnip-filled or compressed items to help release the natural active ingredient in catnip, and spark another round of exciting and frenzied romp and play
No products found.
No products found.
- PRODUCT UPDATE: Catstages recently updated the Tower of Tracks product to include six 1.5"-balls (38mm) instead of 3 at no extra cost to you. Due to available stock at Amazon's warehouses, customers may receive the 3-ball version of Tower of Tracks. MENTALLY ENGAGING TRACKS TOY: This interactive cat toy is designed with 3 levels of tracks and 6 brightly colored moving balls to attract kitty’s attention! Your cat will adore batting, swatting, and pouncing the bright colored balls as they engage their natural instincts to hunt.
- GREAT FOR SINGLE & MULTIPLE CAT HOUSEHOLDS: Whether you have one cat or more, the Tower of Tracks will keep your furry friends enticed with bright colors and spinning balls.
- UNIQUE SAFETY BAR DESIGN: A small safety bar across the top central opening keeps overly curious kitties from getting stuck while playing with this track toy.
- STURDY CONSTRUCTION & NON-SLIP BASE: Durable plastic and a non-slip base hold the Tower of Tracks in place during vigorous play.
- PLAY IT SAFE: No toy is indestructible. Do not leave toys with unsupervised pets. Remove and replace toy if damaged.
- Zip-together combination play Tunnel and cozy cat nap spot in one
- Plush cat bed is comfortable enough for an all-day snooze
- Circular Tunnel is perfect for a chase or cats who want to hide out of sight
- Fun hanging toys for your feline friend to swat at
- 39” W x 39” D x 12.5” H; collapses down for easy travel
I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it.
If you have any queries, the comment box below is waiting for your love.
take great care of yourselves and I will see you in the next one.
Bbye!
