How to Choose the Right Size Cat Bed

Cat bed sizing is vague almost everywhere you look. Small, medium and large mean different things from brand to brand, and unlike dogs, cats do not come in a neat spread of breed weights you can look up. A little method helps.

Measure the curl, not the cat

A relaxed cat stretched out is roughly 45 to 55 centimetres nose to base of tail, with larger breeds well beyond that. But most cats do not sleep stretched out. They sleep curled, in a shape considerably smaller than their full length.

The useful measurement is somewhere between the two. Watch where your cat naturally sleeps and note the space they occupy when properly settled. A bed with an inner surface a little larger than that curl is the target — enough that they can shift and stretch, not so much that they are adrift in it.

Bigger is not automatically better

This is where cat beds differ most from dog beds. With a dog, erring large is usually safe. With a cat, an oversized bed can defeat the purpose. Much of the comfort comes from contact — a wall to press a spine against, a rim to hook a chin over. Take that away and you have an open mat, which is the thing cats tend to walk past.

If you are between sizes and your cat is a dedicated curler, the smaller option is often the better one. If your cat sprawls on their side with their legs out, size up.

Account for more than one cat

Cats who get along will share a bed, often in a single heap. If you have two who already sleep touching, a larger bed is genuinely worth it. If your cats keep their distance, two smaller beds in different spots will get far more use than one large one — separate resting places reduce friction in multi-cat homes.

Match the shape to the sleeper

Size is only half of it. The shape matters just as much:

• Deep, high-walled donut — for cats who curl tightly and want walls all around. Our Sherpa Donut is this shape, sized for cats rather than scaled down from a dog bed.
• Low bolster on three sides — for cats who like to rest a chin on something but stretch out behind. That is the Bouclé Nest.
• Raised and open — for cats who want a view more than they want cover. The Cocoon sits up on timber legs for exactly that.
• Covered — for cats who want to disappear entirely.

A note on kittens

Do not buy for the adult cat your kitten will become. A kitten in a large bed will usually ignore it in favour of somewhere snug. Buy for now, and buy again later — cat beds are not a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, and by the time they have grown you will know far more about how they sleep.

If you are unsure, tell us your cat's weight and how they sleep and we will point you to the right size. It is a faster conversation than guessing.