Adorable pictures of sleepy pets have taken the UK by storm as a nation-wide competition searched for an animal to crown ‘King of the Bed’.
While research shows that two thirds of Brits are happy to allow their pets to sleep in bed with them, it is equal parts annoying and irritating to head to your bedroom after a long day, only to find your furry friend is already sprawled out like it owns the place.
Online bed and mattress retailers, Bed SOS, which specialises in next day delivery, wanted to see just how many pets love to snooze in their human’s beds, so challenged the nation to send in pictures.
Offering the prize of a free bed worth £200, Bed SOS was inundated with entries from all manner of pets who like nothing better than to tuck themselves into bed after a long day.
However, there can only be one winning entry and that position was nabbed by Susannah Flood from Chelmsford whose two cats, Paddy and Ollie, both demand their space on the bed.
Susannah said: “Ollie is eight years old and he’s a brown Norwegian Forest Cat and Paddy is a white and black British Short Hair and he’s six. We’ve had Ollie with us since he was a kitten, but we rescued Paddy after he’d had his leg amputated due to an injury. As you can see, they’re very close and they love taking over my bed for a communal snooze.”
Danny Richmond, Managing Director of bed and mattress retailer, Bed SOS, said: “Huge congratulations to Susannah, and especially to Ollie and Paddy! We were only expecting to have one winning pet, but when we saw this adorable picture of the two of them napping, we immediately knew that we’d found our ‘Kings of the Bed’. Thanks again to Susannah, and we hope you enjoy your new bed. But from the looks of things, Paddy and Ollie might get more use out of it!”
While snuggling up in bed next to your pet is adorable, studies show that the companionship of a furry friend at night can also have a positive effect on your mental health, help you get a better night’s sleep, and decrease feelings of loneliness.
However, whilst sleeping with your pets can provide these benefits, it is important to stop if it creates any issues for you. If your pet is restless and is preventing you from having a good night’s sleep, begins to display signs of dominance or if it aggravates allergies, then it’s best to stop allowing your pet into the bedroom.
A mixture of pets that love to sleep in bed with their owners, and some pets that would just rather have the bed to themselves, below are a few more of the best competition entries:
Skyla, a Husky and Rottweiler cross, looks absolutely fuming that her owner is disturbing her nap.
Rescue cat, Buttons, has clearly had a very long day, as evidenced by his huge yawn. Hopefully a nice long nap will do him some good.
Chickpea, a three year-old Maine Coon from Leeds, sleeps soundly on his owner’s bed without a care in the world. Must be nice.
Crossbreed Ziggy was picked up by his owners as a stray, but has wasted no time in making himself comfortable, taking over the bed like he owns the place.
