Fussy cat!

I'd suggest using the abandoned cushions to sit on yourself - our cat always sleeps on blankets etc that we are currently using 😂

I think you’ve done all you can. I would let him sleep in the jigsaw tray if he wants, next to a nice warm radiator, and on the bathroom mat. You say he’s a bit bewildered now so perhaps he has dementia. He is a great age so I would let him sleep where he chooses. He must find those places comfortable or he wouldn’t choose them. Maybe he will choose his new bed eventually.

Could you try putting a thin blanket in the places he sleeps in now ?
It would be warmer and more comfy .

We put our elderly cat in our bedroom when relatives with a dog visited. Rather than climbing up on the bed to sleep he settled on the mat in the en suite bathroom. We thought that odd - until we realised that there was a hot water pipe under floor at just that point.

He has, finally, taken to a cat bed in the sitting room and spends much of his time asleep there. He's often up in my chair as soon as I lift my bum off it though!

My present cats are young, but their predecessors lived to a ripe old age, and both latterly preferred the bathroom floor to all other places.

As our bathroom does not have underfloor heating but a terasso floor, we found this baffling - neither cat was incontinent, so it wasn't because they wanted to be near the litter tray, just outside the bathroom.

If you are afraid he is cold, put down a folded bath towel, preferably one you have already used.

He may, like some old people, find a hard bed better for his old bones than a soft one.

You said it yourself - this is typical cat behaviour. Your cat wants to sleep on a hard surface, so let him! A friend of mine had several cats, one of whom spent its entire life up on a high shelf. It must have come down sometimes, to eat, drink and use the litter tray, but no human ever saw it move. And have you seen the situations wildcats are content to sleep in? They're not human babies or cuddly toys, so they can't be arranged in a shape that's pleasing to the human eye.

Our cat decided to pull the (canvas) linen basket over last night and slept on that! - they are funny 😹

None of our dogs would sleep in the comfortable (and expensive) beds we bought for them they all slept on an oak floor by the front door.

Ours has taken to a hessian M&S bag on the floor, near to radiator. and where she can see the cat flap "window" at the other end of the kitchen, She scratches it into a nest shape then sleeps on it. She goes out at night but is always on her bag in the morning.
I'm sure visitors must think I never do any housework as the M&S bag is always on the floor!
After 6 years of trying to get her to use the comfy cat bed, I just gave up and my daughter now has it for putting my grandchildren's guinea pigs in when they have cuddles!

A favourite with ours is to pull one of the towels off the rail in the bathroom, drag it into the bath, and scrunch it up to make a nest. Work that one out!

Our cat sits on anything we sit on. We bought him a nice ceramic bed which heats up (online from Germany) with a cushion on it but he won't use it... I can't sit on it in case it breaks.🙄

None of our cats would sleep in any beds I bought for them no matter how soft and comfy. They liked being in front of the fire, on the sofa on a throw or on the bed at night. However, one of our old cats did start laying on a hard tiled surface and this was just before he was sadly put to sleep for ill health. He would not go on the sofa or bed or in front of the fire. Somehow the tiled floor brought him comfort.

My daughter had two beautiful rescue cats for over 21 years. Their behaviour and habits changed as they got older, to such an extent it was if they no longer recognised family members. The vet explained that due to their very good age they appear to have developed dementia. Which actually explained a lot; not using their loo, not greeting family when they arrived home, not eating or drinking well at times and appearing lost in the house. I don’t think we had ever considered this in relation to animals. When I go to visit my daughter I do miss them not coming to the door to say hello. Could this be what is happening to your cat? Just a thought.

we took on mil cat when she passed away had her 4 years now and she is 23 years young. prefers a bare box to anything have just about got her to accept a folded blanket on the floor in the bedroom just about but took 12 months! no to beds etc cats are strange!

I bought my cat numerous beds, but she always preferred a human chair, usually a dining chair, tucked under the table. However, I recently purchased a velvet footstool from Dunelm (£31) for my own use, which she ignored for a month, but has now decided it is her ONLY sleeping spot! Nobody else can use it and it’s now covered in cat hair!

The cat won't usually sleep where it doesn't want to sleep if there is something more suitable which is accessible. At 20 years old, it is possible that there is some dementia but without other indicators it is impossible to know. I wouldn't worry unless you notice adverse affects.

Thank you all for your comments, which were more or less as I expected, knowing how cats behave.

Yes, I think Bugsie has dementia. He has also become deaf, which I think is why he is now very vocal. He was always silent apart from when he brought me a live 'present' during the night. He now 'shouts' when returning to his sleeping places. Nevertheless he seems quite content and agile enough to jump on and off the jigsaw table. Some days he eats little then makes up for it the next day. He only loves me when I feed him! My other cat, a nearly 17 year old Bengal, was put to sleep a few weeks ago due to a diagnosis of liver cancer. She was far more characterful but very demanding of my attention. I miss her terribly. It will be lonely when they are both gone, but I would only have another if it was an elderly rescue. A young cat would probably outlive me and my DDs would not be able to take it on when I am gone.

So long as he’s happy and not suffering …

I’m so sorry to hear about your other cat. I know the heartbreak only too well.

It will be kind to adopt an elderly cat one day, they are so much less likely to find homes than the sweet little kittens. I echo your thoughts about adopting when you are older.

My cat loved to sleep on hard or hardish surfaces. I discovered one thing she hated and would never sleep on was a nice comfortable bed. She was always or felt warm, so didn't like to sleep on something that would make her too warm, such as a nice comfortable bed. Don't forget cats have fur. What a cat needs is to feel secure and loved. My cat liked to sleep on my lap, which shows she trusted and loved me.

I had an old farm cat I adopted when he was 13. He lived to be 21 and in his final years, he was stone deaf, had bilateral cataracts and was clearly demented. He spent most of his final years asleep in the middle of the floor in the bathroom.

I used to tap him gently on the shoulder when it was meal time and he used to come down stairs very slowly, having made it clear he did not want to be carried. We had to have a litter tray for him but he remained 'clean' right up to the end in spite of being quite bonkers in other ways.

Loved reading about your lovely cats. Bless them. When running a cattery in Spain, a stray large tabby settled on the far side of the pool. I felt a little nervous but he lay on his back as I approached him and I risked tickling his tummy. He followed me into the villa and sat on my bare legs or tummy. I let him free and he always stayed close to home walking past the cats in the cattery, head held high as if to say, “I’m free.” I miss him.

I love my two cats but I'm getting a little squeamish. They've recently got addicted to bringing these mice in the house to torture and play with before finishing them off. Last year there must have been 10 or 11 dead mice (mainly house mice but there was one really adorable harvest mouse - like the one here. It was a bit weird finding them and throwing them out at first but now they have started to bring them to my bed. What do I do?

It sounds cruel, but for years I have kept a rubber mallet near the stairs to put fatally injured animals out of their misery when brought in at night. It rarely happens these days, but Bugsie still brings 'presents' occasionally. I can't shut him in at night because he won't use a litter tray so needs to go outside.

All of my cats have chosen to sleep on my bed with me at night time and cuddled up next to me during the day if I'm sitting on a chair/sofa.
The cat I have now sometimes likes to lie on top of the radiator cover where the heat comes up through the air vents.She ignores the heated cat beds that I've bought for her.