Nearly half of Australian owners let their pets in bed with them; do you?

Pet owners are divided into two categories: those who let their furry friends share their bed and those who don’t. Then there is the third, smaller category, of those who used to let their pets sleep in their bed once upon a time.

While no research on this subject has yet been conducted in India, in Australia, the trend of pets sleeping on or in their owner’s bed is on the rise, according to a report on news portal nine.com.au. New research from Compare the Market, a website that lets users compare banking, financial services, and insurance products, utilities, and some other services, found that 48.7% of cat or dog owners let their pets sleep with them, against 41.4% the previous year.

The survey found that the practice is not uniform across ages, with Generation Z, or those born after 1996, the most likely to let their cats or dogs sleep with them. Nearly 61% of this cohort follows the practice. Interestingly, in second place were Baby Boomers, the post-Second World War generation, at 49.1%, followed by Gen X, or those born between 1965 and 1980, at 47.9%.

The Millennials, or the cohort born between 1981 and 1996, was the least keen on the practice, according to the survey, with only 42.2% doing it.

Letting pets sleep on or in one’s bed is a much-debated act, with some calling it unhygienic and others finding it comforting for both animals and humans. “It’s a ‘tail’ as old as time and while it’s one of the most debatable topics across Aussie households, it appears that half of us really do think pets belong in bed with us,” Adrian Taylor, Compare the Market’s executive general manager for general insurance and an expert on pet insurance, told nine.com.au.

The website’s veterinary columnist Dr Katrina Warren said having pets in or on the bed is not an issue if a few things are taken care of. “Cons are obviously hygiene issues,” she said.  “It’s important that you regularly wash your bedding and I’m a big fan of using a throw rug on top. Plus, it’s important they are regularly wormed and you keep their flea control up to date.”

If you have pets, do they sleep with you or a family member? Let us know your views on this subject in the Comments section below.

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