lower back pain/bad dreams

[RICHARD]

The last four days I have had a lower back pain that makes it very difficult for me to bend over or stand up after a few minutes of sitting......

I am also having dreams of not being able to run or
escape when I have to-in my dreams.

I have traced it back to sleeping with the cat.

With the colder weather here the cat starts next to my head-
always on the side I am facing.......Is it the warm breath???

By the time morning comes I have a cat sleeping between my legs.....For a second, PLEASE forego the obvious jokes and bear with me...

Being the considerate person that I am I try not to move so I won't wake the cat.

I end up getting stuck in one position for a few hours which is killing me......

I also have dreams of having my legs pinned down and not being able to run...I wake up in funky moods because of those dreams..

So here is my question....

Do I move and wake the cat up OR
do I remain in that one position and endure the dreams and painful lower back?


:confused:

[Freckles]

MOVE and MAYBE the cat won't wake up.

At least, that's what I do and Freckles hasn't disowned me yet.:)

[kimlovescats]

LOL!!!!!!! I would say MOVE and then they will get back on top of you again in your new position! hehe:D

[Pam]

Richard, two out of my four furry friends ALWAYS sleep with me each night and occasionally Trevor does too so that makes three. (Andy doesn't like all of the commotion with all of us in the bed so he seldom joins in). I too have back trouble and have gone through many bouts of my back going out. That said, on those nights when I happen to be away from home and not jammed into bed sandwiched between all kinds of pets, I find it hard to enjoy a good night's sleep because I miss them. :rolleyes:

As much as the furry ones want me to tell you to not move the cat, I feel that it is important for his well being that you remain able to go to work and stay employed so that he may continue to enjoy the life he has become accustomed to. :p One little warning, though, he will be rapping on that closed door at 5:00 AM most likely so you will have yet another problem to deal with then! :D :D

[jazzcat]

I literally feel your pain.

Last winter Jazz slept between my legs at the knees every night and by early March I had such bad hip pain I had to go to the doctor - to no avail. When the weather got warmer by April she quit sleeping with me and by June all my pain was gone.

Now that we have Scout she began sleeping with me a few months ago. She insist I be flat on my back and she sleeps in my right armpit with her head on my shoulder. I'm now beginning to have back pain plus I have strange dreams.

I can't take the pain so as of the last week or so I've been moving myself without disturbing her too badly and she either readjusts or leaves for a little while but always returns. Give that a try. You can't be a good cat parent if you are suffering in pain. I also put an extra throw blanket on the bed around the area Scout lays and she has gotten on it a few times and not bothered me. Thank goodness for king sized beds!

[Kirsten]

This question isn't so easy to answer. I have the same problem here, and often when I move, they stand up and sleep somewhere else because they're getting offended when they're disturbed. This always makes me feel bad! :)

Kirsten

[Barbara]

This thread answers all the questions that ever existed whether we are cat crazy or what.

Filou sleeps under the knees of his daddy but he follows all the turns;)

Tigris sleeps on top of the cover so I only have the chance to roll myself up higher than Tigris or to lie very straight and not move on about 1 ft of cover left for me.

I think in our age we MUST make sure that our spine allows us to bow down and fill the cat's food bowl. Eddie should understand that. Ok I hope he will:rolleyes:

[sirrahbed]

I can't believe we are having this discussion! (yes, Barbara, cat-crazy) And to be sure - it is a serious one! I am ALSO having bad backaches and elbow pains because I hate to move the CATS!! Call me nuts but I will still risk the aches to keep the little warm water bottles happy :D I figure at my age, I would probably be aching somewhere anyway. :D :D

[jenluckenbach]

In our house, Charlie stays still for fear of waking the cats. I move figuring that they will come back again. But the REAL problem is not WHETHER to move or not, it's are you physically ABLE to move or not????? Think about it: If you are under the covers and they are on top, we could have as much as 154 pounds of cat flesh holding those covers down!:eek: (if all 14 cats, average weight 11 pound, were on the bed simultaneously)

[carole]

Richard do yourself a huge favour, Either move the cat or move yourself, back pain I have lived with for many years, its no picnic, don't put yourself through any un-necessary suffering ok mate.

I know you love your kitty an all, but love yourself too ok matey.:) :D

[catnapper]

Ha! My knees are killing me. All 17 pounds of Allen has been draped over my knees every night this week. I've slept horribly and of course won't move him! I *try* to move him and 5 minutes later, he's back on my legs.

I like it soo much better when it was my husband's legs Allen slept on.

[BastetsMum]

Bastet moves with me. I call it her *yoga* lesson. She doesnt wake up provided I do it nice and slowly. She just rolls with the legs and sometimes I hear this funny little chirp - she moves herself back into position and falls asleep again. I would definately say MOVE!

[slick]

Originally posted by RICHARD
Do I move and wake the cat up OR do I remain in that one position and endure the dreams and painful lower back? :confused:
My dear Mr. Mena: I'm shocked that you would even ask such a question. Have you learned nothing from our teachings???

It's a cat's right to cause pain and suffering on his/her human in the interest of his/her own comfort. That means that said human will endure any amount of discomfort during the night so as not to disturb kitty's sleep. It's not only the rule, but the law of the land.

And so it is written.:p :p

[Cincy'sMom]

I can't answer from a cat-person point of view, but 2 of our 3 dogs sleep withus most everynight...that alone is about 115 lbs of dog...and my husband andI both often have sore shoulders, backs, legs, something. Do we make the dogs move? Rarely...Ralph wil go sleep on the couch before he kicks the dogs out of bed :)

I think it makes all truely animals crazy :)

[shais_mom]

I must say that I usually end up moving and sometimes Kylie settles back in and sometimes it pi$$es her off and she leaves.
But she is a cat!

[micki76]

I just spent 3 nights surrounded by 3 dogs. Usually Chester sleeps curled next to me and we either spoon or we’re butt to butt. :D

Well hubby was out of town and Aneko (who usually sleeps next to him) flung herself on top of my legs at every opportunity. Millie (usually at the foot of the bed) had to be next to me, but on the opposite side of Chester. I spent 3 nights completely immobile. As soon as I got one settled away from me on the other side of the bed, another would wake and fling their body across me, or try to give me french kisses. Every time one of the girls moved Chester growled. We don’t have these problems when my husband is home. :rolleyes:

Needless to say, I’m bordering on exhaustion.

If I had to do this every night, everyone would be in crates. I say, move him. :)

[catmandu]

I have Gout in my left foot and JJJ3 has decided that he will lie on it. Now the last thing that I need is 15 pounds of Cat on my foot! But he means well , so I let him rest.

[catcrazylady]

I suffer in my recliner in the evenings and I suffer pretty much all night long from kitty bodies causing me to be a contortionist!!! We only have two that sleep in the bed but I get totally pinned down with one on each side. I told myself long ago that I must be insane to lose sleep and suffer just so I don't disturb the furballs! I have been doing better now about moving them out of my way but they just come back!!! I keep reminding myself that I have to work all day while they sleep and that eases my guilt about making them move. As long as it's dark I can move them but if the light is on and they are in one of those adorable sleeping poses then I'm screwed because I can't move them!!

BRATS...BRATS...BRATS!!! How trained are we????? Does anyone think that they think twice about waking us up when they want us out of the bed!! Of course not...they had a good nights sleep:D http://petoftheday.com/talk/images/our_smilies/biggrin.gif

[Cincy'sMom]

In our Humane Soceity newsletter, they had a "Cat Facts" section and this one reminded me of you Richard.


The prophet Mohammed, the founder of the Moslem religion, loved cats so much that he once cut the sleeve from his robe to avoid disturbing his cat which had gone to sleep in his arms.

[Tonya]

It's funny you mentioned it...One time I had a nightmare that my leg was cut off. First, it was a horrible pain, then I could barely feel it except a little tingling. I woke up crying to discover Ron AND Raven laying on it. lol. I guess they laid just right on a nerve or artery because it hurt so bad!

[catnapper]

My son fell asleep on the couch the other night... he eventually went to his own bed in the middle of the night. Was it because the couch is uncomfortable? Nope, because it wasn't big enough for him and Allen... rather than moving Allen he got up and went to bed! :)

[Prairie Purrs]

I've left the TV on a channel I didn't care to watch because cats were piled on top of me on the sofa and I couldn't reach the remote. :D

[Craftlady]

Most of the time Thumper will move but when she is being stubbern she will allow mom only a smig of edge of the bed. So mom does her twisted routine and goes to sleep. Most of the time she sleeps between hubby and I or at the foot of our bed.

[slick]

Originally posted by CatsinDenver
I've left the TV on a channel I didn't care to watch because cats were piled on top of me on the sofa and I couldn't reach the remote. :D
:D :D :D :D **choke** **choke** **spit** **spit**
Now that's dedication....

[cubby31682]

Cubby lays his head right on my legs at night. If it isn't his head it is some other body part of his. What I do is slowly move my leg turn over and put my other leg where that one was. He lifts up his head so he can have his little 'perch' back under his head. If I move to many times he will come up next to me and put me to sleep over and over and over. After I get in the right position to sleep he is back on my legs. When my husband wakes up to go to work, I have the bed to my self for once. I toss and turn the way I want to with out moving slowly. I can always feel Cubby when he comes back to bed. Instead of laying down gracefully he plops right down. At times it feels like he fell on top of me but thats the way he likes to get comfortable. Also if I can't turn over I reach down and pick Cubby up and putting him next to me so I can pet him. He will lay there for about 10 minutes then go lay on my legs again.

I would move over or turn over if I were you.

Katie

[Maresche]

My Terra insists on sleeping on my stomach, hip or bum, whichever one is facing up at the time. When I need to move, I just move and she's learned to walk as I move like a lumberjack on a floating log. :D

[lynnestankard]

We can't have the cats sleeping on the bed - Don has a bad back and with my arthritis in knees and hips - we need every inch we can get!! :D
Ms Bagel however, can be everso crafty sometimes and hides under the bed - until the light is switched off and all of a sudden there's a tiny 'plop' as she lands on the bed and cuddles at the side of me - but not on me! However, about 2am I get a little kiss on the nose - which is her way of saying 'OK Mum - want to go down now'!! :D :D

All I can say Richard is - the cat has to go elsewhere to sleep - you don't want ongoing back pain - it's the worst thing.

Lynne

[carole]

Yes well when Ash decides to sit on anyone, its like oh I can't move I have the cat on me, if its requested the person do something, like one just cannot move the cat, even though my advice to Richard is MOVE THE CAT, I am as guilty as the rest of you, lol.:) :D

On a more serious note, I would move the cat, as back pain is very debilitating, I agree with lynnstankard here, if the price for the pleasure of having a happy kitty is pain, then some compromise has to take place, good luck richard .;)

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by carole


On a more serious note, I would move the cat, as back pain is very debilitating, I agree with lynnstankard here, if the price for the pleasure of having a happy kitty is pain, then some compromise has to take place, good luck richard .;)


I can run in my dreams-they have become quite pleasant and my back pain is gone!!!

Why, I can tap dance now............without ever having lessons....

actually it's more like 'dancing under the influence'...:eek:

[lynnestankard]

Originally posted by RICHARD
...............actually it's more like 'dancing under the influence'...:eek:

Have you opened the bar already then Richard????! :D

Lynne

[RICHARD]

here's a little follow up....

I now have to put up with the flying cat.

Being a 'thrasher' I end up all over the bed.

I notice the cat goes flying now that we have come to an agreement.

Our agreement?

Ed gets to walk all over me, but I get to move anytime I want.....

It's a little cubmersome at times, but nothing beats having a warm kitty snuggling up on a cold night.

:p

[carole]

Except in your case maybe a lovely woman he he, glad you got it sorted out Richard and MERRY XMAS to you mate.:) :D :cool: ;)