A woman who recently introduced a Selkirk Rex breed cat into her home has sought advice from other feline owners after her pet's nighttime activity left her unable to sleep

A woman who recently welcomed a cat into her family home was soon left frustrated by the feline's actions in the night. Taking to Reddit, she shared two snaps of her new tiny brown kitten, before elaborating on the bedtime habit he's started, which she says is affecting her sleep.

The images showed the cat making himself at home on the pillows of her bed, prompting the woman to seek advice. She asked: "How can I train this dude not to get on my pillows? Every night, he comes to get pets and cuddle, but invariably walks up onto my pillow. I’m losing hours of sleep to moving him off my pillow several times every night!"

The woman closed her post by adding that her Selkirk Rex breed pet appears to have his heart set on using that one unfortunate area as his own bed.

"Is there any strategy I can use to help him understand?" she asked. "He can literally go anywhere else in the entire house that he wants, except my pillow!"

In a later comment, meanwhile, she shared further details surrounding her predicament. "I get acne so I always try to keep my pillows super clean," she said. "But he gets litter stuck in his fluffy paws etc. I can accept a certain amount of that but I’d prefer not on my pillow."

Writing in response, one person recalled: "I hated having my cat sleep above my head on my pillow. Until I got used to it. And then looked forward to it.

"And missed it terribly when he was gone. Your kitty is looking for comfort. Are you sure you can't learn to share?"

A second Reddit user shared a similar story, saying: "I used to be driven crazy by stuff like this. However, I quickly realised how lucky I am that these tiny creatures love me so much that they want to be as close to me as possible.

"Also, with time I just got used to it and now they literally walk all over me while I sleep and I no longer notice."

And a third pondered: "Is there a second pillow he can use?" To which the cat's owner replied: "Yes actually, but he only wants mine. I think because he wants to be close."

The woman later returned to her post with a positive update, writing: "I let him get on my pillow while I’m laying on it, like y’all suggested.

"It was sweet for a moment, and then he immediately slipped off because it’s silk and he is liquid. Problem might solve itself!"

Why do cats like to sleep on pillows?

According to experts at Cats.com there are five reasons cats like to sleep on pillows.

These are: warmth/body heat; love and affection; trust and protection; fright or stress; and to assert dominance.

The site adds: "Cats are very intelligent and sensitive creatures. A lot of the things they do can confuse us and leave us wondering what in the world is going on.

"One of these things is them taking pride of place on the spot we put our face at night, claiming this as their favourite sleeping position."