Beds & comfort

The useful question is not which bed is best but which one suits the way yours already sleeps. A cat that curls needs sides to lean on. A dog that sprawls needs a flat surface and no bolster to fight. Most pets pick their own spot regardless of what you buy.

Because pets are. This shelf is deliberately mixed rather than a wall of identical cushions: a round plush bed for curling, a flannel mat for the dogs who prefer the floor but would rather it were warmer, a sisal scratcher bed for cats who want to sharpen and then sleep in the same place, and a folding playpen for the times somewhere needs to be off limits.

All of them. That is not a small thing — a bed that cannot go in the machine stops being used by about week three, which is the real reason it matters more than the fabric does.