Category: Guides

The first cold morning arrives without warning. It lands on the windowsill, runs along the floor and settles in the base of the spine. Prepare for it now, in the quiet.

Add a layer. A folded blanket under the bed adds 3 degrees of warmth. A heated mat beneath the cover adds 8. A second cat adds 14, though it also adds opinions.

Move your bed away from the door. Move it nearer the radiator, but not so near as to be a hazard. A winter bed is a bed in a good position, and a good position is half of any season.

Your Hush Blanket is a living companion and deserves a little care. Wash it rarely and always on a gentle cycle at 30 degrees. Dry it flat, in a room with a view, and do not tumble it.

Between washes, shake it softly and leave it in the sun for an afternoon. It will release the weight of the week. Sprinkle it with a mist of lavender if the mood suits.

Do not be alarmed by fur. Fur is a sign of love and a sign of use. The blanket was designed to hold it, in the way a good garden holds leaves.

Choosing a bed is not a quick act. It is a courtship. You must walk around it, sniff the edges, sit in the middle and look away, as though you had no interest. If the bed is the right one, you will feel it in your tail.

Consider the depth, the lining and the position of the nearest window. Consider whether you are a curler, a sprawler or a loaf. Consider whether the bed has a smell you recognise. A bed you do not recognise is a bed you have not yet met.

Most of all, consider how you feel when you lie down. The right bed will make you forget you were looking for one.