Q: Is it OK for me to let my kitties sleep in bed with me? I've heard conflicting reports on this (mostly from my family) and would like to hear an expert's opinion.

A: Great question. I get much the same flak from my family members, most of whom find it perfectly acceptable to ignore my ''expert'' status when it comes to sharing sheets with pets.

The issue has been much in the news lately after the United Kingdom's top vet, Dr. Fred Landeg, spoke out against the practice of allowing pets in bed with humans of any age -- or in the kitchen, for that matter.

His rationale? Many major diseases, such as HIV, SARS and the Hendra and Hanta viruses, came from animals. My take? Last time I checked I wasn't sharing sheets with the green monkeys, civet cats, bats or rats that carry these notorious species-jumping diseases.

Our household dogs and cats are not comparable to wildlife. They are not exposed to the stresses and risks that wild species encounter. They rarely confront communicable diseases relative to their wild counterparts -- or to humans, even.

Most veterinarians agree that the risk of disease transmission from well-maintained pets is extremely low. Research indicates that even so-called ''superbug'' infections (MRSA, for example) are almost never transmitted by pets. And parasites? That's what vets are for. No well-cared for pet need carry them. And most of these are not transmissible anyway.

The reality is this: Your human bedfellow is far more likely to give you a nasty bug than any pet.

A bed-sharing relationship with a pet confers some well-researched advantages:

• The nearby presence of pets lowers blood pressure.

• Heart patients live longer if they enjoy a close relationship with a pet.

But that doesn't mean sleeping with a pet is 100 percent risk-free. Immuno-suppressed individuals (transplant, HIV and chemotherapy patients, for example) and those with pet allergies should exercise more caution and consult their physicians.

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