The cats sleep at least sixteen hours a day, although there are those who sleep less and others who sleep more. It serves to accumulate energy and recharge the batteries. But it is also a way of running the risk that the cat in the house will get fat.
How many hours a day do cats sleep?
Most young cats sleep an average from 12 to 18 hours a day, nearly three times the amount of sleep a person can sleep. Older cats, as well as puppies, tend to sleep even longer - up to 20 hours, but this is clearly due to age.
But even knowing that cats sleep so much, we must pay attention to how ours does. Many times, behind the way our four-legged friend falls asleep, there may be more or less serious pathologies that the cat tries to cure with a long rest.
How long do cats sleep?
Although, as we have already seen, our little furry sleeps between 12 and 18 in total, he does not sleep uninterruptedly, that is, in a row. Cats, like humans, have their own circadian rhythm, but they are animals with polyphasic sleep, that is, composed of multiple periods of rest, interspersed with phases of wakefulness. They have a deep sleep phase like us, cats sleep in the REM phase and allows them to dream. In fact, cats also dream, but their dreams are mainly about hunting activities. This phase would be very similar to that of humans.
Naps last an average of 1 hour or more, but at certain times, sleep duration ranges from 50 to 113 minutes. cats have too light sleeper and by nature they tend to fall asleep in positions that, in case of danger, allow them to escape immediately. While sleeping, their ears and nose are always alert.
Why do cats sleep so much?
To understand why our beloved cats are the quintessential sleepyheads, we need to take a few steps back. We have said that these animals are crepuscular and the reason is given by the fact that, when they lived free in nature and were not tamed by man, in the twilight phase they used to hunt and conserved all their energy to concentrate on this moment.
Hunting was an essential activity for them to survive and very expensive in terms of energy. Therefore, they had to accumulate as much energy as possible, sleeping during the other hours of the day and recharging the body for the next hunt. This is how cats developed this tendency, later adapting it to human life in terms of schedules, but still maintaining the habit of sleeping almost all day.
How much should cats really sleep?
Just as there are very sedentary cats that don't like to play very much and prefer to snore, there are others that are very active and tireless and can sleep even less than 12 hours a day. On average, cats should sleep about 15 hours a day and take 15-30 minute naps.
These are the effective times that allow the cat to strengthen its immune system, recover the energy spent during the day, relax the muscles and digest the proteins it eats during meals. In fact, their diet is rich in protein and sleep greatly helps digestive processes.
Why do cats sleep more when it rains?
Cats, like humans, tend to sleep more on gloomy or especially cold winter days and to be more active when the weather is nice in spring or summer. Weather conditions and temperatures affect how long cats sleep.
Cat owners know that our beloved cats do not particularly like water and it is no coincidence that they do not tolerate rainy days, in which they prefer to sleep longer. But it is not only about this, since the noise of storms accompanied by thunder is not appreciated by cats, also periods of rain are very humid and cats need more energy to keep their body temperature balanced. This again translates into more hours of sleep.
sleep like a cat
"Sleep like a baby" is a very widespread way of saying that we refer to a person who sleeps a lot and for a long time, but this saying could well have been "sleep like a cat" because in everyday life the cat is the most lover of breaks.
The cat is a twilight feline toThe same as jaguars, ocelots and other cats. It is very active in the twilight hours, that is, from sunset to sunrise. What if that happens only at this particular time, the rest of the day? Well, the cat prefers to spend the remaining hours curled up in his bed, on the sofa or in the legs of his favorite human.
Let's be realistic, if you live with a cat, Your mobile phone gallery will inevitably be full of photos of the cat dozing relaxed in every corner of the house. But, why do cats sleep so much? In fact, when cats aren't busy eating, scratching, begging for attention, or trying to take over the world, they spend most of their days sleeping peacefully. Even now, as you read this article, it could be right there, on your lap or on your desk, completely abandoned in the arms of Morpheus. The domestic cat is, in fact, one of the animals that sleeps the most.
Because they are crepuscular predators
Even if he lives in the comfort of home, the cat is still an exceptional twilight predator. Even today they retain all those biological and ethological characteristics inherited from their wild ancestors, although they no longer really need to hunt: it is a very strong instinct. In nature they are particularly active and lively, especially at dawn and dusk, the period of the day when their favorite natural prey - small rodents and birds - are also active. Even his exceptional vision has evolved to perform at its best in those particular light conditions.
To save and recover energy
However, catching a nimble mouse or an elusive sparrow is not easy and requires an enormous amount of energy, which the cat invests in ambushes, jumps and chases. That is why cats spend a good part of the day sleeping, to "recharge the batteries" and recover your precious strength, or to save them while they wait for the next unfortunate prey. Even if it is a toy, a rope or a plate with porridge.
To adjust the temperature
Cats not only love to sleep, they also love to be in the sun. However, the heat and the siestas are closely related to each other and help the feline to control your body temperature, to stimulate the production of melatonin and serotonin. The quality of sleep is deeply linked to light, which by stimulating the production of melatonin helps regulate the circadian rhythm and the feline reproductive cycle.
for reasons of age
Sleep duration in cats can vary considerably from one individual to another, both due to factors related to personality and personal motives. If it is true that on average an adult cat sleeps a few 12-18 hours daily, There are cats that can sleep until 20 hours daily. Puppies, of course, are those who sleep the most, and as they grow they reduce these times little by little. older cats they also tend to go back to sleep much longer, just like kittens.
because they love naps
As with many other animals, it is necessary to differentiate the various types of sleep, at least in two main ones. Even if it is an almost infallible predator by nature, it should never guard down. Pfor this reason, 3/4 the cat's dream is actually more of a nap lightly, a kind of semi-conscious rest called slow wave sleep (SWS). Although they appear to be fast asleep at this stage, cats remain alert and ready to go into action. Some senses such as hearing and the sense of smell remain "accessible" and the cat is ready to react instantly if it senses prey or potential danger. Only 1/4 of the time dedicated to sleep is therefore really deep and reaches the call REM phase, the one in which one completely abandons himself to total relaxation.
Because somehow they are not right...
A healthy cat that lives in an environment that allows it to express all its behaviors sleeps a lot, but alternates this activity with many others, such as playing, exploring and wandering. However, a cat that is confined within the walls of the house and spends many hours alone, could make the cat sleep more than necessary due to the restriction and the lack of alternatives.
This condition may be a symptom of strong psychophysical discomfort, stress and anxiety that can later lead to other serious problems, such as obesity. For this reason, it is necessary to provide the cat with a healthy environment, full of stimuli and that allows it to express its full potential as a feline, requesting the help of a Expert consultant on the man-cat relationship.
Changes in habits
cats are animals extremely habits, they establish their own routine and are even able to adapt to that of their pet. If he's used to waking you up to ask for food at 7:30 in the morning and suddenly stops doing it, begins to sleep more or have a different rhythm than usual, then it may be advisable to talk to your vet. Cats are good at hiding psychophysical ailments, but the sudden change in established rituals and habits is one of the main alarm signals and could mean that they are sick.
Even the places where cats sleep are usually always the same, so if we notice strange behavior or unusual places where the cat sleeps, it could mean that something is wrong. Sleeping in the litter box, for example, is quite unusual behavior and is often linked to uncomfortable situations that deserve to be investigated with some urgency.
Most of the time it's not real sleep but drowsiness
Actually, much of feline sleep is a kind of drowsiness, suspension of movement but not mental and sensory activity. This can be verified, for example, by observing the ears of cats, which remain upright, or the tail, which can continue to shake slowly. Sometimes even the eyes remain half-open. When you are in this intermediate condition between wakefulness and sleep, the cat is substantially in possession of all its qualities. He is capable of running away, or attacking a prey, or resuming play with a partner in a matter of seconds.
The moment of true dream
The half-sleep phase can last even a good half hour, before the cat sinks into real sleep. The cycle here is shorter, rarely lasting more than five minutes, and in this phase the body is completely relaxed, the ears are stretched out, and the tail is immobile. However, it can happen, when the cat dreams, that the legs suddenly move in rapid jerks and that the muzzle curls up in a kind of smile or rapid breathing, showing part of the teeth. Nobody knows exactly what cats dream about: the rapid movements of the paws make us imagine a hunting scene, but as far as we know our kitty could dream of anything else. We only know that it is in this short phase that the cat actually rests and, as it were, recharges.
the big predators
The fact is that the time spent sleeping seems decidedly excessive. Even the wild cat, ancestor and first cousin of our domestic cat, spends very long hours of the day in a state of semi-sleep or deep sleep. The structural reason, so to speak, is that predation requires an enormous amount of energy, physically and mentally, which the cat has to recover. Stalking, running, jumping, climbing, and most of all, frantically concentrating on the business -with that expression of "high" that we have all seen when spotting a prey, it does not matter if it is a rat or a cork- it produces strong adrenaline surges and a great dissipation of energy.
If you don't burn, you get fat
What happens if the cat does not hunt and does not play, or does it very rarely, as in fact apartment cats very often do, especially if they live alone? The answer is simple and known to all: the cat that continues to accumulate energy in a prolonged rest that it cannot then consume in predation or play, it just gets fat, more or less like us, after all. Here we find a fundamental difference with respect to dogs, which are also excellent sleepers. The dog needs to discharge the accumulated energy, I can't help it. Walking the city dog - ideally a couple of outings a day for an hour each - is not used to relieve himself, as some humans in a hurry still think, but to consume energy. If they are not allowed, excess energy turns into malaise, aggression, and nervousness.
Cats, on the other hand, do not have this need. If they are not stimulated, by the outside environment or by another cat or by a human, they continue to accumulate energy that eventually turns into fat. Nothing tragic, mind you: an overweight cat can experience even serious disorders with age, but within certain limits, like an overweight human being, it leads a normal life. But it's good to know, and without too much effort on our part, it's possible to fix it. It is enough to give them a ball or a self-propelled mouse, much more effective (and much more fun for the cat) than a diet.
The sleep cycle in cats
During sleep, cats alternate between light and deep sleep. Most of your sleep is light, around 70%. These are short naps known as "cat naps," and they can be taken half lying down with their ears up to respond to cues and wake them up quickly. In fact, cats, in addition to being predators, are prey to other animals, so their nature makes them alert to possible dangers.
After about thirty minutes of light sleep, they enter the deep sleep phase known as sleep REM, which occupies the remaining percentage of total sleep, and although their body is completely relaxed, cats have semi-conscious dreams, just like people. This is because they keep their senses alert and brain activity similar to when they are awake, so they can quickly move their eyes, legs, ears, and can even vocalize and change posture.
Thus, a day of an adult cat can be divided into 7 hours awake and 17 hours of sleep, of which 12 hours are of light sleep and 5 hours of deep sleep.
Sleep disturbance in cats: causes and prevention
There are several factors that can affect your cat's sleep. These are the most frequent:
Temperature
Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, disturb the cat's sleep, significantly increasing the time for this activity. If your cat lives indoors, it is a good idea to maintain a suitable room temperature that does not disturb the kitten's sleep, and if it is very cold, provide you with blankets or warmer places to sleep, this will also help prevent some respiratory diseases. These attentions are particularly important for hairless kittens, like the Sphynx for example.
Management
Cats are experts at hide your pain, so it is very important to watch for changes in sleep patterns, as they could indicate that something is wrong. If your cat sleeps too much or is lethargic, it is best to go to the vet to rule out health problems. It is also convenient to switch to a diet low in protein and high in essential amino acids. You may suffer from neurological diseases that affect the central nervous system, sensory deficits, abdominal or intestinal, liver or kidney diseases, cardiovascular diseases or blood disorders such as anemia. Often, increased sleepiness is accompanied by anorexia and poor cat hygiene.
On the other hand, if he sleeps less and has more energy, hunger and thirst than before, an endocrine problem typical of older cats can be suspected, it could be hyperthyroidism.
Boredom
When cats spend most of the day alone and do not have the company of other animals or their humans, they get bored., are depressed most of the day and if they don't find a better activity, they fall asleep. That is why it is essential to spend time with the kitten, it will improve his mood and his health.
Heat
At this time the cats are more active due to the action of the hormones and they sleep less because they spend most of the day getting the attention of the males, even at home. Males also decrease sleep hours because they are looking for female cats and because they are dedicated to marking their territory or fighting with other cats.
Stress
Stress affects cats a lot. It can cause health problems (such as anorexia or feline idiopathic cystitis), behavioral changes and changes in sleep habits, showing an increase or decrease in sleep hours.
Many of these situations can be avoid or improve, so it is important"listen to your cat”, that is, to observe changes in sleep behavior, grooming, if he meows more or less, if he hides or an increase in aggressiveness. By noticing small changes in their behavior, we can quickly perceive that something is wrong and we can cure it. In these cases, the ideal would be to take it to the vet, who will make a correct diagnosis and apply the appropriate treatment depending on the triggering cause.