Elegant, quick-witted and… sleepyheads! Yes, cats sleep a lot! And they apparently dream, just like we do. The image often portrayed of cats stretched out in the sun or curled up in front of a fire is not just a cliché.
Dr Maria Grazia Calore, a veterinary surgeon, and expert in pet behaviour explains why sleep is so important to our cats.
Between sleep and wakefulness
It is perfectly justifiable to feel more than a little envious of cats that sleep between
10 and 18 hours a day. However, as with people, you can either have your diehard couch potato cats or energetic, sporty cats. Needless to say, cats that are more stimulated (those that can go outside or have places or activities dedicated to their needs) tend to sleep less than others.But how are the hours and hours of sweet sleep that our domestic felines enjoy spent? It is known that cats have stages of sleep just like humans. In fact, the stages alternate between of episodes of light sleep, phases of heavy sleep lasting about 20 minutes, followed by periods of
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which lasts around five minutes.REM sleep is the stage of sleep in which
cats - like humans – dream: when their eyes move rapidly behind closed eyelids, and their ears, whiskers, paws and tails twitch vigorously as they act out their dreams.Thanks to tests using an
electroencephalogram, we know that cats tend to have a lighter sleep during the day. This semi alert state mirrors the sleeping habits of the domestic cat's wild cousins, where the cat is not only a predator but also a potential prey, and to survive it must be on alert in case of danger.
What do they dream about?
For humans, REM sleep is thought to help the brain reorder by setting experiences to memory. It is therefore fair to assume that cats also relive their daily activities – such as hunting, playing, grooming and social interactions – in their dreams. And as man has to cope with the occasional nightmare, so too do our cats; their dreams likely peppered by imaginings of fight or flight situations, which often elicit inadvertent growls or mewing from their tiny mouths.For cats,
REM sleep is essential and if interrupted, can have severe repercussions. In fact, studies on sleep deprivation in humans and other animals confirm that lack of sleep can affect several essential behaviours, such as attention, cognitive abilities and moods.So the moral of today's story is: “Let sleeping dogs lie" – that is, don't wake up dogs, cats or humans when they are sleeping because for each, it would be a spiteful and possibly dangerous thing to do.
The oldest dog in the world may be Maggie, a docile Australian Kelpie. The conditional ‘may' is a must in this case because, although the quadruped has an estimated age...
‘ Animals are not things: we should treat them with respect'; we say this to our children nowadays, to teach them to be considerate of all living things. We believe in...
The life of someone who spends time with a dog can be the polar opposite of one spent with a cat: the feline, often unfairly accused of being an opportunist, is a...
The run up to Christmas is one the most favourite times of the year for many of us. What is not to like when it comes to decorating your house with Christmas lights and...
Travelling is a great way to relax and unwind for us humans. But it can be stressful figuring out if our four-legged friends can join in on the fun. If you're not sure...
Do dogs dream just like cats? Where do they like to sleep and how much sleep does our four-legged friend really need? Before answering these and other questions with the...
Dogs and storms: some dog lovers consider the combination a nightmare to manage while cat owners usually have less of an issue. But how can we help our four-legged...
How long do cats and dogs live? The answer is not set in stone but can be estimated using past studies that also reveal really important evidence, our pets now live...
.svg){kind=logo}
