Content
- How many hours does a cat sleep?
- How many hours does an adult cat sleep?
- What about old cats?
- Why do cats sleep a lot?
- Cats sleep - phases of feline sleep
If you're jealous of the amount of hours your cat spends sleeping, don't worry, you're not the only one! Whether in his bed, on a sofa, in the sun, on top of his computer and in the strangest and most surprising places, sometimes even very uncomfortable looking, the cat is an expert when it comes to selecting the ideal place to take a nap, investing a large part of his time in it.
As incredible as it sounds, the cat's body needs all that rest for it to be healthy. Are you curious to know how many of your cats sleep? Then don't miss this PeritoAnimal article where we explain to you how many hours does a cat sleep a day.
How many hours does a cat sleep?
If you ever had a litter of newborn kittens at home, you know that they spend many hours sleeping, which can cause some doubts in human "daddies". Anyway, if the kittens wake up to eat and are washed by their mommy, you don't have to worry about a thing.
You've probably wondered how many hours a kitten sleeps. During the first few days of life, until around 4 or 5 weeks, feline puppies sleep 90% of the day, which does around 20 hours of sleep a day. Is all this rest time necessary? The reality is that, while the kittens sleep, a hormone is released. stimulates growth.For this reason, all these hours of sleep contribute to a good development of the puppy in the stipulated period. That's why the kittens sleep a lot.
Although they are sleeping, the kittens are not completely inactive. It is quite common to see them move their paws during their deep sleep, stretching their still helpless claws and shaking their bodies. While they are puppies, these are the movements necessary for them to get enough exercise to develop without problems.
After fifth week of life, puppies drastically reduce the number of hours of sleep, spending about 65% of the time sleeping. You will notice that during the time they are awake, they start playing in addition to feeding. Kittens are very curious and play a lot of mischief!
How many hours does an adult cat sleep?
After the fifth week of life and before reaching one year of age, puppies sleep 65% of their time, as we have already told you. When arriving at adult age, the average number of hours spent sleeping per day increases again, spending about 70 to 75% of the time sleeping. That is, they pass around 15 to 16 hours a day sleeping. It is around one year of age that cats reach adulthood, although in some breeds it may take longer.
Although they need long periods of rest, adult cats do not get 16 hours of sleep all at once. You've definitely noticed that kittens do many naps throughout the day, in different spaces of the house where they feel comfortable. In addition to several naps, the cat goes through deep sleep stages once or twice a day.
What about old cats?
"Old age" and feline old age occur with slight differences according to races. In general, we consider the cat to be old when over twelve years old. You probably won't notice any difference in the cat's outward appearance, but little by little his habits become more sedentary and his personality calmer. Only in very old cats (around 15 to 18 years of age) or very sick, visible physical deterioration is observed.
Older cats decrease physical activity and proportionally increase the number of hours of sleep. Older cats sleep considerably longer, occupying about 80 to 90% of their day, that is, from 18 to 20 hours, very similar to when they were puppies.
Why do cats sleep a lot?
There is no unanimous agreement on why cats spend so many hours sleeping. Some studies indicate that cats have the luxury of sleeping so much, even in the wild, because they are good hunters and they get their food much faster than other species can. In winter, they sleep even more hours so they lose less amount of body heat. It is also for this reason that they look for the warmest places to rest (such as their computer).
Other reasons why a cat sleeps too long may be because he is bored or spends too much time alone. While you're not home, your feline takes a nap. If when you get home, your cat still has a very sleepy attitude, consider play with him more. Of course, you should never interrupt his natural sleep, as this can cause behavior and stress problems. If you have another pet at home, they can have fun together when you're not there, which is very beneficial in balancing the hours of physical activity and the hours of sleep.
Many people believe that cats are strictly nocturnal animals and therefore sleep during the day. In fact, the cat also sleeps through the night!
Cats sleep - phases of feline sleep
As we've already told you, cats' sleep is divided into a series of naps and a stage of deep sleep. Naps are usually quick, the cat remains relaxed but at the same time is alert to everything that happens around him, so he wakes up very easily. If there's nothing to wake him up, he continues with his sleep, goes into REM sleep or deep sleep, during which you can watch his extremities move. Also through closed eyelids you can observe eye movements. Sometimes we can also watch their noses moving to smell better as if they were awake to sniff their favorite food. It was these movements that allowed us to conclude that cats are capable of dreaming and perceiving stimuli that come from outside.
As you can see, the cat sleeping for hours is perfectly normal. It will only be a sign of concern if the cat sleeps too much, doesn't get up at all to eat, drink, take care of her needs and/or play with you.
