How Many Hours Does Your Cat Sleep?
These animals are the envy of many people. In addition to eating, doing physiological needs, hydrating and eventually playing, most of the time they are in Morpheus’ arms. So how many hours does your cat sleep?
It doesn’t matter the place, the time or the season. Rain or shine. Whether they are hot, cold, hungry or bored. For cats, any reason seems to be valid for lying down, taking a nap, or falling deeply asleep.
Your cat sleeps 16 hours a day on average
The cases of first-time owners who go to the vet worried because their cats spend the whole day sleeping are more frequent than you think. This still happens, despite the kittens’ reputation for sleepers.
Why does your cat sleep so long?
Some experts say this is one of the main characteristics of felines in general. Thanks to their excellent hunting skills, finding a quality food source that provides all the necessary nutrients doesn’t take long for these animals.
Once the hunger is satisfied, they can relax for long periods before they have the need to hunt again. This time between meals is used for sleeping.
This is a phenomenon that is not repeated in other species, which take much longer to hunt their prey.
Kittens as puppies are adorable and sleep even longer. As teenagers, they are hyperactive. During the first few days of life, cats sleep an average of 20 hours a day.
This time is not only normal, but necessary. The hormones that influence the cat’s growth process act while your furry little one sleeps. The more hours of sleep the animal has, the more complete its development will be.
Furthermore, this is believed to be another “tradition” inherited from their wild relatives. Feline mothers need to go hunting to feed their offspring, leaving their young alone in the nest. So that the chicks are not exposed to danger, nature has designed a system that “puts them to sleep” throughout the day.
the puppies grow
When domestic cats are over 5 weeks old, they don’t nap as much. When they complete one year of life, the “teenage” period is the period of greater activity and less sleep.
On average, small cats sleep 60% of the time every day, between 12 and 13 hours in total. In addition to having a lot of energy and all physical abilities at the maximum level, insatiable curiosity drives them to be even more active.
When they reach adulthood, the number of hours your cat sleeps can be between 16 and 17 every day, which corresponds to 70 and 75% of the total time of day.
If they spend the day alone at home, it is very likely that they spend all their time sleeping. It’s no wonder owners find their pets sleeping when they get home from work, on the same couch they left them on before leaving.
During the winter, they can rest a little longer to make better use of their energies. They also recover body temperature.
As they get older, they return to the routine of when they were puppies, sleeping up to 20 hours a day.
Naps every five minutes
Where, when and how your cat sleeps is a very curious thing to see. It is true that these animals always look for the warmest corner in winter and the coolest in summer. However, they often choose the strangest places to take a nap. It can be inside a washing machine or a pot, a tire and even inside a car engine…
The positions in which they stay to accommodate themselves in the most unexpected places are also very impressive. Their flexibility and adaptability is the envy of even contortionists.
Sleeping hours are not continuous, not even divided into two or three groups. Every time they get the chance, the cats take a nap. They can even sleep sitting at the bathroom door while waiting for their owners to take a shower or get ready to go out.
These short naps account for about 70% of your cat’s sleep hours per day. They sleep very lightly, wake up very easily and without turbulence.
The other 30% are a deep sleep phase, in which they may experience involuntary body and eye movements. In some cases, they even meow.
Cats, although they sleep soundly, remain alert and should not be disturbed.
