Why does my cat sleep so much ?

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We, grown-up cats, sleep on average 16 hours a day. It represents two thirds of our life ! Old cats sleep even more.

Phases of deep sleep (20 in 30 minutes) represent 9 at 12 hours of sleep time. They alternate with phases of REM sleep (the time of dreams).

During the deep sleep, we’re completely relaxed ; our eyelids are closed, and our breath slows down.

During the REM sleep, we also sleep, but our eyes, our tail, our paws, and our whiskers can stir.

Our habits of sleep come to us from our wild ancestors, who had to go hunting to feed. These habits are vital for cats which have to manage all alone even today.

We sleep to recover and save our energy between our meals, because the hunting represents an enormous and exhausting energy expenditure. The deep sleep contributes to our good general health. It’s important to respect our sleep.

A sudden modification of our time of usual sleep is the sign of a health problem ; quickly contact the veterinarian.

Pixie257

21 thoughts on “Why does my cat sleep so much ?

  1. Mariodacat

    Very interesting and informative.. We did not know that a change in sleep patterns meant health Problems. I love that precious kitty sleeping under a blanket. You are so beautiful.t

  2. Hannah and Lucy

    We love to stay in bed when it’s raining hard but it’s ok today as it’s quite light so Mum will fetch it in the car! Mum always smiles at us when we are having dreams!!
    Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

  3. da tabbies o trout towne

    pixie & zorro, thanx for de fun fax bout sleep post !!! we all sew wanted ta say that we

    ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZzZzzzzzZzzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzz

    ♥♥♥♥♥

  4. Mark's Mews

    Yeah, since we generally all sleep around TBT at night, he sometimes wakes up and watches us in the paw-moving sleep part. He says SOME DAY he is gonna get that on his old flip video camera.

  5. Cathy Keisha

    I can tell you why I sleep all day. COS TW WON’T PLAY WITH ME!! I used to not sleep at all except when she was sleeping but now I’m sooooo bored. That’s why I sleep. I’m bored outta my skull.

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