Most people spend their days in constant motion, whether at work or taking care of the kids. But, cats generally have the luxury of napping their days away – waking for breakfast, taking a nap, having a treat, enjoying another snooze, waking up for a bit, and the cycle continues.
It might seem, in fact, that your cat is always asleep. If you wonder why your cat is always sleeping, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that, in reality, cats sleep a whopping 16 hours out of every day. That leaves them only eight hours for eating, playing, and getting in their cuddles with their family.
And, it means they spend nearly two thirds of their lives in blissful sleep.
While one cannot begrudge a cat of her necessary sleep, have you ever wondered why cats sleep so much?
Let’s consider.
Cats are nocturnal
Cats, like many other pets including hamsters and rabbits, thrive between dusk and dawn when you’re most likely asleep. Because they are natural predators, cats are nocturnal and, if they lived outdoors, it is the time they would hunt their prey. All that sleep during the other 16 hours of the day allows them to be rested for the hunt.
However, cats often have the ability to adjust to their family’s schedule and may change their sleep schedule to be awake when family members are awake.
Cats sleep in smaller bursts
Most of us go to bed and sleep for a stretch of up to eight hours or more a night. Cats, however, sleep in smaller segments of time – usually between 15 and 30 minutes. Their deep sleep only lasts about five minutes and the rest of the time they just fall into a light sleep.
Age and weather matter
Cats are much like humans in that kittens and older cats tend to need more sleep and sleep more during the day. In fact, older cats may sleep as many as 20 hours a day, leaving precious little time to spend with you.
And, if you notice your cat – no matter how young or how old – is napping even more than usual, look out the window. Is it raining? Dreary? Rainy and dreary weather, and even the heat, also tend to result in a cat sleeping more – much like it does with humans.
