Why do cats sleep for so long?

Apr 08,2024
4Min

Heredity, cats once lived in the jungle. They need to rest to save and restore their abilities. Sleeping is the best choice. This characteristic is retained in their genes and passed down from generation to generation; reducing energy consumption; depth Sleep is short and they spend more time just napping; climate change; growth and development.

Heredity

Let’s first understand the habits of cats. Cats once lived in the jungle. They had to hunt hard for several hours to catch prey, and this would consume a lot of their energy.

So they need to rest to conserve and restore their abilities, and sleep is the best choice. This trait is retained in their genes and passed down from generation to generation. This is also the genetic reason why cats sleep more than 15 hours a day.

Reduce energy consumption

Cats are predators at heart. Predators must run behind their prey, which consumes a lot of energy. Added to this are the fruitless situations in which prey escape from their pursuit. It would obviously be irrational for you to consume more energy.

Rodents such as mice are also active at night, so they must sleep during the day to reduce energy consumption and be fully prepared for the second hunt.

Here is a little bit of science. If you have ever raised a cat, you may find that cats particularly like to play some "hide-and-seek" games with you or suddenly jump in front of you out of nowhere. This is because their bodies There’s this winding gene for hunting down prey.

Short deep sleep time

If your sleep quality is poor, you will definitely feel like you never get enough sleep. The same is true for cats. Even though cats sleep up to 20 hours a day, their deep sleep only lasts 10-15 minutes. Most of the time they are just napping, so how to tell whether a cat is napping or really sleeping?

We only need to open its eyelids with our hands. If its eyes are open, it proves that it is just napping, not really sleeping. If it rolls its eyes at night or blocks its eyes with its paws, it means it is really sleeping.

Why does this happen? Because cats are very sensitive to things around them. While napping, they can rest and be aware of what is happening around them so they can take immediate action.

Climate Change

There is a saying called "Spring is sleepy, autumn is tired, and summer takes a nap." This sentence also applies to cats.. Cats are very sensitive to the cold, so they sleep longer when the weather is cold. And humid weather such as rainy days can also make cats feel sleepy.

Of course, the behavioral characteristics of different breeds of cats are also different. Some breeds sleep longer, while others sleep shorter, but climate change also has the same impact on them.

Growth and development

Adult cats sleep most of the time for 15-16 hours a day, while kittens sleep for 20 hours. This is because when kittens sleep, their bodies secrete a large amount of hormones that help with growth, so if you find that kittens sleep longer than adults, don’t worry, they are growing and developing.

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