What determines the norm, and should you worry if your pet sleeps longer than usual?
How Much Do Cats Sleep Normally
Sleep duration largely depends on the pet’s age
Cats are predators that prefer to hunt and stay active during nighttime, which is why they mostly rest and regain strength during the day. Tiny kittens sleep the longest. In their first week of life, they can sleep around the clock, while adult cats aged one year and older spend an average of 13 hours a day sleeping.
Sleep duration generally depends heavily on the pet’s age. Do you know how to calculate it?
- Newborn kittens in their first week sleep up to 23 hours.
- Kittens up to one month like to sleep 19–21 hours.
- Two-month-old kittens spend 18–20 hours sleeping.
- Young cats from three to four months sleep 16–18 hours.
- Cats aged five to six months prefer to spend 15–17 hours a day sleeping.
- Cats from one-year-old sleep 12–15 hours per day.
- Cats older than eight years sleep 14–18 hours.
- Elderly cats over 12 years sleep at least 20 hours per day.
What Affects a Cat’s Sleep Duration
Cats are heat-loving animals, so they instinctively look for warmer places to sleep, such as near radiators
Besides age, there are other factors. Here’s what else affects sleep duration:
- Weather outside and indoor temperature. Cats are heat-loving animals, so they instinctively look for warmer places to sleep, such as near radiators.
- Eating behavior — overeating and excess weight cause drowsiness.
- Hunger — a hungry cat becomes irritable, making it very difficult to fall asleep.
- Sexual drive — reproductive instincts often lead to sleep disturbances.
- Stressful situations and states of illness can disrupt biological clocks. This leads to the animal’s sleep becoming interrupted.
- Physical activity — the more a cat plays and runs, the more soundly it sleeps.
It’s important to play with your cat more during the day to help it expend its energy maximally. This will ensure healthy, sound sleep for your pet.
What to Do if Your Cat Constantly Sleeps
Sometimes sleep is disturbed due to vitamin deficiency, anemia, cardiovascular system problems, diabetes, or infectious diseases
If your house cat sleeps a lot due to boredom, there’s nothing to worry about. Pregnant cats also sleep longer than usual. During the post-operative period, for example after castration or sterilization, animals also prefer to nap frequently.
But sometimes sleep is disturbed due to vitamin deficiency, anemia, cardiovascular system problems, diabetes, or infectious disease. Consulting with a veterinarian will help determine the exact cause.
How Cats Sleep: Interesting Facts
Cats sleep at their owners’ feet because, according to the pet, it’s warmer and cozier there
Why Does a Cat Sleep in Clothes
It’s very simple — cats gladly make themselves a cozy bed on soft and warm clothes that smell like their owner. And this smell is associated with safety and comfort.
Cats also love to lie on clean clothes. This way they leave their scent on them, which tells other animals that the human is already taken.
Why Does a Cat Sleep at Your Feet
Cats sleep at feet for several reasons:
First — this is how cats show their sympathy and care. The pet rubs against the owner, leaving its scent, which repels other animals.
Second reason — cats sleep at feet because there, in the pet’s opinion, it’s warmer and cozier. This way they’ll be petted and caressed.
Finally, the third reason is safety. At the end of the bed, the cat can keep everything under control and quickly react to possible threats.
Why Does a Cat Twitch in Sleep
During sleep, cats sequentially go through two phases: slow and rapid. The initial stage is falling into sleep. Then follows the rapid sleep phase, characterized by body relaxation, while brain activity remains active. During this period, you may observe eye movements, whisker (vibrissae) or paw twitching.
Kittens twitch most often in their sleep — due to the large amount of new impressions and discoveries received daily. Kittens’ brains actively process information even during sleep, which can cause muscle twitches. Until the age of one and a half years, they are considered physiologically normal and shouldn’t cause concern.
But it’s important to distinguish between harmless twitches and seizures in the form of cramped limbs, convulsions, and sudden paw jerks in your pet. In such cases, you should consult a veterinarian.
Cat Sleeping Positions
- If a cat hides its nose in its tail or covers it with a paw during sleep, it’s believed that the weather will soon turn cold.
- If a cat sleeps curled up in a ball, it feels calm and comfortable.
- When a cat sleeps on its back with paws spread out, it completely trusts its owner.
- Conversely, when a cat lies on its belly with paws and tail pressed to the body, it’s ready for immediate action: flight, attack, or defense.
- A cat covering its face with paws or crawling under a blanket demonstrates a clear desire for privacy.
- The rubber-like pose — when a cat sleeps in the most peculiar positions, only means that the pet is feeling good. There’s nothing wrong with unusual poses, as cats are naturally flexible.
