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.
