Cats are the best at ignoring us – and us cat lovers are very much okay with them having their alone time.
Most of the time they’re not begrudgingly letting us pet them or out stalking prey (leaves and small sticks) they’re asleep.
Give a cat somewhere soft to sit and they’ll be out like a light.
In fact, in true cat fashion, they’ll even fall asleep on your open laptop, newspaper, or your head.
On average, cats sleep around 15 hours a day. That’s a lot, even to the laziest teenagers reading this.
The idea behind this is because they’re historically predatory animals. Running around after prey took up a lot of energy, which meant they had to conserve it the rest of the time. Regardless of whether your moggy is a lazy little thing, it’s still hard-wired to act as though it’s king or queen of the jungle.
Because their brains are supposed to become more active at night (as they evolved from hunters who’d do so after dark) they’re typically the most tired in the day. This is called being crepuscular.
Cat sleep patterns are different to ours. They experience cycles of up to half an hour of light sleep, followed by about five minutes of deep sleep, and back to light sleep again. This allows them to keep aware of any predators by never falling in to too deep a slumber, and has stayed despite cats evolving into domestic creatures.
Kittens and older cats will normally sleep longer than adults, but as any kitten owner knows, kittens will be way more active when they are awake.
Your cat is also likely to sleep more depending on its breed, temperament, and health. Some cats just love curling in front of the fire all day, while others are more than happy to be pestered for attention by us.
As well as this, cats can feel more sleepy if it’s cold outside – even if they normally stay indoors.
They’ll even adjust their sleeping schedules so they can spend time with you or to make sure they’re always ready for feeding time.
If your cat starts to sleep much more or much less, it could be a sign that something is wrong. If it’s an ongoing problem, take your cat to the vet to check for any pain they might be experiencing, or perhaps test for hyperthyroidism.
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