Why Cats Sleep So Much

We sometimes find ourselves looking for our cats, and more often than not, they’re asleep. We at 5-Minute Crafts have discovered why it is that they sleep so much, and we would like to share the possible reasons with you.

Cats are predators.

Cats are designed to hunt for their food. In the wild, after they do this, it’s important for them to conserve their energy. At home, even though they’re not actively hunting anything, when cats are playing with their toys or chasing mice, they use the same energy-consuming techniques they would in the wild, for example pouncing, climbing, and so on.

Their adrenaline levels stay high while they’re alert. This is because they need to keep their body fueled while hunting. When cats are done with all of this, they have consumed too much energy and need to sleep to recover from it.

Cats are awake during the night.

Cats are crepuscular, which means your cat will often be active at night or at dawn. You’ll find them running around in circles at times, spending all the energy they’ve conserved by sleeping throughout the day. Their routine usually doesn’t differ from this, whether they’re a kitten or an adult cat.

Cats have different types of sleep.

Cats have light periods of sleep and deep periods of sleep. When they’re only lightly sleeping, they can wake up and be active in a heartbeat. You’ll notice their ears will still be erect and responding to the sounds around them. Sometimes one of their eyes might even be half-open.

In deeper periods of sleep, however, your cat will be much more relaxed. They may even twitch and move their paws while in a deep sleep.

Their sleeping needs change with age.

Kittens will often sleep throughout most of the day (24 hours) and might have small bursts of energy in between their meals. It’s a bit different for teen cats though, their sleep patterns will be irregular and they’ll play a lot between periods of sleep. Still, they calm down when they become adults and their sleep patterns will settle. This means they’ll usually sleep 16 hours a day.

Older, senior cats have less energy and won’t move as well as they used to, which means they’ll also end up sleeping more, almost like kittens.

Cats are affected by weather.

Just like us, cats are affected by the weather. Whether they’re outdoor or indoor cats, chances are, if there’s a rainy or cold day outside, your cat will want to sleep more.