Why do cats sleep so much?

Anyone who lives with a cat knows that they sleep a lot. It looks like they can fall asleep everywhere in the funniest positions.

Cats can sleep as much as 16 hours a day and when they are older, they can rest for as much as 20 hours a day.

In the wild, cats have to hunt to eat and this burns a lot of energy. Sleeping helps cats conserve energy between meals and is a result of the cat’s evolution.

Three-quarters of cat´s sleeping time is not spent in a deep sleep. This light sleep allows them to rest but still react to anything noticeable in their environment. In this kind of sleep, they will twitch and turn their ears towards noises and have their eyes a little bit open.

The remaining time of cats’ sleep is spent in a deep sleep.

Older cats can spend as much as 30 or 40% of their day in this kind of sleep. Usually, they are curled up, with their eyes closed and sometimes they even put their tail over their face. Sometimes cats dream when they are in deep sleep if they do you can see their paws and whiskers twitching.

Some cats can also snore when they are relaxed and their airways get obstructed by their soft palate extra skin. This is more likely to occur in breeds that have flat noses.

If your cat sleeps too little or too much, this can indicate a problem and you should talk to your veterinarian. Too much sleep can be a sign of pain or illness while excessive awaken time can be a sign of hormonal problems such as hyperthyroidism.