How Many Hours A Day Do Cats Sleep? When Should You Worry?

Understanding how much sleep your cat needs is easy. We bring you all the details to analyze this.

Cats have obtained the ability to sleep for long periods daily. Cats need to save their energy to hunt, chase and kill their food; we need to know that it is normal for cats to sleep. If you notice your cat is always sleeping, to be precise, after 16 hrs, you should start worrying about it.

We need to understand cats are one of the most fascinating animals in the animal kingdom. Cats we domesticated in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is thought that cat domestication originated in ancient Egypt, as since around 3100 BC, cats were adored in ancient Egypt.

Cats sleep a lot. They are also very normal pets, as they do not require the same attention as dogs need. We know you will not need to worry about taking them out on walks as they cannot use their energy.

Cats are very lazy, to put it in more simplistic terms. Since domestic cats need to save energy on excessive activities, they are unlikely to hunt. They sleep a lot, more than 60% of the day, but you should not be worried about that. It is usual for your feline best friend to sleep during the entire day – that’s how they are.

How long does a Cat live?

The feline life expectancy is reasonable. The average amount of years in a cat’s life is 10 to 15 years. But vet uses different methods to get this number, one of them being the following:

Cats who are most of the time out of the house tend to survive to be about seven years old. In comparison, home cats live up to around 14 years.

All the numbers may seem low, but the number represents an average of well-cared-for kittens; against kittens with tragic death or unexpected death. Like kittens who die early from disease or accidents, they are counted according to the standard shown.

The actual hours that your cat needs to sleep will change as they grow up:

Kittens will sleep most of the day, with a few moments of energy between meals.
Teenager cats may have irregular sleep patterns combined with periods of intense playfulness.
Adult cats have sleeping schedules that average out at about 12 – 20 hours of sleep each day.
Old cats will have less energy, and therefore, they will sleep and spend less time awake.

You will find that your cat will develop a more consistent sleeping pattern once it becomes an older cat. For example, you may notice that our cats usually are awake during the morning, do their routine, eat and walk around the house, and then go back to sleep. At the same time, you get on with your busy day.

Is My Cat Sleeping?

Cats sleep profoundly but not all the time. Same as people, cats are just sleeping every 30 minutes. When cats are sleeping lightly, they get the rest they require, but they’re still alert. When your cat is napping, you will notice their eyes be slightly open or that their ears still twitch and rotate towards noises.

When Should I Be Disturbed?

A set amount of sleep does not exist to identify a health problem or an emergency; instead, it’s about knowing your cat’s sleep patterns and recognizing when it changes.

If your cat starts to sleep much more or a lot less than usual time, we might have a health problem. We suggest talking to your vet. Cats who experience pain tend to sleep more than usual. The other side of it is if your cat starts cutting sleeping time than expected. They may be under different conditions, such as disrupted sleep.

What Makes Cats Sleepy All The Time?

To understand our feline friends’ sleeping routine, we must first understand that cats are crepuscular. Not nocturnal, crepuscular means that cats are most active from the twilight hours of dawn and dusk.

Felines are also quite friendly animals, and their behavior is malleable. Meaning a cat may change their sleeping habits so they can spend more time with their loved ones.

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The Catnap

There is no definition of a catnap, and there’s no strict limit on how long they last. Adults may take a power nap for 10 minutes or so at work, and preschoolers may rest for a more extended period.

Humans also have a catnap similar to what the cats have; we can say we’re identical.

The cats’ catnap is a little sleep. You might hear that cats sleep “with one eye open.” It is not just a form of expression. It is true due to these “Power Naps.”

While most of a cat’s sleep is dozing in and out or taking naps, they enter more profound dreams. Cats’ sleeping cycles are about an average of five minutes. We could quickly identify this as a repetitive cycle that goes on and on every day.

Don’t be too alarmed if your home kitty tends to sleep more. Their area for hunting is not as open as a cat that spends the majority of the time outside. For a domestic cat, the hunt area pretty much does not exist because ask yourself what a cat hunt could do inside of your house?

Cat Snoozing Concerns

When should you be scared if your cat naps too much?

Cats can only be approached on a cat-by-cat basis, regardless of breed. As a cat owner, you’re the best judge of what abnormal behavior is. For instance, if your cat likes their breakfast in the early morning, say 8 a.m. Still, if they start eating later, or worse, not at all, it may be time to contact your vet.

Maybe the primary reason cats sleep that much is much simpler than what you think. The answer is because they can do it without a problem or consequences.

Cats are one of the animals at the top of the food chain. As natural predators, they need to be always ready to hunt at any given moment. So stockpiling their energy is essential. It’s even more critical for wild cats. The typical cat in the wild may expend as much energy reserves on a hunt and will need to rest up after all this effort doing the things they like the most, instinctual “hunting.” The energy saved for a domestic can be as taking a high jump from the floor to the couch.

Like other wild species of animals with a particular task, the energy spent can lead to their physical effort to maintain their daily grind. So even if it is hunting in the wild or backyard, cats will always be ready with high reaction speed to chase their game.

Scientists have found that REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is an essential part of dreaming and takes place in most mammals. Humans have five sleep stages (1-5). Cats only have two (REM and non-REM). Cats spend so much time napping that there is a high probability that in the middle of a dream performing some minor movements but not waken up. You can call it a power save mode.

Cats’ behavior, while they sleep, may sound like a tractor during a regular day of work. We need to point out that cats do snore. If we have a cat, you may already know this because we are 100% sure you have not been able to sleep because of your cat’s snoring.

If you hear your cat snoring, it means your cat is way beyond relaxed and should be seen as a good sign as it means your cat is very comfortable.

I’ve concluded that cats really couldn’t care less about anything as long as they have a nice place to sleep and get regularly fed. Now that you have more details about cats, we want to give you a bonus if you love our feline friends.

Should you allow your pet to snuggle up with you in bed? Yes, the answer is that you might want to reconsider sleeping with it if you are not already doing it.

Studies show that people who sleep with their pets can rest more, and it helps to relieve stress and provide more feelings of secureness.

Pets in the bedroom may offer a sense of security and relaxation.
Having a guest in bed with you also reduces stress as well as brings warmth and comfort.

Conclusion

If you’re a feline owner, you will no doubt have woken up at some point to find a cat nuzzling up to you or sitting on your belly or head! So you may be curious to know why your cat loves sleeping with you.

As a result of your new knowledge, you will have a better understanding of your feline best friend and the responsibility that goes along with taking care of them.