How Many Hours Do Cats Sleep Each Day?

Does it seem like your cat spends most of the day asleep? In truth, cats do sleep a lot. Have you ever wondered how many hours cats actually sleep each day? Here’s some interesting information about your cat’s sleeping patterns.

Hours Slept Per Day

On average, cats sleep about 15 hours during each 24-hour period. Some cats may sleep up to 20 hours. The weather can also affect your cat’s sleeping patterns – cats tend to sleep more on quiet, rainy days.

Why Cats Sleep So Much

Your cat needs sleep for a number of reasons. When cats hunt in the wild, they need a lot of energy to stalk and pounce on prey. Cats rely on sudden bursts of speed to catch their prey, and that burst of speed requires plenty of energy from the cat. By sleeping during the day, your cat is actually conserving his energy for nighttime hunts. Although your cat is domesticated, the impulse to sleep for long hours during the day is an instinct which remains in your cat. After your cat’s nightly hunting, he knows that it’s time to curl up and go to sleep to replenish his energy and get ready for tomorrow night’s hunt.

Cats’ Sleeping Patterns

Just because your cat appears to be asleep doesn’t mean that he’s in the deep sleep stage of REM. Cats often doze lightly, leaving them ready to react to noises, threats, or changes in their environment. During this light sleep stage your cat may have one eye slightly opened. Cats often perform this light sleep while they’re in a semi-crouched position – this is advantageous because it’s easy for them to jump up quickly if they need to. Cats also enter deep sleep, which is a truly restful sleep. When your cat is deep asleep, his eyes will be fully closed and he may cover his face with his paw. When in deep sleep, cats are often curled up on their sides. During deep sleep, your cat may dream, and you may see his paws, tail, nose, and ears flickering in his dream.

When Sleep Indicates a Problem

As you get to know your cat, you’ll get used to his sleeping patterns. If you ever notice that your cat is suddenly sleeping much more or much less than he normally does, this could indicate a physical issue. Take your cat to the vet to have his health checked out.

When your cat sleeps many hours each day, it doesn’t mean that he is lazy. Cats are built to require lots of sleep, and your cat is just fulfilling his natural instinct to get plenty of rest.