Ah, sleep. Who doesn’t spend at least half their day wishing they were in bed? No angry bosses, no rude customers. Just the sweet, gentle peace of unconsciousness. It’s no wonder, then, that cats hold all the fame for clocking in the most hours spent sleeping. Is it because they’re lazy? Heavens, no. It’s because they know what’s GOOD. But what’s a good night’s sleep without sweet dreams? Indeed, it’s enough to make one wonder, what of our precious felines, then? They spend so much time sleeping, but what goes on in their little noggins? Do android kitties dream of electric mice?
Sleep Schedule
Indubitably, cats are known for many things, most of all their sleeping habits. So let’s talk numbers. On average, our beloved feline friends spend 12-16 hours a day getting their precious beauty rest – some especially slumber-happy kitties can rack up to as much as 20 hours a day purring away in their sleep. Much to our dismay, cats are most active in the evening and of course, dawn.
There is a method to the madness, however. Despite 10,000 years of domestication, cats are still predators who are instinctively fixing to find prey (or just be jerks) in the early evening all the way into the break of dawn. That’s prime hunting time. Or, in my cat’s case, the best time to howl and chew on everything and generally be the worst. (I love her so much.)
Dream Science
So, what is a dream, really? Well, that’s still a hotly debated subject. Many scientists believe that they are the brain’s way of organizing and reorganizing a person’s day-to-day thoughts and experiences. On a more philosophical note, ancient Greeks believed that dreams held prophetic powers, and would often seek out Oracles (with a capital “O”) to ruminate on their questions in the hopes that the answers would come to them in a dream. On paper, however, dreams occur during what’s called REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. REM sleep has a few key indicators; twitching, flinching, and other small involuntary movements. Have you ever witnessed your cat chittering away or twitching her little paws while in a deep sleep? That’s that sweet REM sleep at work!
Cats In Dreamland
For the most part, cats spend much of their time on the lighter end of the sleep spectrum. That is, they’re usually at least half-alert to their surroundings instead of fully invested in a real deep slumber. Scientifically speaking, it’s confirmed that cats are capable of and often do enter deep REM sleep. Does that confirm whether or not they can dream? According to Hill’s Pet, “Evidence of REM sleep doesn’t “absolutely indicate” that a cat dreams in the same way as humans”, says Cline. “Since cats can’t speak for themselves, we have no way of knowing how similar their experiences might be to ours. However, the physical evidence presented — particularly the relaxed muscle state (sometimes bordering on temporary paralysis) of atonia — while your cat is dozing certainly indicates that something’s going on in her kitty imagination.”
So, while it’s not yet been confirmed as to what, there definitely is something going on your kitty’s little noodle while she’s sleeping away the day. Is she dreaming of mice after all? Is a prophetic vision being bestowed upon her before our very eyes? Perhaps she’s witnessing a glimpse of her kitty self in a former life? Living her dream as Unquestioned Ruler of the Universe?
As of yet, it’s hard to say exactly what fabulous fantasies our cats are cooking up in their sleep. Maybe they, too, have those weird dreams where they’re giving a presentation in the nude to everyone they went to high school with. For now, it’s all conjecture, but one can only imagine, and that’s half the fun.
