Everyone who has a cat knows that cats sleep many hours a day. An adult cat sleeps up to 18-19 hours every day, while a kitten sleeps even more.
In this post, we will learn more about how much cats sleep and why cats sleep most of the day.
How much do cats sleep?
It is not uncommon for an adult cat to sleep up to 18-19 hours every day.
Cats usually sleep at least 12-13 hours a day, but usually a few hours more than that.
Even though cats sleep a lot, there are many hours that are not deep sleep.
This is why cats are usually easily awakened by the slightest sound or movement.
The cat simply lies down and rests a little, but usually has a good view of its surroundings.
How much does a kitten sleep?
Kittens sleep even more than adult cats. When a kitten is very small, it sleeps almost all day.
Why does a cat sleep so much?
How much your cat sleeps varies from cat to cat. Here are some things that affect how long your cat sleeps.
The cat’s activity
How active the cat is in its waking hours affects how much the cat sleeps.
An outdoor cat that runs around and hunts will have a different need for sleep than an indoor cat.
A bored cat usually sleeps more because it has nothing else to do. Therefore, remember to activate your cat.
Age
As your cat gets older, it sleeps more. Just like with humans, cats get older, need more rest and are not as active as when they were young.
If your cat sleeps and rests more the older it gets, then it is usually nothing strange, it is completely natural.
Running cats sleep less
If your cat is running, it usually sleeps less. It is in the cat’s nature to, among other things, try to find a partner to mate with and keep track of his territory. Therefore, it naturally has more energy and awake time when it runs.
Temperature
Cats sleep differently depending on temperature and season.
You may have noticed that your cat feels duller and less active on really hot summer days?
This is because the cat is affected by the heat just like us humans.
Why do cats sleep more during the day?
Everyone who has a cat knows that cats usually run around and mischief at night.
Cats are nocturnal animals, which means that they usually sleep and rest more during the day.
It is difficult to reverse this because it is in the cat’s nature to hunt during the nights, among other things.
How to get the cat to sleep at night?
If your cat runs around a lot at night, you can try to prevent this by activating it a little extra during the day and especially in the evening.
If you play with your cat for a while in the evening, it will want to rest a little extra at night.
Keep in mind that it is more or less impossible to get a cat to sleep all night as we humans usually do.
It is very deep in the cat’s nature to be active at night, and you can not change that.
But the more you activate and play with your cat during the day, the more it will want to rest up at night.