Is it normal for my cat to sleep so much? - Discover it here

Those who live with cats realize right away that these animals may be sleeping for a long time or, at least, resting. But, to what extent is it normal? How to know if a cat rests or something happens to it? These are normal concerns among those who begin to share their lives with these animals, since it can really be surprising that they spend hours and hours inactive. For this reason, in this article we are going to answer your question about whether it is normal for my cat to sleep so much or not and to comment at what times you should not be alarmed and when you should worry and go to the vet.

Is it normal for my cat to sleep a lot?

As we have suggested at the beginning of this article, cats do spend much of the day sleeping or resting. Therefore, when it is normal for your cat to sleep, we can say that it is normal, since domestic cats spend an average of 70% of the day sleeping . However, it can not be ignored that there are certain times of the day when these animals are very active and, therefore, there is also the possibility that if a cat is resting or sleeping for a long time it is because he is sick or something happens to him . For this reason, we must know how to see other signs of health problems.

How many hours a day do cats sleep?

We have commented that they sleep about 70% of the day, but how many hours a day do cats sleep on average? It is something that depends on their age, apart from whether they are sick or not, so an adult cat usually sleeps between 12 and 17 hours a day and a kitten up to 5 weeks of age can sleep up to 20 hours a day, adding all the time in those who sleep, that is, does not mean that they sleep all these hours of the pull.

In addition, many people who adopt a kitten usually do it when this round a few months, about 12 weeks, and therefore ask questions such as " how many hours does a 3-month-old cat sleep? ". The answer is that they do not usually arrive at 20 hours a day, because they are much more active, but they can get to sleep between 15 and 17 hours a day.

Below, we explain the reasons why cats sleep so much and other curious details related.

Why my cat sleeps a lot

The reasons why felines sleep a lot throughout the day are several, but all are related to their genetic and adaptive evolution. Mainly, there are three reasons why it is normal for a cat to spend so many hours dozing :

• Genetics and evolution: this is the first reason why domestic felines spend more hours of the day so active. As they are very effective predators and are not animals that need a large daily intake of food in proportion to their size, do not need much daily time to comply with the time to hunt and eat, something more noticeable in felines living in a home and They do not even need to hunt to feed themselves. Therefore, spend the rest of the time resting, sleeping and, at times, playing and grooming.
• Adaptation to the home: another related aspect is that these animals do not have such a strong need to go outside to meet their needs as other pets do, although there are those that need to leave because they relate to more living beings than those in house, something that depends a lot on the character of each one. This fact makes them more sedentary than, for example, dogs. Thus, they also sleep more because they do not need to spend so much energy and even because they do not have many more things to do or because of boredom, so we also recommend that you play with your cat to activate and stimulate it.
• Rain and cold: as happens to us or to any other animal, the weather affects the state of activity and even the state of mind. Therefore, when the weather is cold, it rains or there are fewer hours of natural light felines tend to sleep even more.

Cats sleep much more when they are sick

In addition to having in ditch that in themselves are animals that spend the day in this state, we must think that there are also reasons that are not part of the normality or way of being of domestic felines. Specifically, when they are sick or something happens to them, as happens to us, they tend to rest more than usual and even sleep deeply for hours.

When the body is facing a problem, requires an extra effort while their defenses are diminished, so they usually rest or sleep more than when they are healthy. So if you see that your hairy feline spends more hours than usual dozing or observe more signs of health problems, such as tears in his eyes, have eyeballs, sneezing, cough, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., then It will be necessary that you go to the veterinarian with him and follow his instructions so that he recovers.

Why my cat sleeps with open eyes

You may also have noticed that your partner, at times, seems to be well asleep but has one or both eyes half open or wide open. When we see this, and we can even observe that the eyes move from one place to another, it is normal that we ask ourselves why they do it and if something happens. But have you never seen a person sleep like that? Indeed, humans, as well as countless animal species, also sleep with their eyes open at times.

The certain thing is that the normal thing is that it happens when the animal is falling asleep deeply, that is to say, that it is in the heat of transition from the light dream to falling asleep. The time this takes depends on each one, so sometimes you can see that your feline does it a moment and other times it will be several minutes like that.

At this point it is easy to be discouraged if they see something that catches their attention, just as if they hear something, because they also have a strong survival instinct that leads them to somehow always pay attention to their environment, in case they should react and wake up in the moment.

My cat does not sleep much, why?

As it happens with us, we must bear in mind that not all domestic felines are the same, each one has its way of being and its character and, therefore, some may differ much from the general norm in some aspects. Thus, although these animals usually spend long hours resting and are somewhat sedentary, there are cats that are very active and do not stop . In fact, there are breeds that are more likely to be more active genetics, so when it comes to host one in your house look at the breed and general characteristics to know if it will be more or less quiet or active and if that fit with you

Aside, you also have to take into account the age of the cat, since the puppies or kittens are much more active but also sleep many hours deeply. In contrast, those who are of adolescent age are much more active, adults begin to sleep more hours and the elderly are those who spend more time with their eyes closed and resting.

If you have liked to know the answer to your question about whether it is normal for my cat to sleep so much, you may also be interested in knowing in this other article if it is bad to sleep with my cat or not.