Cat owners know that their pets spend a lot of time sleeping. The sight of a resting kitten can make many people emotional. However, few people know what factors affect how long they sleep. We explain why cats sleep so long and what determines the length of their naps.
Age is one of the key aspects that comes to mind when analyzing the length of a cat’s naps. It turns out that the sleep issue is much more complex and has its own logical explanation.
How long do cats sleep?
Cats, like humans, sleep much longer when young. A kitten a few weeks old can sleep up to 20 hours a day. This is due to his developing body, which needs a lot of energy.
Adult cats sleep 12 to 16 hours a day and this depends, among other things, on their daily activities. Older cats, as in the case of small kittens, sleep about 20 hours a day. This is due to the slow regeneration process.
In turn, cats living in the wild sleep the shortest, about 12 hours. Wild animals have to spend part of the day looking for food, so this time is very different from domestic animals.
Factors on which the sleep duration of cats depends
The age mentioned above is not the only condition on which the number of hours of sleep of cats depends. Cats are predators, so they naturally expend a lot of energy hunting. These are short but intense moments after which animals need to recover.
Another aspect is the fact that cats are light sleepers. These animals are on constant alert to protect themselves from danger or the attack of another predator. Their instinct does not allow them to devote themselves fully to relaxation. They only fall into deep sleep for a few minutes a day, and not every day. Then we can see how they move their legs and make sounds.
Other factors that affect how long cats sleep include: temperature fluctuations, weather, temperament, and of course health.
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