Taking Care Of Cat Sleep

Cat sleep pattern depends upon the personality of a cat and its age. A cat sleeps on an average of thirteen to sixteen hours a day. Despite the long sleep, a cat is very active at dusk and dawn since it is a crepuscular. In addition, a cat gets its prey by this time. So, cats get a lot of time during the middle of the day for sleeping. Cats do not require much of the time to be alert since their protein rich diet does not require time for grazing food like large herbivores. Modern day cats also sleep out of boredom. You can keep your cat active during the day by offering lots of toys or a companion to play with. Your cat may learn to play with you in the daytime and sleep during the night just like you.

The Process Of Cat Sleep

Like humans, cat sleep also has two phases of sleep that are Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-REM. During RAM, the cat witnesses dreams and during the Non-RAM, it is in deep sleep. During Non-RAM process your cat's body gets regenerated and repaired. Small cats need more Non-RAM than adult cats do. During this process, the immune system of your cat gets revitalized and strengthened. Your cat would become irritated and confused if it is denied either sort of sleep.

How Should You Care

Periodically, you should monitor how much your cat sleeps. If you see your cat sleeps more or less than the usual that indicates a problem. It is better to contact your vet once you notice this cat sleep issue. If your cat is depressed or lethargic, it might be an illness. If your cat sleeps lesser than usual, it might be thyroidal problem. Cats are prone to hyperthyroid. This problem ends up in lesser sleep for your cat. You should remember that a newborn kitten sleeps a lot. Adults take naps during the daytime due to the predatory nature.

You should reward your cat whenever it wakes you up early. Most cats do this because they are highly alert during dawn and dusk. You can wake up your cat during the daytime and play with her. Sometimes you can let the cat sleep in the daytime. Cats do require 16 hours of sleep a day. A cat can become completely alert in seconds when you wake up a sleeping cat. It goes to sleep again if it finds nothing serious.

Your cat might change its sleeping place based on the outside temperature. It might look for shaded places during warm weather. During winter, it may look for a warm place such as a place near a heat source. On the other hand, it would sleep with face between paws in order to reduce the body heat loss. You can buy a feline bed from your pet store to keep your cat comfortable as it enjoys cat sleep. If you are wiling, you can let your cat sleep in your bed. People say that keeping the cat in bed enhances the feline-human bond. It also provides warmth to both you and the cat. According to a recent poll, around 60% of cat owners prefer to let their cats sleep in their bedrooms.