You might also like
Have you ever wondered why your cats spend most of their time sleeping? And do they have dreams like we do when we sleep? And have you ever noticed your cat twitch while sleeping? You most likely have if you’ve ever owned a cat.
Cats are known to be notorious vandals. They seem to spend most of their lives sleeping, curled up in our laps, or hiding in their secret favorite places. You may be surprised to know that cats can sleep twice as much as humans and spend an average of 15 hours a day sleeping, with extremely tired cats sleeping for up to 24 hours.
With that much time of sleep, could they dream? The answer is yes, they can! Humans aren’t the only animals that dream, after all.
Why do cats dream?
Dreams appear to serve the same purpose for both cats and humans. We process experiences and information that we encountered during the day while sleeping. Dreaming helps us process emotions and form memories.
Likewise, the actions that cats experience in their dreams are most likely similar to those that they experience in their daily lives. Researchers have discovered that during REM sleep, the dreamer’s brain activity (whether cat, rat, or human) resembles active parts of the day.
What do cats dream about?
Cats’ sleep cycle, just like humans and all other mammals, includes Rapid Eye Movement (REM), the state in which dreams occur. According to scientists, cats’ dreams, like humans’, consist of activities that occur in their daily lives, such as hunting, playing, and so on.
In the 1960s, Michel Jouvet, a sleep researcher, studied the biology of REM sleep in cats using experiments that highlighted the cats’ REM activity. When REM began, the cats acted aggressively, arching their backs, pouncing, and hissing as they stalked around the room. They pretended to be on the lookout for prey.
This was an interesting discovery because it suggested that the cats were dreaming about their waking activities. Cats, like us, appear to dream about what they know. Another surprising piece of information, researchers show that cats’ REM sleep duration decreases as they age, so kittens are thought to be more likely to dream than adult cats. Maybe it’s also because kittens are more capable of learning about their surroundings than adult cats, so they have to process a large amount of information and send a lot of signals to their brains.
Do cats dream in color?
So far, there is no exact answer to this question; we don’t know what colors cats can see during the day. Some scientists believe that cats can only see in blue and gray. Other researchers believe that cats can perceive yellow as well. In any case, we know that cats do not perceive color as vividly as humans do. This is due to the fact that human eyes have approximately ten times the number of cones, the light receptors in our retinas that allow us to see color, than cats.
Therefore, they do maybe dream in color because just like us, humans, cats are likely to dream in whatever colors they can see in their waking lives. Most likely, their dreams are not black and white, but rather reflect the muted colors they see on a daily basis.
Does your cat dream about you?
Based on the research presented above, it appears that cats may do dream about us, but we don’t have a way to prove this theory conclusively. During her nap, your cat may recreate her awakened experiences with you. Does she enjoy the way you scratch her ears or the rattling of a bag of treats? When you call her name, does she run? Those day-to-day interactions are very likely to be a part of her dreams.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much research done on the subject. As a result, we have very little information on this field. However, I believe that if you respect your cat and play an important role in its life, your cat is likely to dream about you.
Do cats have nightmares?
You may notice your cat sleeping peacefully and then he twitches uncontrollably, his paws zipping around in what appears to be general discomfort. He could be having a nightmare or reliving a negative event from the day. There’s also a chance it’s just the usual muscle twitching associated with REM.
Until now, we still don’t have any hard evidence of cat nightmares, but many cat owners report that their cats seem to have them, occasionally waking up hissing or looking startled. One of them is T.J Banks, Banks claims that her cat will occasionally awaken from a deep sleep with wide eyes and a terrified expression. In addition, some other incidents that cats experience in dreams will be recalled in the dream, causing them to become frustrated and make a stressed sound, then suddenly wake up and show expressions of grief in order to catch your attention.
Should you wake up your cat from a nightmare?
Even if you believe your cat is having a bad dream, waking him up is probably not a good idea. Dreams, even if it a bad one, are a natural part of a cat’s sleep cycle. No one, including humans, wants to be woken up while sleeping, even if we are having a nightmare because this has negative consequences that directly affect our sleep.
Sleeping cats should be left alone. Waking a cat in the middle of the night disrupts their REM stage of sleep. Cats must finish their sleep cycle in order to be properly rested. Moreover, waking the cats while they are sleeping can be dangerous because it can make your cat feel scared and attack you with its claws.
Inconclusion
Yes, most animals including cats can dream. This also helps to explain why cats sleep so much; just like humans, we tend to sleep for longer periods of time when dreaming. In fact, they may not even realize that their dreams aren’t real which is allowing cats to enjoy all of their favorite cat behaviors with little to no effort most of the time. This article has provided readers, particularly cat owners, with useful information to help us better understand our pets.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
