# Why do cats sleep so much? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677 "2008-05-01T22:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/41 "2012-05-07T23:01:17Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > It’s a character issue. Cats are evil, and slothfulness is just part of the tapestry. Plus, they need to save energy to steal the breath of human infants. Now now… Don’t ‘choo be messin’ with my kitty cat! ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/42 "2012-05-07T23:30:29Z")
Anyone else find it amusing that both the cat and the mouse slept the same amount of time per day (12.1 hours)? I suppose they are on the same time clock. I am reminded of the Ralph E. Wolf and Sam Sheepdog cartoon where they both clock in at the beginning of the day. Ralph then attempts to steal sheep from Sam’s herd and gets clobbered several times. Then he and Sam clock out at the end of the day and bid each other a good evening. That was a bit of a stretch from sleeping cats, but maybe I need more sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/43 "2012-05-08T01:18:25Z")
It’s possible. Are you planning on having fresh meat for dinner tomorrow? Better get some sleep first. ---
**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/44 "2012-05-09T23:05:15Z")
So by observing Perfunctory closer I notice that she is not sleeping so much as watching me sleep. Creepin me out. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/45 "2012-05-10T04:43:05Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > In general, predators sleep more and prey stays awake and worries. Giraffes sleep only an hour or two a day–no place to hide. “The lion will lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep.”–Woody Allen ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/46 "2012-05-10T06:24:08Z")
1. How many people reading this thread are picturing one of many Hobbes illustrations? 2. How many people reading this thread occasionally wake their cat up from a deep slumber just to get a tiny bit of sleep-related vengeance? _Who’s meowing **now** , motherfucker?!_ ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/47 "2012-05-10T13:30:56Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > 1. How many people reading this thread occasionally wake their cat up from a deep slumber just to get a tiny bit of sleep-related vengeance? _Who’s meowing **now** , motherfucker?!_ I must admit to the above. Sometimes I run at the couch my cat is sleeping on while slamming my feet into the floor. The little prick goes from ‘comatose’ to ‘red alert’ in 0.23 seconds. I understand that cats have muscular spleens and are able to squeeze extra blood into their system when the adrenaline hits. That must feel…interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/48 "2012-05-10T13:32:01Z")
double post ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/49 "2012-05-10T23:37:17Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I bet that feral cats probably don’t sleep as much domestics. [Indeed](http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2011/05/the-secret-lives-of-feral-cats/). Of course the actual article is paywalled. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677/50 "2012-05-12T20:45:59Z")
Interestingly, we’ve recently had what we thought was a feral cat come up to our house (we live sort of in a cornfield where there are many barn cats who stand from afar and watch) and practically jump in my partner’s lap. She said he’d been eying her all winter long, and then one day he just decided to trust us and make us his people. We now believe him to be an abandoned or lost housecat. We’ve set him up in the garage with a nice, comfy bed, and during the day he sleeps on the back deck like he owns the place. He may have been semi-feral, but he sure has turned into the lazy rats my housecats are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-sleep-so-much/447677.md?page=2)