Do cats dream?

Let’s watch the pets

On average, a cat sleeps 15-20 hours a day. However, cats tend to sleep in snatches, unlike humans, who go to bed once a day to sleep the whole day ahead. Often, four-legged friends are only dormant and may come to full alert in response to noise or touch. A cat’s shallow sleep can also be interrupted by noise, a loud sound, and external discomfort. But there are also full-fledged phases of sleep, non-REM sleep and REM sleep, which is also called the REM phase, that is, the phase of rapid eye movements, at these moments the sleeping brain is most active.

Scientists say that in cats and humans, the structure of sleep is similar, slow-wave sleep is replaced by fast sleep. In the phase of REM sleep, the sleeper sees the most vivid dreams, the pupils move quickly, slight but noticeable muscle movements occur.

When a cat wants to sleep well, watch her behavior. Cats in their sleep sometimes move as if they are hunting. It is as if they are reliving the impressions of a successful mouse hunt. Yes, cats dream. If after the game, the cat sleeps, she will learn the lesson better. Most often in a dream, her brain processes information received in a short period of time. Therefore, the richer, more fun, more interesting, happier the day of the pet was, the more sweet dreams await him. Dogs are usually ready to wake up instantly, but cats should be gentle, as awakening is more difficult for them.

brain secrets

Cats are so much like people. This was found out back in the 1960s by the French physiologist and somnologist Michel Jouvet and his colleagues. In his research, he focused on eliminating the influence of a part of the brainstem called the pons from the sleep pattern of cats. It is he who is responsible for muscle paralysis during sleep, both in the human body and in the cat’s body. Thanks to the work of the pons, in a dream we can only shudder and toss and turn slightly, and not walk and wave our arms. A sleeping cat, in whose body there was no pons, walked in a dream, tried to keep up with a live mouse running around, and even showed aggression. Jouvet and his team concluded that during sleep, a healthy cat, under the influence of dreams, performs the actions it is used to during wakefulness, adjusted for muscle paralysis.

A cat in a dream processes the information received.

What dreams do cats have? 

The most diverse, but closer to something familiar, everyday than human dreams. The lion’s share of dreams are memories. These can be memories of a family trip, children’s games, communication with relatives, hunting, exploring secluded corners of the house. Play with your ward more often so that she has material for beautiful dreams. Another type of cat dreams are desires. An appetizing treat can possibly make such an impression on a pet that he will dream of fragrant treats that you feed him in a dream. (Not a fact and has not been proven by anyone)

There is no consensus on whether cats are capable of dreaming in color. Probably yes. But with an adjustment for the fact that cats see the world differently than people. Mustachioed-striped well distinguish shades of gray. They will never mix up a light gray and a dark gray ball. The blue and green color of the cat is also perfectly perceived. They can distinguish between yellow and purple. Based on this, let’s guess that cats see color dreams, but only in their own palette.

To wake up or not to wake up?

Sometimes cats outside behave restlessly, it may seem that they are having a nightmare. The owners are worried, tormented by the question of whether to wake up their ward. It is better not to interfere in the pet’s dreams. Living experiences and various situations from life in a dream is a natural process. Let the pet watch the dream and wake up in a calmer phase of slow sleep, when he will not remember that he dreamed of something exciting. Waking up a cat when she is probably having a nightmare can scare her even more. In the online space, you can find videos in which cats abruptly wake up from sleep and jump up. We can conclude that here, too, nature itself has settled the situation.

The study of sleep and dreams in cats is not advancing in modern science as fast as we would like. It is a pity that furry pets cannot share what they dream about and what worries them. We can only say with certainty that the love and care of the owners will help four-legged friends to see good dreams more often.