Why do cats sleep so many hours a day? The key is in the “Tapetum”

2023-09-04 06:51:42

No one doubts that your cat is an adorable creature. Even if he throws things at you, claws at your furniture, or claws at you, there are probably times when he’s so cute that you don’t hate him.

But beyond all that, there’s an important melon to open: they’re incredibly lazy. Not because they don’t help with the dishes or other chores, but because they spend most of the day sleeping.

Indeed, as reported Science Focus, most domestic felines can sleep between 10 and 13 hours a day (50 to 110 minutes at a time), and it’s not uncommon for a cat to sleep until 5 p.m. It is not uncommon for a cat to sleep until 5 p.m.

Most domestic felines can sleep between 10 and 13 hours a day.

You might be wondering why they have to sleep so much (which is normal). To understand this, you have to know that most cats are very active at dawn and dusk. This is a characteristic that makes them crepuscular (rather than nocturnal) animals, much like animals such as ferrets, hamsters and stray dogs. Indeed, over millions of years, cats have evolved to become low-light predators, their eyesight being specifically adapted to twilight activity.

All cats have a tapetum, a mirror located behind each retina. In addition to making their eyes scary in the dark, this adaptation gives cats a second chance to interpret incoming light, allowing them to see better in dark environments. As cats are crepuscular, they conserve their energy for these dusk hunting periods. Before being domesticated, cats had to expend a great deal of energy at these times to find, pursue and kill their prey. Although domestic cats no longer hunt before dinnertime, their natural hunting instincts still prompt them to conserve energy for dawn and dusk.

Although house cats no longer hunt before dinnertime, their natural hunting instincts still encourage them to conserve energy for dawn and dusk.

Interestingly, there is some data to suggest that humans can have an impact on when their cats sleep. In particular, a study by the Italian University of Messina provided a better understanding of this problem following placing tracers on 10 domestic felines: half of the cats were left free in a large house and a garden, while the other half were only allowed to roam in a smaller house and were kept indoors at night.

It turned out that the tiny house cats somehow mirrored their owners’ sleep patterns and were more likely to be awake at times when their owners frequently interacted with them. In other words, if forced to, your cat might enjoy spending time with you. This is a real feat.

No one doubts that your cat is an adorable creature. Even if he throws things at you, claws at your furniture, or claws at you, there will probably be times when he’s so cute you won’t hate him. But beyond all that, there’s an important melon to open: they’re incredibly lazy. Not because they don’t help with the dishes or other chores, but because they spend most of the day sleeping.

I’m a big fan of people news – I’m into tech and smartphones, serial literature, and I write in my spare time.

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