Cats are known for their love of lounging and sitting on things. They also take “cat naps” throughout the day and sleep for a total of 12 to 16 hours a day. You may not know this, but cats are actually nocturnal animals…so what do they do at night?
For months, Twitter user @stluis_htx has been talking about his weird breathing problems while he slept. He’s not a smoker and never had any prior health problems. He believed he was suffering from sleep apnea, so he set up a camera at night to record his sleep. To his surprise the problem was much hairier than he thought and it was all caused by his cat’s purr-anormal activities!
“I couldn’t breathe when I slept so I installed a camera”
As you can see he was able to catch some purrfect cat photos.
Cats are descendants of the African wildcat which are mostly nocturnal animals. The domestication of cats have made their activity patterns more diurnal like ours, however, most cats will still wake at least twice if not more at night…as you can see here.
This Facebook user isn’t the only ‘curious cat’ who wanted to know what felines are up to at night. Researchers at the University of Georgia placed small cameras on 55 cats in the Atlanta area and then studied more than 37 hours of footage to identify trends. Just like their ancestors, 44% of these outdoor cats hunted for wildlife, 85% of these captures occurred during the warmer seasons.
Whether they are indoor or outdoor you’ve probably heard silly cats make the most noise at night with yowling sounds. These cries can be due to a number of reasons: old age, stress, medical problems or just plain boredom (this happens especially in indoor cats that didn’t have enough playtime).
If your cat is disrupting your sleep at night there are several different suggestions. Just like you would with kids try to tire your cat out closer to the evening with play sessions. Try feeding your cat before bedtime, as they usually tend to sleep after eating a big meal.
It is important to note that even though your funny cat loves you they can unintentional injure you at night. A cat may notice an eye moving underneath the eyelid and swat at it in a playful move. Sadly, it may be best for you to lock them out of the bedroom for a more peaceful night’s rest.
