Cats can dream too

Hunting a mouse…? Being stroked by its owner…?

Did you ever wonder what, if anything, a cat dreams about when it's curled up on the cushion of your couch, its head on its front paws?

We have, so we checked with those strange scientists who earn their living studying felines and other pets.

In-depth studies show that cats indeed dream, and most of the time it's about their daytime adventures, chasing birds or mice, sharpening their claws on the best chair, or sneaking a chicken bone from the trash.

Like with other animals and humans, cats go through phases during their sleep. The normal situation: after falling asleep, the neurological network in the brain is switched off…the consciousness is dead, meaning the deep-sleep phase has begun.

That's called the "rem-sleep" mode, with rem being short for rapid eye movement. In this sleep, the cat is in a heavy and intense dream, and its little brain is extremely active dreaming heavily and intensely. How do we know that? Depending on what cats are actually dreaming about, their ears and feet can shake or tremble.  Sometimes they even make soft sounds.

Scientists showed that the rem sleep with animals can take 10 or 25 percent of their complete nap. In young animals, this period, as with children, can last much longer. 

In dogs and cats, the researchers saw longer rem phases than with smaller animals, such as rats, rabbits etc. and based on that, they concluded that the ability to sustain dreams depends on the size of the brain. The bigger the animal, the longer the dream.

For most studies, the scientists used rats. Because they saw the same brainwaves as when they were eating, they concluded that these animals dream about food.

So what do cats really dream about?

Unfortunately, they can’t tell us, but a French researcher proved that cats go through many different experiences during their dreams. In some cases, the cat's muscles reacted in typical cat fashion. During certain dreams, cats put up their backs and fluffed out their tails, just as if they were confronting a vicious dog or some other enemy. And all this occurred while they were still sleeping like a baby.

The average cat (although most of us do not have average cats) sleep about 16 hours a day, but not continuously…usually about an hour at a time. In this hour, they dream from about five to seven minutes. This is in between two light phases of sleep, from which the cat can wake up very quickly if it hears a sound or smells something nice, like a freshly caught bream grilling on the charcoals.

It is best not to disturb your cat during this stage because its interrupted dreams can lead to big reactions.

At least, that's what those crazy scientists say!