Do Cats Dream?

Have you ever noticed your sleeping cat, beyond the snoring (which can sometimes rival a human), at a certain point, start to flick their paws, move their whiskers, or even make a small “mew”? All while they are supposedly asleep?

It’s only natural to ask yourself if your cat is dreaming – and the answer is mostly yes! Like humans and many other mammals, cats experience different sleep cycles, including rapid eye movement (REM). If you have read about dreaming before, you may already know that the REM cycle is when dreaming is most likely to occur.

Cats nap an average of 12 to 16 hours per day, with kittens and senior cats clocking in even more sleep time. Cat sleep isn’t about laziness, however, and sometimes they get a bad rep. It’s an important part of their health. Sleep allows them to conserve energy and gives their bodies time to repair and grow. As crepuscular hunters (animals most active at dawn or dusk), conserving energy was an important part of survival in the wild.

What Do Cats Dream About?

While we cannot confirm these things directly, experts believe cats dream about experiences from their daily lives – similar to how we dream. Perhaps they consist of an amalgamation of different experiences, all influencing different outcomes from night to night. They might replay chasing a toy, or a bird, or interactions with people. Twitching paws could be indicative of a cat running or pouncing in their dreams. Purring might indicate a cozy cuddling session.

Do Cats Have Nightmares?

It’s possible. Just as cats can dream of pleasant things, they may also relive stressful or frightening experiences. A rescued cat might dream about their difficult past, or a nervous kitty could replay a visit to the vet. If your cat suddenly wakes up startled, runs off, or seems spooked after sleeping, it might be because of a bad dream. Again, we cannot confirm or deny these things – we have to look at them realistically.

It's a Bit of a Mystery

We may never know the full content of a cat’s dreams, but one thing’s for sure: their little twitching paws and soft snores remind us that their inner worlds are likely just as rich and mysterious as ours. While this is all speculation, at minimum, their sleeping patterns seem to mimic those of the human population, and we already know how those work!