Do Cats Dream?
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Have you ever watched your feline friend twitch and move in their sleep and wonder whether they’re dreaming about “the big hunt” or that delicious dinner they had? But do cats dream? Can cats dream?
The simple answer is that yes, like most other mammals, cats do dream, as it’s an important phenomenon that helps the brain to process the activities of the day.
Do Cats Dream?
Dreaming occurs primarily during a stage of sleep known as rapid eye movement (or REM) sleep, when the brain shows activity similar to wakefulness.
Although the specifics of a cat’s dreams are unknown, it’s likely that their brain is reviewing the day’s activities, consolidating memories, and processing various experiences.
Dreaming helps to reinforce learning, retain memories, and even serve as a form of enrichment, allowing your cat to imagine scenarios such as catching mice the size of a car!
Signs Your Cat Is Dreaming
Observing your kitty closely can give you clues about their sleep behavior and when they might be dreaming. With time and attention, you may be able to guess what they’re dreaming about!
Signs your cat is dreaming might include:
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Twitching, especially of the paws and whiskers
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Body movements
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Running-like motions
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Muffled meows
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Various facial expressions
Why Do Cats Twitch in Their Sleep?
A cat twitching in their sleep is a pretty sure sign that they’re dreaming. Cats are likely “acting out” part of their dreams, whether they’re chasing a housemate, stalking a bird, or playing laser tag with their pet parent.
As the brain replays these vivid activities, cats may move and twitch as they relive the events, resulting in twitches, running motions, and even sounds like purrs and meows.
In most cases, twitching during sleep is not a cause for concern; rather, it’s a sign that your feline friend is having a particularly vivid dream.
What Do Cats Dream About?
So, what exactly do cats dream about? Do cats have nightmares? Do cats dream about their pet parents? How about hunting mice and birds? Interacting with their housemates?
We don’t have definitive answers to these questions. However, by observing cats closely during their dreams and considering what we know about dreaming in other species, we can make some educated guesses about what cats dream about.
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Dreaming about their daily experiences: Most mammals use dreams to process the events they’ve experienced, so it’s reasonable to expect that cats relive their daily experiences at night, perhaps with some imaginative additions. Whatever a kitty was interested in during the day likely plays a role in their dreams that night.
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Dreaming about their pet parents: Cats probably do dream about their pet parents, their kitty friends, and even their enemies.
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Dreaming about their favorite activities: Cats also likely dream about activities such as hunting, eating, and playing fun games.
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Nightmares: And if a cat has a particularly frightening experience, such as a fight with another cat, a close call with a car, or a fall off a roof, they might even have nightmares.
Research About Cats and Dreams
A 1960s study by neuroscientist Michel Jouvet found that the pons area of the brain (located in the brainstem, between the midbrain and the medulla) prevents movement during dreams. Cats with damage to this area displayed movements during REM sleep that appeared consistent with hunting, such as pouncing on imaginary prey or reacting to nonexistent predators, providing some scientific support for the content of cat dreams.
An even more intriguing idea is that animals might dream using more senses than humans do. For example, because smell is very important for both cats and dogs, their dreams might focus more on odors than ours do. This suggests that dogs and cats may dream in smells.
So, the next time you see your kitty twitching in their sleep, watch closely—you might catch a glimpse of what they are dreaming about.
