Who has never watched their cat sleep? Not only does this have a particularly soothing effect, but you can also observe your hairball at your leisure, all without being seen. Well, that’s what you think… Because it sometimes happens that your feline opens its eyes slightly in its sleep. And it even seems to you that it is looking at you. Is it really sleeping then?
A light sleeper
In fact, even though they can sleep more than 15 hours a day, cats rarely sleep soundly. And for good reason, their survival instinct, transmitted by their wild ancestors, forces them to be always alert, able to react to the slightest noise and therefore to the slightest danger.
This is because cats are predators as well as prey. Therefore, in the wild, it was essential for them to sleep with one eye open in order to remain aware of their surroundings. This allowed them to be able to flee at the slightest suspicious movement and thus avoid being eaten.
Thus, a cat only sleeps soundly for a few minutes a day. It is for this reason that it needs to take 15 to 20 naps a day in order to be able to rest. Especially since cats were designed to conserve their energy in order to use it during hunting parties. Indeed, hunting requires a particularly intense physical and intellectual effort…
Is it really sleeping?
When your cat dozes on the couch while keeping its eyes open, it’s sleeping! Indeed, cats have this strange ability to be able to sleep, even with their eyes half closed. And they can even move their eyes while they sleep. So this is completely normal behavior.
Besides, some people also tend to sleep with their eyes open, which turns out to be somewhat scary for their bedmates!
