How does your cat sleep? The signs to tell if you are sick by observing your sleep habits

Your cat's sleep and way of sleeping could be a sign of its health - the signs to watch out for

Cats are great playful when it comes to chasing mice, balls or lights, but at the same time they love to sleep in the tranquility of their kennel for a very long time. In fact, cats are perfect sleepers since on average they spend 12 to 18 hours in the world of dreams.

Familiarizing yourself with its habits is an excellent activity to get to know your feline at 360 degrees and take care of it at its best. However, this does not only affect his food preferences, but also the way he sleeps, or how he falls asleep, which could help you recognize the onset of diseases in time and take him to the vet promptly.

These are the main signs to look out for to see if there is something wrong with him.

Index

Sudden increase in sleep

As we said, cats spend most of their lives sleeping, but that doesn't mean this should be the only activity of the day. A strange and sudden increase in the hours of sleep is indeed alarming, especially if this occurs at times when the cat is usually dedicated to something else.

If your cat prefers to burrow in his kennel during mealtimes or play times, then probably his body needs rest to heal from something. Your vet will be able to tell you what the cause is, which could usually be immune in nature.

Difficulty getting up or lying down

Movements that we take for granted such as lying down in the kennel and or getting up from the sofa can be difficult for cats who are not well. Age doesn't matter here, except for really old cats.

The cause of motor difficulties could be some disease that is ongoing in the animal and that causes your cat to move slower than normal, sometimes in a clumsy and unexpected way and which can even lead to a limp.

Unusual positions in which he falls asleep

Cats love to curl up, stretch themselves out by stretching out in the coveted bed and often falling asleep in bizarre positions. Although cats know a thousand and more positions in terms of sleep, they are usually standard animals and even when they sleep they have a more or less varied routine.

The sleep routine can be completely upset due to some health problem manifesting itself in unusual and never-before-seen positions. Clearly it is important to know how and in what way the cat prefers to crouch in order to notice significant changes and to be able to say that something is not going right.

The cat can in fact remain rigid in a difficult sleep or try to protect some parts of the body from others that are painful, as well as not let you get close to it, sleeping vigilantly in a semi-guard position.

Difficulty waking up

The cat is an animal of habit and knows perfectly well when his food is ready, when it's time for caresses or when the owner wants to play with him. However, if your cat seems uninterested in any of these cases or fails to wake up after you call him by name, then he may be ill and may need a visit to the vet.

The litmus test can be done by opening a can and observing if appetite and smells stimulate your cat to wake up. In the same way you can try making more or less loud noises around the kennel.

Constantly changing places where he sleeps

Having new preferences about where to sleep is certainly normal and happens for everyone throughout life, not just cats. After all, felines are particularly attached to a member of the family and would like to spend all the time in the world with him. This of course also includes sleeping together or positioning oneself where the human has just dozed off.

Nothing new, but be careful because if your cat changes the place where he sleeps all the time, without ever finding a stable one or one that prefers more, this could be a sign of malaise.

Also observe if your cat spends more time in a lonely place such as under the bed, in an empty room, or even in the closet. In fact, cats with health problems tend to isolate themselves from the family.

If you notice one or more of these abnormal behaviors in your cat, run to the vet and make sure it's nothing serious. Some diseases develop faster than others and can be cured right away if caught early.

Knowing your animal is basically like knowing yourself: if something is wrong, we manifest it through different attitudes.

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