do cats dream

Your cat is fast asleep, and then its paws start to twitch, its whiskers flicker, and a tiny muffled sound escapes it, as though it is chasing something only it can see. It is hard not to wonder what is going on behind those closed eyes. The likely answer is lovely: yes, cats almost certainly dream. Here is what the evidence suggests, and how to tell a dream from something to worry about.

We cannot ask a cat what it dreamed, so nobody can be absolutely certain, but the science points firmly toward cats dreaming, and probably in a way not so different from us. Given how much of a cat's life is spent asleep, covered in why does my cat sleep so much, that would mean your cat spends a fair portion of its existence somewhere in a dream, which is a rather nice thing to picture.

why we think cats dream

The main evidence is that cats have the same kind of sleep in which humans do most of their dreaming. Like us, cats cycle between lighter sleep and a deeper phase known as REM sleep, marked by rapid eye movement and heightened brain activity, and in humans REM is when the vivid dreams happen. Cats clearly experience this phase, their brains active while their bodies rest, which is exactly the state associated with dreaming.

Then there is what you can see. During that active sleep, a dreaming cat often twitches its paws, flexes its claws, flicks its whiskers and ears, moves its eyes behind closed lids, and sometimes makes small sounds, quiet chirps, meows, or twitchy little movements of the mouth. These are the outward signs of a brain busy doing something while the body is switched off, and they look a great deal like a creature acting out a small scene in its head. Older experiments on the sleeping brain even suggested that, without the mechanism that normally keeps the body still during REM, sleeping cats would physically perform the movements of their dreams, stalking and pouncing at nothing. Put together, it is a strong case.

what does a cat dream about

Here we are guessing, but it is an informed guess. If cats dream anything like we do, they most likely dream about the ordinary business of their lives, the things they do and care about while awake. For a cat, that means hunting, stalking, pouncing, exploring its territory, interactions with you and other animals, and the daily events of its world. A twitching, paw-flexing cat may well be in the middle of a hunt, catching a dream mouse it will never quite reach. It is a pleasant thought, and as good a theory as any.

dreaming versus something wrong

Almost all sleep twitching is normal dreaming and nothing to be concerned about, but it is worth knowing the difference between a dream and a seizure, because they can look superficially similar. A dreaming cat twitches gently, is easy to wake, and comes round normally, a little bleary but fine, when roused. A seizure is different: the movements are usually more violent, rigid, or convulsive, the cat cannot be roused during it, may drool, lose control of its bladder or bowels, and afterward seems disoriented or dazed for a while. If your cat's sleep movements look like that, or if you are ever unsure, it is worth a video and a vet visit rather than assuming it is only a dream. But the everyday scene, a sleeping cat with softly twitching paws and flickering whiskers, is almost certainly just what it looks like: a small predator, deep in sleep, off somewhere catching things. Let it. It has earned the hunt.

Related reading from my desk: why does my cat sleep so much, on all those dreaming hours, and why does my cat sleep on me, on where it prefers to do them.

Violent, convulsive, or unrousable movements during sleep may be a seizure, not a dream, film it and see a vet. I am a cat with opinions, not a veterinarian.