Animals · Reading practice · B1
Why do cats sleep so much?
If you have a cat, you know it spends most of the day asleep. There is a good reason for it.
By Levoop · 3-minute read · 274 words · Tap the underlined words to see what they mean
On the sofa, on the bed, in a cardboard box or on top of your – cats can sleep almost anywhere. And they sleep a lot. Most adult cats sleep between twelve and sixteen hours a day, and and older cats often sleep even more.
Why do they need so much rest? The answer is in their history. Cats are . In the wild, a cat must find, follow and catch its food, and this needs short bursts of a lot of energy. Sleeping for long periods helps them to energy for the moment when they need it.
Cats are also most at certain times of day. Many people think cats are night animals, but in fact they are usually most awake at and . That is when the small animals they hunt are moving around. This explains why some cats run around the house at five in the morning!
Not all cat sleep is deep sleep. A lot of the time, cats are only . Their ears still move when they hear a sound, and they can wake up and jump in less than a second. This light sleep kept their wild relatives safe from danger.
Pet cats do not need to hunt for their dinner, of course, but they still have the same . A bored indoor cat may sleep even more than usual. Playing with your cat for a few minutes every day is good for its body and its mind.
However, if a cat suddenly starts sleeping much more or much less than normal, it is a good idea to take it to the .
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