Cats and Sleep

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I know that cats sleep about 18 hours a day, but my question is: Why do they? Why do they need to?

[LucidDreamer]

I doubt they really need to anymore as they have become domesticated but it takes a long time to change genetic programming. The original reason that cats sleep so much was to conserve energy. They were fast and efficient hunters that use lots of energy in a short burst of activity and then recouped by sleeping and napping. Now they are just lazy.

[Tesseract]

Now they are just lazy.

Thats why I hate cats they dont do anything.

[NavajoEverclear]

That's why we need to stop LETTING the cats be lazy. Train them like dogs. Make them work. Send them to the military. Kick them into shape. Or beat them like on Monty Python.

[Glider]

Thats why I hate cats they dont do anything.

Oh, but they do. They just wait until you're asleep to do it

 

mwuahahahahaha!

[Sayonara]

You'll find a lot of predators are lazy (although the term "lazy" suggests a conscious preference for inaction).

 

In order to feed, predators normally have to expend a lot of energy capturing prey, with no guarantee of a return on the investment. There's a whole bunch of equations for working out predation strategies for a given food web.

[Guest jm5k]

Well my cats actualy do hunt, we have a cat door for them. And I have even more cats that live out on a farm.. And they don't sleep that much that I know of.

[dagaz]

I'd actually prefer the cats to be sleeping than out reeking havoc on the native wildlife - here in Australia feral cats are one of the major causes for declining populations of small marsupials.

[Tesseract]

I'd actually prefer the cats to be sleeping than out reeking havoc on the native wildlife - here in Australia feral cats are one of the major causes for declining populations of small marsupials.

 

But why are small marsupials that important?And when you say small how small is that?

[Sayonara]

But why are small marsupials that important?

They aren't, unless you like having an ecosystem.

[Tesseract]

They aren't, unless you like having an ecosystem.

 

I once had one of those but I died.

[YT2095]

Oh' date=' but they do. They just wait until you're asleep to do it

 

mwuahahahahaha![/quote']

that statement could ONLY come from a cat owner! LOL

I`ve had more damage done by my cats during the night than at any other time of the day, anything from entire PCs and monitors coming off shelves to shredded paperwork. Cats KNOW!

[blike]

Cats are mischievous. That's why I like dogs. They're honest, upfront, and will poop on your floor right in front of you.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Cat's are litter box trained.

 

MOVE THIS TO THE FAVORITE PET THREAD!!!

 

 

Anyways, my cat isn't lazy, she killed 17 moles in one summer, got a bird in mid-flight, and at least 10 mice so far this year.

[Glider]

Cats are mischievous. That's why I like dogs. They're honest, upfront, and will poop on your floor right in front of you.

 

Very true. Cats have that quirky sense of humour that means you don't know where they've pooped, until you put your boots on.

 

that statement could ONLY come from a cat owner! LOL

I`ve had more damage done by my cats during the night than at any other time of the day' date=' anything from entire PCs and monitors coming off shelves to shredded paperwork. Cats KNOW![/quote']

So TRUE!

 

I'd actually prefer the cats to be sleeping than out reeking havoc on the native wildlife - here in Australia feral cats are one of the major causes for declining populations of small marsupials.

You'd think they'd make some impact on the mouse plagues that happen over there, wouldn't you?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

We used to have humongous numbers of moles, but now we have practically none, thanks to the cat.

 

But also she hunts because we found her as a stray, so she had to fend for herself.

[dagaz]

But why are small marsupials that important?And when you say small how small is that?

 

They hunt and kill everything from Antechinus' (often called 'marsupial mice') right up to bandicoots, the Long-eared Bandicoot (the Bilby) is precariously close to extinction and its two main threatening processes are listed as feral foxes and feral cats.

 

The Eastern Quoll (also called the 'native cat' or 'marsupial cat') is now extinct on the mainland and only survives on the island of Tasmania because feral cats and foxes have absolutely decimated its food source. The Tiger Quoll is heading that way and is listed as Vulnerable to extinction.

[admiral_ju00]

Very true. Cats have that quirky sense of humour that means you don't know where they've pooped' date=' until you put your boots on.

[/quote']

 

That is the very reason I'm trying to Murder my cat for the 2nd year now. I've went as far as created visual and mental plans of doing this(Some would look like Accidents, some premeditated), but every time I try, my wife gets in the way. She won't even let me throw the damn cat out(eg: driving it to an X part of town and letting the cat go), cause she's concerned that the cat has been with us for the past 10 years now.

[mossoi]

Although cats are more active at night they are still pretty inactive when compared to other animals (although very active for their first couple of years).

 

If you step back and look at why animals are inactive then you have to ask the question "What would they do if they rushed around all the time?" Generally all animals do enough to stay alive and stop at that, rushing around would only waste valuable energy.

 

BTW, Tesseract, are you going for a record in pointless posts in one thread by any chance?

[ed84c]

You'll find a lot of predators are lazy (although the term "lazy" suggests a conscious preference for inaction).

 

I prefer the term i devised to describe my self on many occasions rather than lazy; motavationally disadvantaged. I think we should all use that term from now on to describe those we know, that are more disadvantaged than ourselves.

[coquina]

If cats were active more hours of the day, they'd have to hunt more often to fuel their metabolism, if they hunted more often, they'd eat themselves out of existance.

 

It's much more efficient for them to sleep, wake up, chase down a rabbit, eat it, and go back to sleep.

 

I'd actually prefer the cats to be sleeping than out reeking havoc on the native wildlife - here in Australia feral cats are one of the major causes for declining populations of small marsupials.

 

With regard to the balance of nature in Australia - if the feral cats weren't killing the small marsupials, what would? Haven't people already wrecked the natural order of things by eliminating the tasmanian tiger, and bringing in rabbits that have multiplied out of proportion. How much does the encroachment of the marsupial's niche by rabbits have to do with their plight? What about dingoes - when did they arrive on the scene?

 

Not trying to be argumentative here - just trying to understand the world "down under" a little better.