Cats and Their Sleeping Habits
Cats can appear to be asleep for as much as 20 hours, but the depth of their sleep varies. During a third of the time that they are curled up with their eyes closed, cats are in a deep sleep. This level of rest, during which cats dream, is essential to a cat’s health because it is the period in which their bodies regenerate cells, thus allowing the cat to remain healthy.
1. Kittens who are growing sleep more than adult cats.
2. Older cats need more rest than younger cats.
3. Cats will sleep longer when it is cold so they can conserve energy and remain warm.
4. Cats like to sleep in the sunshine to warm themselves.
5. Cats sleep for long hours if they have been active for several hours.
6. Cats who are bored will sleep more often than others.
How Cats Became Domesticated
Cats May Have Domesticated Themselves
Some leading scientists believe that cats likely domesticated themselves. The theory explains that cats slowly integrated themselves into human settlements, gradually working their way towards being approachable by people. From that point forward they became intertwined in a mutually beneficial relationship with humans due to their vermin killing abilities. Domesticated natural selection took off and ensured that they stayed domesticated.
Cats May Have Been Forcibly Domesticated
Some researchers believe that early wild cats were captured by primitive humans and kept in cages. These wild cats may have been used as a food source. Researchers believe that the captured cats could have eventually become friendly with their captors and eventually freed to roam amongst them. From that point forward a mutually beneficial relationship randomly started.
Cats Were Accidentally Domesticated
Another theory is that cats were accidentally domesticated. This theory suggests that cats inhabited an area where nomadic human beings stopped at. Once the nomads set up a mobile village, cats began to hunt the small vermin that the nomads attracted with their food supplies. The cats then followed the nomads to a new location and eventually became domesticated.
Cats Were Gifted Into Domestication
An unusual theory about how cats were domesticated suggests that early civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians, used to trade captured wild cats as gifts. Upon receiving the gift the recipient would generally set the wild cat free. After this occurrence repeated itself over hundreds of years, it is speculated that the wild cats eventually became domesticated.
Catastrophe May Have Domesticated Cats
Early human civilizations were often rocked by massive catastrophes. Some scientists and archaeologist speculate that a giant flood, volcano, or super hurricane could have knocked wild cats out of their natural habitat and pushed them into contact with humans, after which point they were eventually domesticated.
Keeping Your Cat Safe in a Heat Wave
The Top 5 Ways to Keep Your Cat Safe During a Heat Wave
1. Crank Up The AC – The easiest way to keep a cat safe during an extreme heatwave is to crank up the household air conditioning until it holds a temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit or 26 degrees Celsius or less. Cats thrive in temperatures at or less than the aforementioned range.
2. Provide a Lot of Water – Cats are just like human beings in the sense that they need to consume larger amounts of water than normal during hot summer weather. Always be sure to provide cats with plenty of water during an extreme summer heatwave.
3. Brush Your Cat Often – Brushing excess fur off of a cat during the summer months will help to keep their core body temperatures much cooler. Cats shed a lot of their fur during the summer season. Unless they are brushed this loose fur will stay attached to their bodies.
4. Play in The Mornings and Evenings – Cats need plenty of playtime, however, it is important to play with them during the cooler morning or evening hours during a heatwave. This is particularly true if the cat is staying inside a home without air conditioning.
5. Keep an Eye on Them – It is very important to keep a close eye on cats during extremely hot temperatures. Every 1-3 hours pet owners should track down their cat and make sure that their breathing rate is normal and that appear calm, relaxed, and alert. As a cat owner, you should know the signs of heat stroke. If you find that your cat is panting, lethargic, vomiting, or having trouble standing, your cat may be having a heat stroke. If this is the case, you need to cool your cat down as fast as possible and seek medical treatment.
Meet Lionel
Meet Lola
A Word From Nina Nandy’s Cat
Hi, my name is Lionel and I am a long haired tuxedo likely Maine Coon mix with giant kitten mittens and a big fluffy tail. I was a stray roaming the mean streets of Albuquerque until the age of one and a half when I was picked up by Animal Humane and neutered. My 
human mommy, Nina Nandy, came in to meet me and though she was very sweet I was scared. Nina took me home and I was nervous because I had never lived inside before. She gave me lots of love and treats and toys but I would hide and one day I saw a way out and I ran away! I know she was very worried about me and put up flyers all over town and even went door to door looking for me. It took a few months and animal control picked me up and put me in the west side shelter and because I was microchipped Nina was able to find me again. Now I know to never run away again because I have the best life ever! I have all the cuddles, snuggles and treats a kitty could ever have and all the best toys! I particularly enjoy my giant black and white cat tree because it matches my colors, my window seat where I can catch all the sun I want, getting hair all over everything particularly clean laundry and generally being naughty. =^.^= Check out pictures, videos and the latest antics of me, Lionel the snugglisest, most mischievous kitty in the world !
