The cat sleeps with its eyes open and twitches. Why does a cat twitch in its sleep?

All owners carefully monitor the health of their pets. Often the sight of a cat sleeping with its eyes open frightens its owners. They begin to get nervous and even worry about the possible death of their pet. However, this is quite common. In any case, there is no need to worry about this. In this respect, a cat is similar to a person. Everyone has seen how elderly people sleep with their eyes half-closed. The older the pet gets, the more often he sleeps like this.

Causes

It is important to determine the reason why the animal twitches its back and tail. To do this, you should carefully observe the cat. The reasons can be both harmless and dangerous.

Safe Reasons

Cats have vibrissae, which are sensitive hairs in their fur, such as whiskers. On the back they are stiffer than the rest of the hair and may be white. They are designed for orientation in space. If you touch them, the animal will twitch the hair on its back. If you run it against the grain and ruin her hair or ruffle it, she will also twitch and then begin to lick herself, putting herself in order.

If your cat jerks its back or tail, it will be under stress. When she is scared, excited, nervous, she shows her condition by twitching. This phenomenon can often be observed during the mating season. Especially when the animal does not have the opportunity to walk and look for a partner for procreation. You can also observe twitching when she wants to go to the toilet. She may start running, meowing, and freaking out. Thus, by twitching the skin, the animal establishes peristalsis. This is normal behavior for her and should not cause alarm to her owners.

Dangerous reasons

Twitching of the skin on the back can be a sign that your cat's health is deteriorating. In such a situation, the main thing is not to delay and contact a specialist. The veterinarian will order tests, make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

A pet may jerk its back due to diseases such as

:

• Rabies;
• Hyperesthesia syndrome;
• Cancerous tumors;
• Fleas.

If a cat roams freely on the street, it runs the risk of encountering another animal with rabies. The disease is transmitted through a bite. If you notice that your cat's back is twitching, he has attacks of aggression, is irritable, eats food but does not drink water, immediately take him to the doctor. These are symptoms of rabies.

If the disease is neglected, it will become dangerous for all family members. An animal infected with rabies can infect humans. If the symptom is confirmed by the veterinarian after tests, the cat will be euthanized. Unfortunately, veterinarians have not yet found effective treatment methods that can restore health to a pet.

Some young cats, under one year of age, develop hyperesthesia syndrome. Most often, purebred animals are susceptible to it. It is difficult to treat due to the fact that it has not been fully studied. The syndrome is accompanied by hypersensitivity and increased nervousness. The cat's condition changes from normal to aggressive, suddenly, as if a switch in her brain was switched. She can attack other animals or people. Biting your own tail. Small children should not be allowed near to protect the child from being bitten and scratched.

The first call is when the animal begins to take extra care of its fur. It constantly licks itself in the area of ​​the back and tail. Such excessive care can lead to dermatitis, severe itching of the skin. In a cat in this condition, not only does the skin on its back twitch, but its hair also falls out, forming bald patches. The disease can be aggravated by a fungal infection. Treatment of hyperesthesia syndrome is carried out with special medications against seizures and sedatives.

A cat may twitch its back nervously, itch, and lick itself intensively due to fleas. Even if she is indoors and does not go outside, there is a risk of infection. People can bring them on their shoes. There are special drops and collars to combat them.

If a tumor forms in the spinal cord, the cat may nervously jerk its back. Treatment is carried out through surgery. This disease is rare, but the prognosis for the affected animal is disappointing.

Noticing symptoms in time is a step towards recovery. You can't run them. The veterinarian needs to be told about all the nuances of the animal’s behavior. Then the correct diagnosis will be made and the correct treatment will be prescribed.

There is no need to worry if your cat twitches in his sleep - these are not seizures, but a normal phenomenon that occurs during sound sleep.

Scientists have been able to prove that cats, like people, have deep or shallow sleep. A quarter of the total time a cat spends sleeping is spent in deep sleep.

What to do?

You can find out how to behave and what to do in such cases below.

If the cat is lethargic

If your cat doesn’t eat and has lost a lot of weight, you need to try changing your pet’s diet. After all, if your pet doesn’t eat during the day, and you just gave him new food or food, then perhaps the problem lies in the food. In this case, you need to do this: add not much of the food she ate before to the new food, gradually reducing its level to a minimum.

Perhaps the cat is lethargic and does not eat during the day due to the dirty bowl in which her food is located. Bowls need to be clean, so they need to be washed every day. Your pet probably doesn't like where his bowls are located. Try placing the bowl in a different place and watch the cat.

If the cat does not eat for a long time and is very lethargic throughout the day, or even several days, and the above tips did not help, then there is only one way out. What to do? Take your pet to the veterinarian, as these symptoms indicate the development of the disease. Only a doctor can determine the real cause.

The cause of this condition of the pet is often food, namely:

• fast food intake;
• the cat ate a lot at lunch;
• the food you feed the animal is difficult to digest;
• they began to accustom him to other foods too abruptly and not systematically;
• the food is of poor quality and has already spoiled;
• Perhaps the pet was poisoned by digging in the trash or eating something poisonous.

Sorry, there are no surveys available at this time.

In the first four cases, home self-medication is not allowed. Take your pet to a veterinarian for examination as soon as possible, otherwise the situation may end in disaster. A timely diagnosis and treatment can save the animal, but if you hesitate, you can ruin your pet’s health.

This is not easy to do, especially when the animal breaks out. With one hand you need to open the cat's mouth, and with the other you need to put a pill in it. Make sure she swallows it, otherwise there will be no point. When the cat has eaten the drug, wait until it goes to the toilet.

It is believed that a dry nose in a cat is the initial sign of illness. This is true, but not always. After sleep, your pet’s nose will be dry, no matter how much you want it to be otherwise. But if the lack of appetite is accompanied by this factor for several days, then there is only one way out - take the animal to the veterinarian.

Touch your pet to see if he has a fever. If this is the case, take the animal to the doctor immediately.

Why does a cat twitch in his sleep?

When a cat goes to bed, it usually curls up into a ball. This position allows you to relax your muscles. After 10-30 minutes, the animal’s sleep enters the deep phase. At this time, the eyeballs can quickly turn, despite the fact that the eyelids are in a closed position. In addition, you can notice movements of the whiskers, paws, ears and tail.

A person in this phase dreams. A dream is a manifestation of a special state of the brain, when it analyzes recently occurring events and transfers information to deeper levels from temporary memory. Many scientists believe that cats dream too. Especially in childhood, when kittens need to remember a lot of information. For the first month of life they sleep only in deep sleep.

Periods of deep sleep in cats last 6-7 minutes.

Representatives of the feline species spend most of their lives sleeping. These animals love to settle down in a cozy, safe place and choose the most comfortable position. Sometimes a cat twitches in its sleep. A person, seeing such movements, often begins to worry and wonders whether such a phenomenon is normal. What happens to an animal during sleep? What kind of movements during rest can be evidence of the development of pathologies? The answers to such questions are most interesting and important for animal owners.

Features of cat nutrition.

Another element of a carnivore's lifestyle that may influence the amount of sleep needed is a high-protein diet. This is an important difference from the diet of herbivores and omnivores, which require larger amounts of less nutritious food to sustain life. Thanks to the nutritious meat that wild cats have eaten throughout their history, they can afford to spend less time eating and more time sleeping.

Like people, a cat's sleep is divided into deep and superficial. When a cat takes a nap (this lasts from fifteen minutes to an hour and a half), she controls her body so that she can jump up at any moment and be ready for action.

During deep sleep, the cat's brain continues to work quite actively. Deep sleep typically lasts about five minutes, then the brain returns to the drowsiness phase. This alternation of deep and light sleep continues until the animal wakes up. If you count only the duration of deep sleep, it turns out that the cat no longer sleeps as much as it seems.

Features of cat sleep

Scientists have conducted studies on cats' sleep. It was found that the normal sleep of this species of animals has 3 phases:

• superficial, it can be compared to a state of drowsiness, in which the individual is able to control the environment and danger;
• slow sleep, it is characterized by relaxation of the animal’s muscles, a decrease in blood pressure, slowing of breathing and heartbeat, the cat can make slow movements of the eyeballs under closed eyelids;
• REM sleep, usually lasts 6-7 minutes, during which changes occur - the breathing rate alternates between increasing and decreasing, the rhythm of the heart changes, blood pressure can increase, the eyes under the eyelids can move quickly, twitching of the paws, tail, ears, and whiskers occurs in sleep .

Research has reliably confirmed that it is the rapid phase of sleep that is the period when the animal sees dreams filled with emotions, sights and sounds. The phases of sleep replace each other, and the cat’s behavior changes and corresponds to each of them.

What can a cat dream about?

What kind of dreams does a cat have? Scientists believe that an animal in a dream is capable of experiencing many pleasant and not so pleasant emotions, while at the same time seeing the real world around them and hearing its sounds.

:

• joy;
• aggression;
• fear;
• interest;
• hunting instinct.

It is hunting, the pursuit of prey, that, according to researchers, are the main plot lines of cat dreams. This leads to the conclusion that a sleeping cat’s paw twitches not because of illness, but because of the vivid pictures of life that the animal dreams of.

Locomotor activity of kittens during sleep

Researchers explain why a kitten twitches in its sleep much more often, more energetically and longer than its adult relatives. They claim that a young cat between the ages of birth and one and a half years has a long REM sleep phase, which takes up to 80% of his total rest time. During the period of active growth and maturation in animals, the nervous system is in the stage of development and formation, therefore, during sleep, kittens experience more vivid emotions than sexually mature individuals.

Kittens are able to fall asleep in an uncomfortable place; often the position chosen for rest causes bewilderment among the owners due to its unnaturalness. After falling asleep, a young male cat begins to vigorously move and move its paws, often twitch its whole body, roll over and radically change its position in space. Sometimes his eyes may be slightly open, which is completely normal for a baby. The special structure of its visual organs suggests the presence of a third eyelid, which has the appearance of a transparent film that reliably protects the eyes. Kittens make sounds - they can meow with varying intensity, purr.

The movement of a young sleeping cat can help to understand the storylines of his dreams - games with brothers and sisters, first fights, walks around the house and in nature, meeting other animals, for example, a dog or adult relatives, hunting birds, insects or rodents. Sleepy smacking and sucking movements are explained simply - the baby is enjoying delicious mother's milk.

What can you do

Wanting to restore proper sleep to the pet, the owner can try a few simple measures. If the animal is very excitable, then sleeping with its eyes open may be associated with excessive activity of the nervous system. In such a situation, it is best to give cats special sedative drops.

Sometimes it happens that a healthy cat sleeps with her eyes open, and this is quite normal; and if so, then the owner should not be afraid. If you are concerned about your pet, then you should immediately go to a veterinary clinic, since only a face-to-face consultation will give an accurate answer as to why this phenomenon is observed in a particular case.

If you are a happy cat owner, you probably noticed that your pet sleeps too much, and perhaps you were wary about it. Don't worry, long naps are completely normal for all cats. But why this happens is really very interesting.

Motor activity during sleep of an adult cat

It is normal for a cat to twitch slightly during sleep once it has passed adolescence. Adaptation of an animal in the outside world and among “its own kind”, strengthening its nervous system, completing the construction of “owner-pet” relationships contributes to its psychological stability. The cat does not experience significant stress and therefore sleeps more peacefully.

In an adult, REM sleep is accompanied by

:

• infrequent and not pronounced movements of the paws;
• twitching of the lip, mustache, ears;
• motor activity of the tail;
• rare screams, meows, growls.

If a cat older than two years old experiences emotions characteristic of a kitten in a dream, it is highly likely that it may be diagnosed with behavioral changes - increased nervousness, aggressiveness. It is difficult for such animals to adapt close to humans, and sometimes living together becomes impossible.

Why don't kittens' eyes open on time?

Eye opening does not always occur on time for the following reasons:

1. Conjunctivitis - inflammation of the mucous membrane may begin before opening. In this case, the microbes are transmitted by the mother. The owner is to blame for not vaccinating the cat in a timely manner and feeding it inferior food. The owner is given the opportunity to correct the error. The mother is transferred to super premium food intended for juniors or kittens over a month old. Inflamed organs of vision are washed with Diamond Eyes drops or analogues.
2. Fusion of the eyelids: the problem can only be resolved by a veterinarian surgically or with the help of therapeutic massage.

Be sure to read:

Cats have mats, what they are + video on how to get rid of hair that has gotten into a ball

When to Seek Veterinary Help

The special behavior of a cat in a dream may indicate the development of some dangerous pathological conditions in it. Cat owners should know their symptoms in order to prevent the development of diseases and not miss the time when treatment can be most effective.

Seizure

In some situations, cats often twitch in their sleep, and such movements are similar in nature to convulsions. This condition requires immediate help for the pet, there is no time to waste, you must immediately start waking up the cat. The duration of the animal's awakening process must be assessed - a healthy animal is able to fully wake up quickly, within 15 seconds. If the process drags on against the backdrop of ongoing convulsions, the cat has difficulty getting out of sleep, remains half-asleep and lethargic - it requires a veterinary examination and, possibly, treatment.

Symptoms confirm seizure

:

• labored breathing;
• the animal is unable to stand or simply raise and hold its head;
• cannot swallow saliva and chokes on it.

Situations are especially dangerous when, due to convulsive manifestations, the owner cannot wake up his cat or, after waking up, the animal loses consciousness. Such conditions indicate that the convulsions have not ended and the process may repeat. If the seizure is of a recurring nature, the symptom may indicate pathologies of the nervous system, the possibility of the development of tumor processes in the pet’s brain. Often, convulsions in a dream end in the death of the cat.

Cat during pregnancy and after birth

Maximum attention to the cat's behavior from the owner is required during her pregnancy and after the birth has occurred. It is during periods associated with the expectation and birth of offspring that it is necessary to monitor the female’s sleep patterns, movements accompanying rest, and monitor the possibility of seizures.

A seizure may occur while the cat is resting after giving birth. It is the main symptom of the development of pathology - postpartum preeclampsia. Its other symptoms are

:

• severe anxiety of the animal, excitement, or vice versa, falling into an inhibited state;
• body temperature rises;
• breathing and heart rhythm disturbances;
• salivation increases;
• loss of consciousness occurs.

Convulsions begin with light muscle contractions, which then become prolonged - the cat may take unnatural poses, fall on its side, or lose motor coordination. The condition requires urgent professional assistance.

Other causes of cat seizures during sleep

Why might domestic cats have seizures while sleeping? These symptoms are associated with various reasons.

:

• the presence of signs of the development of viral or infectious diseases (with a significant increase in body temperature);
• when metabolic processes in the animal’s body are disrupted due to hypothermia, the consequences of heat stroke;
• lack of water, dehydration - metabolic processes are inhibited, disrupted, the internal organs of the animal do not receive enough oxygen;
• intoxication of the cat’s body, which occurs when poisoned by medications, poisons, components included in household chemicals, fertilizers, building materials, paints, varnishes;
• hormonal imbalance;
• presence of heart and vascular diseases;
• consequences of traumatic brain injuries;
• respiratory diseases;
• helminth infection;
• imbalance of vitamins and microelements.

A change in their emotional state can cause seizures during sleep in cats.

:

• severe fear;
• life-threatening danger;
• getting injured;
• change of place of residence.

The cat's owner must periodically monitor his sleep in order to avoid the development of dangerous diseases and deterioration of his well-being.

Or more precisely in their short but frequent superficial dreams. Sometimes when your cat is sleeping, you may notice that she is twitching. Chances are you were puzzled, what could this mean? Although cats typically sleep up to 16 hours a day, small twitches usually do not pose any threat.

Light twitching

According to available data and statistics, most cats regularly experience small twitches while sleeping. Some experts believe they may be similar to what people experience during REM eye movement sleep. During rapid eye movement, people dream and experience a deep sense of pleasure in sleep. Those little twitches your kitten or cat makes could be simple movements they make while chasing a mouse or playing with other cats in their dreams.

The predatory lifestyle of a cat.

By their nature, all types of cats have always been and remain predatory animals. Domestic cats are by no means an exception to this rule, as can be easily seen by watching them catch mice or birds. However, since most small cats have now been domesticated, they have lost many behavioral traits characteristic of predators, acquired in the process of evolutionary development.

As a predator, a cat should be most active when its prey is most active - traditionally during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk. The rest of the night and all day - just when conditions for obtaining food are not so favorable, wild cats used to sleep and recuperate.

To maintain the lifestyle of a predator, it was necessary to ensure the possibility of a large expenditure of energy in a short time, so that it could catch up, grab and kill its prey during the hunt. Therefore, in the process of evolution, it turned out that cats adapted to accumulate as much energy as possible (while they were not in a state of active hunting) in order to be able to use it at the right time, increasing the chances of a successful completion of the hunt.

Three types of sleep

Cat sleep is divided into 3 main phases or stages. Superficial sleep, which is nothing more than a light nap. When a cat is dozing, she is very alert to her surroundings. Her nose and ears act like radar. This is a natural defense mechanism that allows them to get some rest while maintaining a sense of alertness.

In addition to shallow short sleep, there is longer, but still light sleep. And the third type is the deepest and longest sleep. Cats typically cycle from light sleep type 2 to deep sleep type 3. During the deep sleep phase, which lasts about 6-7 minutes, the cat experiences deep relaxation. It is during these few minutes that she may tremble or twitch slightly.

When to go to the vet

Urgent contact with a veterinarian is only required if sleeping with your eyes open is combined with symptoms of paralysis and glaucoma. Cloudiness of the eye or separation of purulent secretion from it should also alert you.

When there are no symptoms to urgently visit a specialist, you need to observe the animal for at least a week . If sleep disturbances persist, a visit to the veterinarian is necessary. After examining the cat, a specialist will be able to determine why such a strange dream occurs and whether the animal needs to be treated. In most cases, they do without treatment at all, when the problem is not related to health problems and disappears on its own.

Convulsions

Mild twitching during sleep should not cause you concern when your cat is sleeping. However, if your cat's body becomes "stiff" when she twitches, then it's best to tell your veterinarian. Mild seizures usually occur not only during sleep, but also while the kitten is awake. If your cat twitches during sleep but does not experience lethargy, loss of appetite or vomiting, then the slight twitching that may occur from time to time should not bother you.

Complete relaxation

To help your pussy fall into deep sleep, where twitching may sometimes occur, provide him with a sleeping area that maintains a constant, comfortable temperature. Cats especially feel safe in high places, where they are protected from various stimuli, such as other animals in the house.

At temperatures below 20 degrees, a cat may curl up and hide its nose under its tail, but at higher temperatures, it will tend to gradually relax its position.

Our pets, be it a dog or a hamster, a cat or a rabbit, always cause us a special wave of tenderness when they sleep, sweetly snoring their noses and twitching their paws. Representatives of cats are especially touching, taking unimaginable poses during sleep, which can hardly even be called a comfortable position. And they sleep in these positions! And some of them snore or twitch their paws in their sleep! Why?

Do you need to worry about your pet if your cat snores in its sleep like a locomotive, and also grunts, twitches, extends its claws or sticks out its tongue?

Why do cats snore?

In order to give correct explanations, we will touch on the anatomical structure of cats, the basics of which any owner who respects his animal should know.

• Respiratory system

The picture clearly shows how long the cat’s trachea is. Through the trachea, air enters the cat's lungs, and through it it is expelled back. In a normal state, the number of inhalations and exhalations by a cat is 17-20. A very deep breath and a very long exhale! Air is passed through the vestibule of the trachea - the larynx.

The larynx of domestic cats is shortened and motionless, unlike their larger relatives - tigers and lions, which can roar and growl loudly and fearfully. When growling, the hyoid bone of the larynx flutters like a flame in the wind, hence the vibrating sound.

But our cats, cats and kittens do not know how to growl - the hyoid is rigidly embedded in the larynx. But our pets can purr, forcefully pushing air through this natural bony barrier. They push air as they inhale, push it as they exhale, and therefore their purring process is continuous as long as the cat keeps the larynx in a relaxed state.

As you know, sleep is the most relaxed state of the body, so it turns out that snoring and grunting during sleep is nothing more than a kind of purring as air passes through the cat’s larynx.

Kittens begin to make these sweet sounds as early as 5-7 days after birth, as soon as their little larynx begins to harden.

This is the first reason for snoring.

• The structure of the muzzle

Do you know that pugs snore always and everywhere? The reason for this is the brachycephalic structure of the muzzle. If your cat has the same shortened nasal passages and unnaturally altered “facial” bones, then snoring for them is a natural, standard condition, because the air moves along an anomalous trajectory. They snore even while they are awake, but during sleep, when they relax, the snoring is especially pronounced. Brachycephalic breeds include flat-nosed Persians, Himalayans and other cats, whose nasal passages are shortened as a result of the work of breeders, and the tissues of the soft palate are lengthened and thickened.

• The third reason is posture

Snoring can also occur in the most unimaginable positions that a cat takes during sleep. This position may seem comfortable to the cat, but it blocks the natural flow of air to the lungs - disrupts their circulation. The body reacts by drawing in more air and releasing carbon dioxide back. Result: we snore, we’re shaking!

We are not talking about obesity yet, but your cat’s “legs” have already become plump, the ribs are difficult to feel under the layer of subcutaneous fat, and the scruff of the neck is almost equal in width to the butt.

It’s hard for a cat to jump on the sofa before going to bed, let alone having fun jumping for a candy wrapper on a string. It's hard for him! It’s hard for him not only to run, but also to sleep. A cat overworked by any physical activity prefers to remain in a state of sleep and rest, because... any action causes him to feel heavy breathing, even in sleep. It's time to lose weight, fatty! It's hard for you to even breathe!

• Signs of the disease

If until recently your funny kitten was cheerful and cheerful, but today he has a runny nose, drooling, sneezing, diarrhea, lack of appetite and snoring, then take him by the paw and take him to Aibolit. This one sign is enough to start seeing a doctor and start proper timely treatment, which will lead to the recovery of your naughty boy.

The cause of “fading” can be anything, from helminthic infestation and diseases of the gums and teeth, to serious diseases of the heart and other internal organs.

Fortunately, painful snoring most often accompanies a common sore throat, which can be easily cured with antibiotics under the strict guidance of the good Doctor Aibolit.

Having dealt with the main causes of snoring, let's try to find out why your cat twitches in its sleep, runs somewhere, shudders, twitches and even fights.

What should the owner do?

When you see someone sleeping with their eyes open, there is no need to panic and no action needs to be taken.
Most likely, this is a feature of the cat’s breed or body, so such a dream should be taken calmly. It should be remembered that if your pet sleeps with his eyes open, this means that, unlike his relatives who prefer to sleep with his eyes closed, he is always ready to wake up and take active action. Therefore, care must be taken in the following cases:

• walking barefoot past a sleeping animal:
• going to eat ice cream next to your pet;
• while knitting;
• watching birds and butterflies from an open window!

Where does a cat run in a dream?

The reasons for sleepy “escapes” must be sought in the characteristics of the mammalian brain, more precisely, in the phases of sleep.

When our cat sleeps, his brain does not completely turn off; he diligently sorts all the previously received information, as they say, into shelves. During sleep, a cat’s body is practically motionless, it does not repeat the movements that it dreams of, the brain turns off this function of “conscious movement”. This stage is conventionally called “drowsiness”.

At this stage, the cat can still wake up easily, the muscles are not completely relaxed, the eyes can be half-closed and move slowly.

In the second phase, the cat’s muscles relax completely, breathing and pulse slow down, communication with the outside world disappears, the eyeballs stop moving, rolling under the eye sockets. But a cat can still be easily awakened by a loud, unexpected sound. It is interesting that the brain and with it the muscles will work faster than consciousness will “turn on”. Having jumped up, the cat will rush to run away, not realizing what happened and not being aware of its movements.

Such behavior often makes people laugh and they provoke such situations. This is cruel to an innocent animal. Moreover, a cat, and especially a kitten, can be seriously injured by hitting its head “from sleep” or catching its claw on a carpet or something similar.

The third stage of cat sleep is a transition between REM and deep sleep.

.

The sleep is deep and calm, the brain is practically turned off, there is no muscle tone, the eyes are motionless, the boundary between sleep and reality is completely blurred. It is during this period that our feline “princes” and “queens” begin to actively snore! They don’t dream anything, their brain is “asleep.” The brain sleeps, the kitty snores, and we are touched by the snoring animals!

Features of the next two stages are the activity of cats during sleep.

It's all about the increasing activity of the cat's brain. “Ability to sleep and dream!” No one has this skill better than cats! They not only see dreams, they also actively participate in them! Does a cat catch a mouse in dreams? – The cat scratches the rug on which it sleeps. Did the kitten see a scratching cat in a dream? – He will “run” away from her at full speed, twitching his paws funny. He dreamed of his mother cat and again, as in infancy, he drinks milk from her? – Involuntarily, the baby will begin to suck his paw.

Causes of the phenomenon

Sleeping for cats is the main pastime, and therefore, if any deviations from the norm appear during this period, you need to pay attention to them. A cat can sleep with its eyes open when the following reasons exist:

• Glaucoma – with this pathology, intraocular pressure increases, which causes the eyeball to increase in size, and then the eyelid is physically unable to close it.
• Facial nerve paralysis occurs for a number of reasons and most often affects only one half of the muzzle, then only one eye is not tightly closed. In addition to the impossibility of completely closing the eyelids, drooling is observed at this time, and the animal also begins to snore. It is not uncommon for a cat to experience difficulty eating and drinking due to inadequate functioning of the oral apparatus.
• Underdevelopment of the muzzle muscles is observed in some kittens that are under 1 year of age. In such a situation, the phenomenon goes away on its own as the pet grows up.

When the incident of sleeping with your eyes open is a one-time occurrence, then there is no need to worry. This can happen simply due to the fact that the animal fell asleep especially soundly, with the body completely relaxed, and settled down to lie so that the head is in a position in which the eyelid gathers and moves under its weight. This is observed mainly in the heat, when cats sleep especially soundly.

Why do kittens twitch in their sleep?

1. Why do kittens twitch in their sleep?
2. Why do kittens and adult cats sleep with their tongues hanging out?

Answer to the first question

: Not only kittens twitch in their sleep, but all animals, including humans. The brain is to blame again! Physical activity forces the muscles to remain in constant tone, and when falling asleep, the brain sends a short-term impulse: “Relax urgently!” - and the muscle twitches so that we can begin sleepy relaxation. The same thing happens in kittens: an impulse - the kitten twitched, as if from an electric shock. But this is an absolutely painless phenomenon! Scientifically, it is myoclonus.

Answer to the second question:

Cats' front teeth are shorter than their canines. When the jaws close during sleep, a rather impressive gap remains between the incisors, where the “lost control” tongue ends up. Well, it fell out and fell out - there’s nothing wrong with that!

Why is a kitten born with its eyes closed?

The living conditions of the ancestors of modern cats in the wild were not conducive to long-term gestation. Therefore, kittens were born premature, blind and deaf. Compared to the young of other species, of course.

The second reason for blindness is the protection of the unformed organism from the penetration of microbes and other unfavorable factors. The cornea of ​​the eye is the gateway to the bloodstream. Cubs need time to obtain antibodies to pathogens from maternal colostrum so that the immune system is prepared to repel microbial aggression.

But the cat does not have time to nurse the kittens for a long time. To feed her offspring, she needs to hunt, then there will be enough milk. Therefore, the development of children in the external environment proceeds at an accelerated pace.