What cats dream about: scientists reveal the secret

Cat owners know for sure that when their pet falls asleep, it can dream. Murly can smack his lips in a funny way, twitch his paws, and even hiss or growl. It was a mystery what he was seeing.

As OBOZREVATEL has found out, scientists have established this. In fact, most mammals are prone to dreams. To study the sleep of cats, researchers connected electrodes to the brains of experimental animals.

It turned out that a cat's brain activity when it sleeps is very similar to that when it is awake. This means that the animal's brain works in both situations in a similar way, and what cats see in their dreams is probably not much different from the actual reality around them. According to scientists, during sleep, the purr's brain processes the information it has learned over the past day.

American veterinarians have also analysed the movements of cats in their sleep and suggested that they can often see hunting scenes. Since cats are obligate predators, chasing prey is one of their key behaviours. It is logical to assume that their brains process such signals during sleep.

Other typical cat dreams are associated with interaction with the familiar environment. For example, communication with the owner, playing with toys, or using a scratching post.

As for the movements made by a sleeping cat, scientists say that this is normal. Dreams come to animals during REM sleep. It is characterised by active eye movements. Similar impulses are transmitted to other parts of the body - paws, tongue, jaws, etc.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL told what cat meowing means.

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