Scientific Researcher: Cats Are Good at Sleeping


(Photo: Ben Grantham)

It may surprise you, but Dr. Bonnie Beaver, a professor at Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine has found clear evidence to support that conclusion. Cats don't just sleep. At 16-20 hours per day, they sleep more than any other animal. Benjamin Wermund writes in the Houston Chronicle:

Beaver says cats have evolved to become natural sleepers.

"Early on, they had to hunt for food to stay alive, and that desire for food can require a lot of energy," Beaver said. "So sleeping helped cats conserve their energy, and even though the common housecat does not have to hunt for its next meal, a cat is still conditioned for sleep."

Cats also probably dream, Beaver says. She knows this because dreaming happens during REM sleep and cats definitely have REM sleep. They also twitch their whiskers and paws during sleep, another sign they're probably in dreamland.

"They also exhibit movements during REM sleep, so it is possible they can dream," Beaver said. "What are they dreaming about? Since we can't ask them, we really don't know."

What do cats dream about? Probably sitting on top of the entire world or hunting humans.

-via Dave Barry

Love cute animals? View more at Lifestyles of the Cute and Cuddly blog

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It's hard to believe that someone could survive up there so long and actually made it their home! I felt quite sad watching their belongings being hurled to the ground and bagged up. I wonder what an effort it took to secure each new item and whether the person/ people who lived there were somewhere watching it being destroyed.
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After the Cuban Migration of the '80s, nearly every bridge in South Florida was inhabited. You could look up under every overpass and see mounds of trash and living quarters (the occupants were never around during the day.)

I have noticed in the past few years most all the bridge occupants in South Florida have gone away. I don't know if its stricter enforcement or if they all just found different lodgings, but it's rare to see them now.
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Like most here I initially couldn't see the image, so had a mental image quite different from the actual situation.

That guy needed to be moved on.

I'm all for people being left alone just so long as they do not present a danger to others and themselves.

That amount of crap up on that centre spar where it could fall onto moving vehicles is just dangersous.

If he was not over traffic I'd say let the guy be.
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The missing images are my fault - I forgot to upload them onto Neatorama's image servers before I left for the week (all these posts were scheduled to run while I was gone). Sorry - they should be fixed now.
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