Sleepy Kitty, Sweet Kitty, Little Ball of Fur

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We have 4 cats. One little tuxedo female is named Whiskers. She often sleeps on my chair across from my bed. I usually wake her up as I scuddle by with my cane in the early morning hours on my way to the bathroom. I don't like getting woke up when I am asleep, so I always whisper an apology as I go by. I got to thinking the other morning if cats have a sleep cycle like ours with the REM cycle and all. I know they sleep for up to 16 hours a day, but what type of sleep do they actually get I wondered. I know if humans aren't able to reach the REM cycle they don't get true restful sleep. Or so I am told. So, I dove into the net and found out some interesting facts. They exhibit what is called polyphasic sleep. They have the same biological clock as humans, but cats can enter REM sleep quicker than humans and seem to do it several times in 24 hours. I thought that was interesting.