Thread: What Cats Do At Night

Ever wondered what your pet cat does at night? Well, Scientific American has your answer!!

Where House Cats Roam: Researchers Compare the Mysterious Wanderings of Pet and Stray Felines: Scientific American

Scientists at the University of Illinois and the Illinois Natural History Survey recently attached radio transmitters to the adjustable collars of 18 pet and 24 feral cats in southeastern Champaign-Urbana and tracked the animals by truck and on foot for more than one year. The research, published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, shows that pet cats maintain a rather lazy existence: they spent 80 percent of their time resting. They devoted another 17 percent to low-activity pursuits such as grooming and only 3 percent to high-activity pursuits such as hunting. Unowned cats rested just 62 percent of the time and spent 14 percent, mostly at night, being highly active. Feral cats roamed far more widely than researchers had expected: up to 1,351 acres. In contrast, pet cats stayed within an average of about five acres of home.

I'm convinced that my cat just stares at me all night. Whenever I wake up, weather it's an hour after falling asleep or eight hours, she's there' six inches from my face staring at me. Scares the hell out of me every time.

Hoglahoo, are you saying that Scientific American is wrong?

Originally Posted by LarryAndro

Hoglahoo, are you saying that Scientific American is wrong?

It may be that cats only let American Scientists see what they want them to see

Hate the beasts, would happily bag em all up and make dog food out of em.


In the absence of light don't pray for a miracle use night vision.

Originally Posted by shayne

Hate the beasts, would happily bag em all up and make dog food out of em.

You sound like W.C. Fields... "Whoever hates cats can't be all bad!"

Possibly I misquoted the above. But, I like my adulteration of his quote better.

I'm no cat lover but I know what the critters get up to at night. Every morning I notice fresh cat doings on my dwarf conifer beds and have to clear it up. I don't know where they come from, but they sure do come.

Yeah I know what they do, they get their fur all over your stuff.

My two mostly sleep on my chest purring fit to bust or attack my feet. That's basically their two modes: attack or sleep.