Many people have a hard time understanding the behavior of their cats. For this, two predominant factors are to be blamed: one, their unpredictable demeanor, and the other, their strange yet arcane acts, such as showing more affection in the morning, sleeping with their eyes open, licking their paws, and so on.
Another such strange thing you may have witnessed could be her gazing at you once you hit the sack. Why does my cat stare at me while I sleep? Is it affection, or is it that her hunting instincts have kicked in?
Worry not! Your cat doesn’t want to harm you. Let us tour the reasons to clear your doubts.
Why Does My Cat Stare at Me While I Sleep?
There are at least eight reasons why your cat could stare at you while you are asleep.
There Is a Feeling of Attachment
Cats communicate with their human fellas through body language. Your cat cannot declare her love and attachment with you in words. All she can do is manifest this through her non-verbal presentations. According to Dr. Mikel Delgado, a cat expert, if your cat walks into your room while you are asleep, it is a sign of her love for you.
So, the next time she enters your room and stares at you, just remember, she is a lover and not a hunter!
To Guard You Is Her Job
If a cat develops a feeling of attachment with any human being, she goes a step ahead by being protective of them, just as dogs are. She turns into a sentry who remains close to their pet parent, defending them from whatever that she perceives hazardous to you.
A way to tell if your cat is in bodyguard mode is to look at the pupils in her eyes. If they are enlarged, know that she is being protective of you, and let the adorable little vigilante do her job!
Boredom Has Taken Over Her
Cats are curious animals. Their curiosity does not let them relax all day—you will always find your cat wandering here and there, exploring and examining different objects in your house, as well as spending time with you and your family.
Cats are crepuscular; their curiosity keeps them awake for a significant chunk of the night as well. When you go to sleep, she doesn’t have anyone to play with, eventually getting bored. As the boredom clicks in, she might visit the sleeping ones and stare at them with curiosity in the hope that they might wake up and turn the night into the day again.
She Is Irritated
Cats often get irritated due to several reasons. One of the probable reasons is that she might not be as physically close to her owner as she wants to be. As the night sets in and you go to your bed, your cat might miss the proximity around her that she had during the day. In the quest to get that proximity back, she might visit the sleeping people in the house and stare at them just to manifest her intention.
She Is Vexed
The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) suggests that there is a lot of things that might scare a cat. Resultantly, anxiousness may overcome her. It is quite possible that your cat may be perturbed by the small changes in your home, such as lights switching off and people laying down on their beds. In this state of uneasiness, she might go from room to room, staring at the sleeping people with anxiety and fear.
She Is Like: “Please Wake Up!”
Cats are crepuscular animals, as we said. They often wake up at night, especially during the dawn—it is in their instinct. Being playful, she might look around for the people, especially her pet parent, to wake up and have some cuddling or other fun activities with her. But since people are asleep, she might be left with no other option but to wait till the twilight breaks into the sky.
Until that happens, your cat might stand near your pillow and cast a wistful gaze at you with a hidden message, “wake up my hooman and play with me, please!”
Her Tummy Is Empty
A cat might sleep at night, but she is usually awake at dawn and dusk. As your cat gets up earlier than you do, she might anticipate breakfast after a long night. Moreover, due to her crepuscular nature, she might lose some energy while being awake during the night, which will make her crave food even more. While longing for breakfast, she might look at your face, expecting her pet parent to feed her a delicious meal to begin her day with.
You May Be Snoring
Cats are sensitive to sound. Just as we humans do not often like hearing anyone snore, cats might exhibit the same behavior. During your slumber, you might snore while your cat is around. Even if she does not mind it, she might get curious because of her sensitivity to the sound she possesses. Though cats themselves snore, but since they don’t listen to themselves when they’re asleep, your snoring might intrigue her.
Hence, it will be natural for her to come near you and see if you are doing fine—or she may take it as a way of you calling her—and she might start staring at you.
How Can I Avoid My Cat From Staring at Me While I Sleep?
The reasons why your cat might stare at you while you sleep are surely not bothersome; it is not like your cat is biting you. However, if you still decide to not let that happen again, here are a few possible solutions that could help you.
Fix a Meal Time for Your Cat at Night
Fix dinner for your cat right before you go to bed. Cats generally fall asleep soon after having a large meal. In fact, a sizeable meal acts as a natural cat sedative. Since cats sleep 13 to 16 hours a day and humans do the same for 6 to 8, both of you hitting the sack at the same time is a good idea.
Still, you need to remember that cats are crepuscular, which means they may not sleep at dawn. Nevertheless, a heavy meal at night should definitely help at least a little to get your cat to sleep.
Play a Lot With Your Cat During the Day
Cats fall asleep deep and easily after having a tiresome day, just as we humans do. If your cat does a lot of physical activities all day, she might sleep very well at night. Add into it a dinner for her just before you go to bed, and it will be very beneficial as she might sleep the whole night. Try to add different exercises for your cat in her daily routine.
A simple one that won’t be onerous for you is to let her have fun with laser. Just be seated, keep relaxed, and point a laser on the wall. Your cat will try to catch the laser spot, thus putting in a lot of energy. Don’t have one? You can get one below; it has 5 patterns in 3 colors. Your cat would surely exert her energy while playing with the laser.
Cat Toy
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Keep Your Cat Away From Your Sleeping Room
A simple and easiest way is to shut the door of your bedroom for her at night. Since she won’t have any means of ingress to your room, she won’t be able to stare at you while you are asleep. Some of the best products that will keep your cat away without harming her are:
- Cat Repellent Mats: These non-toxic cat-repellent mats can be kept both indoors and outdoors. Moreover, you can cut them into different sizes and shapes. With this, you can keep your cat at bay humanely.
- Wireless Fence for Cats: It is a portable wireless fence that can keep a cat at least 30 feet away.
- Cat Repellent Spray: Just spray this repellent on the door of your sleeping room, and your cat won’t come near it. It is safe and non-scratch.
To buy any of these products, just click on the name of the product. When you buy from these links, we get a commission—that’s how you can support this website.
Conclusion
Cats are, indeed, great companions and perfect pets. Nonetheless, sometimes, they might exhibit the behavior of peculiar nature that may vex the people around them—and staring at them while they sleep is one of them. While this particular behavior is not concerning, you may or may not want to get rid of it.