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Why Does My Cat Stare at Me While I Sleep? Amusing Theories for This Behavior

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Did you ever encounter a situation, where you woke up and saw your feline pal staring at you?

In the daytime, it’s admirable to watch your cat is staring at you. But at night it is a little freaky and ominous that your feline pal invests so much time in observing you.

If you are interested in learning amusing theories behind why does my cat stare at me while I sleep?

My friend, you landed at the correct site. Let’s decode the possible reasons for your kitty’s odd behavior.

Keep reading to find the interesting facts related to your feline pal’s staring behavior, and what she thinks when you are in your dreamland.

why does my cat stare at me while i sleep

Amusing Theories Felines Stare at You While You’re Asleep

Cats keep on adapting odd/unusual behavior to express their emotion or communicate with you, and pet parents admire those gestures.

However, sometimes their habits like licking, pacing around the house, etc. Makes pet parents feel awkward. And staring, or keeping an eye on them, while they’re asleep just scare them.

amusing theories felines stare at you while you are sleeping

Don’t worry, just have a look at the highlighted reasons, which we have covered in this blog, why does my cat stare at me while I sleep?

It will surely help you to get some idea about your kitty’s odd behavior.

1. Your Kitty’s Waiting for You to Wake Up

You are in your dream world, and your kitty standing next to your bed staring at you. She might want to ask you a question.

your kitty is waiting for you to wake up

How can you sleep when she is awake? Or without meeting or spending time with her, you just came and went off to sleep.

The answer to your question, why does my cat stare at me while I sleep? It could be she is just waiting for you to wake up, because you didn’t greet her, forget to feed her favorite treats, etc. It could be anything.

2. She Is Getting Bored

Well, your cat is bored, and she has nothing to do, so ends up watching you sleep. She doesn’t have any interesting thing to do at that time, and your sleeping gesture might be giving her a bit of entertainment.

cat is getting bored

You might be snoring, or tossing and turning your body, or rolling all over the bed, etc.

She might be thinking that “nothing is better than something.” In other words, a lame one is better than no entertainment.

Furthermore, felines like observing things, and sometimes they can sit and stare for no reason.

So, it might be possible that this time you are her object for time to pass.

3. Due to Midnight Craving

Another possible answer to the question, why does my cat stare at me while I sleep? Your cat is hungry, and those midnight cravings for treats might be one of the reasons for this odd behavior.

Like, humans, have a midnight munching mood. We easily just grab food from the kitchen, or nowadays online is our savior.

cat staring due to midnight craving

Similarly, your kitty can also encounter a midnight craving mood, but in their case, they cannot grab it on their own they need your help.

A hungry cat is great at meowing, staring, crying at you until you pay attention to her and feed her. So it is advisable if you encounter such a situation, simply feed her cat food or favorite treats.

4. Might Be She Is Having Anxiety Attacks

Your kitty might be having anxiety attacks, in other words, your cat is anxious, and so she just wants to stay close to you, even when you are sleeping.

cat might be having anxiety attacks

As we know, felines get scared easily, and they are very bad at adapting to changes. So, it makes them stressed out and insecure.

For instance, if recently you have changed your location and living in a new locality. So, there is a high possibility she will not sleep at night, and might also not stay in a different room.

In new places, they get stressed out and insecure, they think that predators will easily attack her and her life is in danger.

5. Your Kitty Feels Closely Bonded to You

Cats do have emotions, especially they are more attached to their pet parents. As you know, felines are great at observing and studying human body language, they could easily sense, who are their beloved ones and enemies.

cat feels closely boned to you

Another possible answer to the question, why does my cat stare at me while I sleep? Your kitty feel connected with you, and she just wants to stay close to you, so this might be one of the reasons she stares at you while you are asleep.

Furthermore, it can be two-way things, she feels protected when you are around, or your kitty just watches over you, to protect you from any danger.

6. She Is Just Being Protected

You are sleeping comfortably in your bed, and sudden sounds wake you up. What you see next, your feline standing next to your bed and watching you continuously. At first, this gesture might have scared you, but no worry, she was just being protected from you.

you are protecting your cat

As per the survey, it has been concluded that felines think that when humans get off to sleep, they enter into dreamy land. So, they become more vulnerable to attackers.

Your kitty thinks, it’s her duty to, look after you while you are having good times in your dreamland.

7. Your Sleeping Position Might Bother Your Feline

Another possible answer to the question, why does my cat stare at me while I sleep? Your sleeping position might catch your cat’s attention.

your sleeping position is bothering your cat

If you are the type of person who snores, repeatedly tossing and turning in sleep. Then these behaviors might catch the attention of your feline, and she gets curious.

Furthermore, if you have a sleeping disorder. Such as restless legs, which makes your kitty think, something is running under your blanket. It develops a curiosity in her to catch that thing.

8. She Is Not Feeling Sleepy

Why does my cat stare at me while I sleep? As we know, felines like taking a long nap, but sometimes it’s possible that she is not feeling sleepy at all. So, she ends up just roaming in the entire house and eventually comes near to your bed.

your cat is not feeling sleepy

Furthermore, it has been observed that felines are great at mimic. They can easily copy their pet parents’ actions.

So, it might be possible that staring at you while you sleep might encourage her to go back to her bed and sleep.

When you wake up and see your feline is sitting next to your bed and watching you, don’t get scared. She was just trying to seek some sleep for herself by observing you.

Conclusion

Hopefully, we were able to clear your clouds of doubts about your cat peeping at you while you are asleep.

As you know, there could be many reasons why does my cat stares at me while I sleep.

Such as she might be getting bored, feeling hungry, or just waiting for you to wake up, etc.

However, it solely depends on your kitty’s nature. It could also be possible that she is just trying to protect you from danger or might be suffering from any pain, etc.

In such cases, you do only one thing, try to decode the reasons for her odd behavior.

Or if she is just peeping at you, then simply shift to another room and have your sound sleep.

References

  1. Why does my cat stare at me while I sleep? — Better With Cats
  2. Why does my cat stare at me? — Cats Protection
  3. Why does my cat stare at me? What is behind the stare? — Petozy

2 thoughts on “Why Does My Cat Stare at Me While I Sleep? Amusing Theories for This Behavior”

  1. Do not feed a cat in the middle of the night or they will get into a routine of waking you up for food. Make sure they have eaten well before bed instead. The best way to stop a cat bothering you at night is to spend a few weeks ignoring them no matter what. This is the advice of all real behaviourists.

    Reply
    • Hi Mel, we agree with you that one should follow a proper feeding schedule for their cats. However, only in certain circumstances where your cat is hungry if she didn’t have a proper meal due to any reason. Due to this, she is could be staring at you at night, at that time it becomes favorable to feed her at midnight as well.

      Reply

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