Yes, cats and dogs also dream. Are you curious?

You may have heard that, in addition to humans, animals also dream, especially mammals. Among mammals, cats, dogs and monkeys have the longest dreams .

The dreams of animals sound very interesting, but unfortunately, they can't talk and can't share what they dreamed about with us the first time they wake up. But this can't stop scientists who are very interested in this - researchers have shown greater interest in the dreams of cats and dogs, who can capture stupid humans with just their appearance and a look, and their loyal friends.

The study found that dogs tend to make movements such as running and barking in their dreams , which is very similar to when they play games with their owners. Cats , as real hunters, are more likely to make movements similar to hunting in their dreams .

Cat's Dream

In my impression, the "masters" always seem to be sleeping.

For example, this -

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Or something like this——

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There is also this——

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The average cat sleeps 16 hours a day, two-thirds of the time.

The Japanese, who are widely acknowledged as cat lovers, have also discovered that cats always sleep. In Japanese, "cat (neko)" is pronounced the same as "bed (neko)", which translates to "cute sleeping cat". However, in fact, cats only sleep deeply for about 4 hours . So, today we will talk about what the "masters" do in the remaining 12 hours of sleep (zhe).

Humans and cats have lived together for nearly 10,000 years. But compared to dogs, which have been completely domesticated and are also kept as pets, domestic cats and their owners may only be cohabiting (the "owners" are obviously the ones who are dominated and have a lower status). Therefore, cats, who still have strong wild instincts, are more likely to be in a light sleep, which can also be called " snooze ", in order to react and act quickly.

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Similar to the sleep cycle of humans, cats also have REM sleep (light sleep) and non-REM sleep, and they cycle continuously. During REM sleep, although the skeletal muscles of the whole body are in a relaxed state, the brain still maintains the same working state as when awake. The eyeballs will move rapidly and involuntarily at this stage, and dreams often appear in REM sleep. In other words, cats spend 3/4 of their sleep time in REM sleep .

Humans dream during REM sleep, so do cats also dream? People have long suspected this.

In 1959, French scientist Michel Jouvet measured the muscle tension of cats during REM sleep in an experiment. He found that although cats in this stage would have some behaviors such as trembling ears, whiskers, claws and even forelimbs, they could not stand up in an upright state, as if all the muscles in their body had softened when they entered the sleep state. Experienced cat owners should have noticed these small movements of cats when they sleep, so this does not prove whether cats are really dreaming. Jouvet thought about it and realized that if the muscles were relaxed, he could not do anything. So he decided to find a way to suppress muscle relaxation during sleep.

Then, Jewitt actually found a brain area called locus coeruleus in the brainstem, whose function is related to stress response. After destroying this brain area with surgery, cats can still fall asleep normally, but they hiss and start scratching violently during the REM sleep stage. Sometimes they even close their eyes and run happily around the cage for a minute or two, as if hunting other animals. In 1967, Jewitt also said in the report: "It is terrifying that animals that fall asleep can have such intense behavior."

Jewitt's experiment strongly proves that cats, like humans, also dream, and that the most common activity in their dreams is their favorite activity - hunting .

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Of course, cats don’t just dream about hunting. Some people in Japan have speculated on the content of cats’ dreams by summarizing cats’ dream talk.

For example, when cats make a short sound like "kuku", it means they have caught food in their dreams . If they are awakened at this time, they will feel very disappointed that the food they caught is gone all of a sudden. Some cats may even stick out their tongues in this dream, which is also very cute. Sometimes, after the "kuku" sound, cats will smack their lips and exhale heavily through their noses. This is probably the incomparable satisfaction after catching prey.

It is also common to see cats humming in their sleep . This is speculated to be their most relaxing dream, or perhaps a dream within a dream in which they dream about themselves sleeping.

In addition, some cats will hum "niamu" when they sleep. This type of sleep talk seems to be the real dream "talk". Many studies have shown that cats do not use meowing to communicate with their own kind in their own tribe. Cats' meowing is created to communicate with humans (to better control their "poop shovelers") . So when cats make the "niamu" sound in their dreams, are they asking their "poop shovelers" for dried fish, or do they want the shiny little balls in their "poop shovelers'" hands?

For another example, a cat may suddenly make a "scare" sound while sleeping . This is probably because it encountered a bad cat in its dream that was trying to steal its food territory, and was about to have a good fight with it. Or, seeing the "master"'s invincible and cute sleeping face, the heavily addicted "poop shoveler" couldn't help but want to take a sip, so he stretched out his hand of desire to the "master" and got the "master"'s angry "scare" in his sleep. However, after making a "scare" sound, cats often wake up in a daze, thinking about who I just fought with?

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The dream of Wang Xingren is

How about it?

By the way, dogs actually also dream during REM sleep, but the content of their dreams is obviously different from that of cats. Dogs tend to run and bark in their dreams, which is similar to the situation when they play games with their owners . In addition, some people have tried to interpret dogs' dreams based on their behavior in their dreams.

Some dogs will "hmm" when they sleep, pause, then "hmm", pause, then "hmm", repeat over and over again. According to a person who has mastered the dog language, the hmm in a dog's dream is not because it is sad or scared, but represents excitement or surprise . So, in such a dream, does the dog see his beloved owner holding his favorite canned food? Or is the dog alone at home feeling lonely all day and finally waits for the owner to come home from school/work, wagging his tail and rushing to ask for a pat on the head?

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Sometimes, dogs will lick or twitch their tongues in their dreams, and this behavior is believed to mean that they are dreaming about eating delicious food . This is very common, but interestingly, some people have observed that dogs often sigh heavily after twitching their tongues. How to explain this sigh? According to the experts, this means that the dog just stole food, and when the owner found out, the food was gone and he was criticized, so he felt bitter, wronged, uncomfortable, and wanted to cry.

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In addition to "talking in sleep" and the trembling of their mouths and tongues, dogs often swing their limbs in their sleep . This is also because the muscles are relaxed during REM sleep and cannot make large movements. So although it looks like they are swimming, they are actually running in their dreams. For puppies, such dreams are also a way for them to practice running.

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From the above analysis of cats and dogs’ dreams, we can also see that, unlike human dreams, which are dominated by vision, cats and dogs’ dreams seem to be more dominated by smell and action . And judging from their movements, expressions, and behaviors after waking up from dreams, their dreams are mostly happy or full of expectations (for example, they dream of dried fish or canned meat that they have always wanted to eat). Horrible images or scary sounds that often appear in human dreams seem to appear less frequently in cats and dogs’ dreams. Comparing the dreams of cats and dogs, we tend to feel that the owner seems to appear more often in the dreams of dogs, while cats probably don’t care that much about their “poop shovelers” (tsundere face).

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People probably think they can distinguish between their dreams and reality. But do cats know whether they are in reality or in a dream? For them, who spend twice as much time sleeping as they do awake, maybe the real life they live with us is their dream!

References:

[1] REM Sleep in Cats

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.intropsych.com/ch03_states/rem_sleep_in_cats.html&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=6ujqWbSCAcSc0gSLjpfACw

[2] M. JOUVET, Behavioral and EEG Effects of Paradoxical Sleep Deprivation in the Cat, Excerpta Medica International Congress Series No.87 PROCEEDINGS OF THE XXIlIrd INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Tokyo, September 1965

[3] 猫になりたい～猫☆パラダイス～ http://nekoninaritai.net/sigusa-27/

[4] Inu はどんな梦を见る? What is the action and content of the sleeping room?

https://wanchan.info/archives/8516

[5] 実は狗も梦を见ていた! Inu no dream を see る reason と て い る と き の action http://tsunayoshi.tokyo/c/3542bbe3635020173d44d56119c6b4ead63defb2

Produced by: Science Popularization China

Author: Komeichiren

Producer: China Science Expo

Submitted by: Computer Information Network Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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