Do cats have dreams? (1 Viewer)

[Andrew_Sch]

Yeah, my cat is incredibly intelligent. The best example I can think of is our former next-door neighbor, who used to be my best friend. She was terrified to death of him because he was tall and he took care of her when we went away, so he symbolized us not being there. Anyway, we had him over for dinner not long after his beloved dog Shadow, the greatest dog I ever knew, had to be put to sleep. Instead of running away or hissing like she normally would, she actually starting rubbing up against his leg and purring as if to say, "I'm sorry about Shadow." Almost brings a tear to my eye just typing it.:b

They can and do exhibit very human tendancies, but as soon as they see a bird, or something that doesn't belong, they're primitive mind takes over and they are clearly in full on animal mode!

Tell me about it!! When she was younger, my cat very often took those primal tendencies out on my mom quite often. She's since calmed down a little bit, but when she's on the prowl, she still scares me a little bit. It's quite a wonderful sight to her on the windowsill, muscles tensed, tail beating against the wall, howling at birds or squirels or whatever happens to be stalking out yard.

 

[Ted Lee]

cats definitely dream. i often see my cats twitching around - it cracks me up. sometimes, when i know they're sound asleep, i'll raise their arm all the way up then let it fall - it drops like a rock! cracks me up!
btw - i saw a pretty disturbing video once of some unfortunate laboratory cat who was undergoing a test. they cut out the part of the brain that inhibits motor movement during rem sleep - the poor cat was dreaming but was bouncing all over the cage.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

I hate it when animals are used for absolutely pointless crap like that. They should do the same to the idiot whose idea it was to conduct the experiment.

 

[Jeff Pryor]

Everytime I see something on TV about using cats for tests or even using them as cuisine in the orient, I feel like reaching through the TV and strangling someone. Cats are the best animals in the world and should be treated as such.

 

[Patrick Sun]

My cats drool, does that count?

 

[BrianW]

I believe all mammals dream, though the jury may still be out on aquatic mammals since most of them sleep only half their brain at a time. Of course, there’s no way to absolutely know for sure. It’s very easy to anthropomorphize inappropriately, even when interpreting familiar sleep behavior or even brainwave data. Still, I think most biologists would admit they believe animals dream even though purely direct proof cannot be had.

So I’m with the rest of you, and I’m absolutely sure I’m not anthropomorphizing in the least when I say I’m convinced that my dog dreams she’s being chased by radioactive monsters from another planet.

(Besides, I could never anthropomorphize when it comes to my dog. She hates it when I do that.)

 

[Jack Briggs]

Think of what is happening to the great tigers of the wild. Makes me sad. Cats are so vital to life.

 

[Zen Butler]

Think of what is happening to the great tigers of the wild. Makes me sad. Cats are so vital to life.

it is horrid. My Sifu told us a wonderful story about tigers, that had our dojo laughing, I will save it for a more appropriate time, but you made me think of it. Yes I know this was just a TF

 

[Malcolm R]

Awwwww! My local news just ran a story about some cats who were abused, have been rescued, and are looking for good homes. The one they featured in the story was so cute, adorable, and very lovable (even after the abuse, what a trouper!). I so want to adopt him! Unfortunately, my allergies forbid it. It really sucks to be allergic to your favorite animal and the one that you'd want as a companion. :frowning:

 

[Brad_V]

Take a look at the Sandman #17 (reprinted in the Dream Country trade) for a possible answer to that question. The story "A dream of 1000 cats" is kind of interesting.

Heh, as soon as I saw the topic of this thread, I was going to post that. It's a must-read for any cat lover.

 

[Robert_eb]

I have two cats that were from the same litter. They both sleep on my bed with me. One sleeps by my head, and the other rotates from my head to my feet. Once in a while I'll awake to the sound of hissing which scares the hell out of me. I'll turn on the light and one of the cats will be twitching and hissing. I will wake him up and he will be terrified for the first second and than realize it was just a dream, or nightmare. I wonder if cats realize that they have dreams when they wake up, as humans do, and think about them through their day.

 

[Jack Briggs]

My cat says he does.

 

[Sean Conklin]

We are strange bunch, wouldn't you say?

 

[Andrew_Sch]

We are strange bunch, wouldn't you say?

IMO, the only strange ones are the folks whose cats DON'T talk to them.

 

[Brent Cantrell]

Of course cats dream...they aspire to rule the world one day.

 

[Max Leung]

I want one of those genetically-modified cats that are anti-allergen producing. Then I can conduct my own mad-scientist experiments to determine if cats have wet-dreams like we do.

 

[Jenna]

If my dog can YAWN louder than my ex-husband did every morning, than YES, your cat can dream.


(The sound this dog makes each-and-every morning has got to be heard to be believed!)