Lazy Cats

Actually, Lily is pretty average.

The study by Smit and others used accelerometers to collect movement data from Lily and 27 other cats for 1 week in summer and 1 week in winter 2023. They then applied a machine learning model to determine whether cats were being active, eating, grooming, littering, lying, scratching, sitting or standing.

According to the study, cats spend the majority of their time (86%) displaying inactive behavious — lying, sitting or standing. In fact, those are the top 3 activities across both seasons for all cats. However, a few cats spend a notable amount of time eating in winter or grooming in summer.

On average, the cats in the study spend 36.6% of their time sitting and 36.7% lying. Cats like Lily who live together with other cats spend slightly less time lying and more time sitting. Cats spend another 12.7% of their day standing, less time on grooming (5.5%), eating (5.5%), being active (2.8%), and very little time on scratching or littering.

Do you have a cat that spends 15 hours a day sleeping? According to this study, you’re not alone. The good news? What looks like laziness is usually quite normal cat behavior.

Wild ancestors of pet cats had to hunt their food which requires patience and conserving energy for explosive runs and intense moments during a hunt. Domestic cats still follow these ancient patterns where they go through short bursts of play or exploration followed by quite a lot of napping. There are also differences in breeds or individual personalities that mean some cats are less active than others.

However, sometimes “lazy” behaviour can signal that something might be wrong. For example, if a cat is suddenly much less active, gains weight fast or shows other health issues. Low energy levels can also stem from a lack of stimulation, or too much or the wrong food. While napping most of the time is perfectly normal for cats, it’s good know the difference between normal cat relaxation and potential problems that need attention.