What Sleeping Positions Say About Your Cat

[Music] welcome everybody to cat daddy jackson galaxy here  today we're going to be talking about a question   that gets asked to me and to the interwebs in  general all the time and that is why does my cat   sleep like that or like that or like that you know  these are the kind of questions that we seem to   have all the time in the world to think  about because we are spending too much time   looking at our cats sleeping these days this is a  sign you guys get out of the house no i'm kidding   sort of today we're going to talk about  sleeping positions why does my cat sleep   like this to begin with as i will always do  cats like humans are individuals we all sleep   strangely myself i tend to sleep a bit like  a corpse i wake up and i'm covered in cats   cats are individuals so they may sleep  in a certain position just because   when they were really young they saw their  brothers or the sisters of their mom sleeping   like that so they started sleeping like that  that said we can start to examine uh different   sleeping positions and what in general they mean  about your cat so shall we get started let's go so first position is the most common sleeping  position in all of catdom and that would be the   curled up position so in curled up position and  you guys if you haven't seen this position then   why are you watching this channel unless you're  gonna go out and get a cat tomorrow the sleeping   position that we're talking about is the cat  curled around itself tail curled up head curled up   towards belly let's start thinking about this in  terms of what we call the raw cat the cat ancestor   in the wild in the open outside cats will sleep  in this position mainly to conserve body heat and   to make themselves the smallest possible target  for something that might be coming to eat them   so that is something that has just become a part  of a cat's sort of collective unconscious over the   centuries and that's the most common position  now what does that say about your cat could   mean that they're a little chilly but normally  it's just the most common position [Music] right [Applause]   right so that's the curled up position  now let's go in the opposite direction   if curled up is conserving body heat then what  is trying to vent body heat well that would be   laying on your side fully stretched out uh with  as much of your mid section as you can hitting   the ground normally you'll see that position when  cats are just trying to cool down because they're   just too hot so we'll see cats like that right now  there's one in my house because it's hot outside   right now stretched out position on the side is  not just about cooling down it's also showing   that they're very relaxed when the stomach is  exposed it lets you know that they're feeling safe   so if your cat is stretched out someplace that's  a good sign lets you know their cat is feeling   nice and secure and you might want to turn up the  ac every once in a while you have miser if there's   one cat position that is asked of me all the time  it would be cat in a box what is the cat in a box   okay so there's a couple of different explanations  of this i gotta say i don't all the way by uh some   of the the explanations that i've heard in the  past but let's go through it all the first thing   is that a cat would be in a box because they're  scared because they don't feel safe they feel like   they need to have something around them to protect  them from whatever might be coming their way   another sign that your cat might be scared and  getting into a box would be if they're getting   to other tight places like drawers suddenly your  cat's going into your dresser drawers prying it   open and getting it in there or going up behind  the sink into a drawer there or some other tight   and invisible place yeah that's a surefire sign  that your cat is just anxious there's something   going on in your home that changed and because of  that your cat is feeling very unsafe and they're   covering themselves you know i've heard it said  that if your cat is in a box you better find out   what's wrong with your cat okay i i i get it and  let's go back to the raw cat the cat in the wild   would that cat go into sort of an enclosed space  to make sure that predators couldn't get them   okay that makes a little bit of sense not all  the way though because if a cat's in something   well that means getting out of it when something's  rushing you is going to be not the smartest move   in the world because you're stuck you're gonna  get ambushed if your cat is sleeping in a box   never slept in a box before you go okay is there  something not feeling secure about the one thing   that you don't want to do is provide them with  more boxes because you're basically reinforcing   that feeling of helplessness and you're not  helping them through another sort of raw   cat behavior they stalk they then rush right  so you know the cat will sit there and just   hunt something for hours just watching it go being  in an advantageous space so they can burst out and   get their prey that is also cat in a box you know  how i talk about tree dwellers and bush dwellers   boxes are the perfect location for a bush  dweller if your cat gets their mojo on the   ground and they want to be that sort of stalk  and rush cat well that's the perfect place to be   would be in a box so i know you know cat in a box  is also incredibly cute i'm sure that you have   four boxes around the house that you're dying  to throw out but your cat keeps sleeping in them   well what do you want me to say you know get a  nicer piece of cat furniture but in the meantime   it's cute right it's really cute moving on the  next position we're going to talk about is the   belly up position or what i like to call the sea  otter position um i will show you a picture right   here of my boy theo in the sea otter position  and come on tell me that's not the cutest thing   you've ever seen in your life and don't tell me  if it's not the cutest thing because he's my cat   what you're seeing is a cat sleeping sleeping  with their entire midline exposed the most   vulnerable piece of cat real estate is right here  because if you are a predator and you come across   a sleeping cat with their belly up in the air  like that that's the easiest kill you've had all   day all week all year if your cat is going  to sleep like that in your home with their   belly up and their legs out like that that is  your indication that your cat is feeling 1 000   safe and secure and mojo fide their territory is  absolutely under lock and key and they feel good   as i said before there's different variations  of the sea otter the sea otter is belly up all   the way then you've got sort of turned over but  belly's still exposed again it's a stretched out   and even if the belly is kind of exposed  that again is a sign of confidence   and a sign of safety so good for you if your cat  is sea ottering or semi-ottering so here's one   that's really interesting cats who sleep with  their eyes barely closed i kind of like that   a little you know a little 420. also cats who  sleep with one eye open get it i sleep with one   eye open when you think about the concept of a  cat nap uh or sleeping with one eye open they   both conjure the same thing that i'm just sort  of lightly sleeping and in this case that is   exactly the truth again let's talk about the raw  cat when cats are sleeping out in the open they   have to basically be sleeping with one eye open  literally and figuratively because at any time   some stimulus can be coming in their direction  that they have to respond to they have to be   ready to move to react so they can sleep in this  very light sleeping stage for hours at a time   it does tell you that your cat is just more alert  they're not in a deep state of sleep what does   that say about your cat it's a natural state for  many cats it could just be that you have a noisy   home that you live on a noisy street that there's  a lot of beings in your home like there's a lot of   cat napping going on in my house because there's  a lot of cats and a lot of dogs and a lot of you   know chickens and everything else so you know they  do want to know what's coming in their direction   so it is a normal state of being at least for  part of the day i wouldn't worry about it at all   but it is interesting though the cats  can sleep like that for hours at a time   whether they're doing the one eye open one eye  closed would i would call that the pirate sleep   or just the sort of cat nap where their ears are  also moving at the same time letting you know   remember cats ears are like radar dishes they are  constantly on the lookout for something to take in   that's either good news or bad news and they're  constantly doing that if they're alert so in the   cat nap type of position they're you're gonna see  a little bit of action going on in the ears now   that shouldn't be confused with normal rem sleep  now i know that you guys have asked me a lot about   are they having kitty dreams are they being chased  by a dog you know the one i'm talking about where   that looks like they're running or their ears  are going whatever those are just normal muscle   contractions that happen during rem sleep nothing  to worry about it just means your cat's having a   nice deep nap and maybe dreams of i don't know  well not dogs chasing them something nice the   next position we will talk about is the loaf  position i have referred to this in other videos   uh whether i was the one and only person to ever  call it the meat loaf position is when it's like   this what are you talking about that sphinx no  i call this the semi-loaf i mean it could be a   semi-loaf if you're the only person that calls  right maybe i should skip the loaf all together   i called it that i'm sticking to it i think it's  a funnier name than loaf meatloaf is good because   then you have the meatloaf and you have the  semi-meatloaf okay let's talk about these so   the loaf position is cat in sort of a kitty unit  all sort of folded in arms folded underneath them   and usually it's like this you see with my my  elbows like this so they are paws tucked in now   in that position it's just another heat conserving  unit position just like the curled up position   does it mean that your cat's not happy or anything  like that or that they've got some place to be   as i've heard some theories no i don't think  so at all sometimes a loaf is just a loaf   it doesn't mean anything except  this is a comfortable way of them   sleeping now there's the other loaf position which  is what i call the semi loaf so the semi loaf   here come the paws paws come out paws go  underneath my body and i'm sleeping well   that's almost like cat nap or one eye open right  so that means that at any given moment they hear   something that doesn't sound kosher to them bang  they're in action right out from under them they   can move now so it's almost like the one i open  so imagine that you can be sort of a pirate loaf   the next position that we will talk about the  next cat sleeping position is arguably the   cutest one although box sleeping is cute or the  variation of box sleeping sleeping in the sink   that's pretty cute as well but the paw over the  eye the cat dab you'll see this happen much more   during the middle of the day when there's  sun coming in the room when there's a light   source that's just a little bright and they just  want to shield their eyes from what's going on   i i've actually read somewhere where it was one  of those like i want to be alone you know i want   to be alone oh the world is too much go away  it's not true come on the reason if you think   about it it's just that your cat is sleeping in  a spot where they just want the light to be less   or like i've said before oh i'm sleeping  i'm sleeping i'm sleeping i'm sleeping   and that happened right that sometimes that just  happens and i think we just have to remember that   but i think by and large that just serves a  function now we're moving into the area of cat   daddy dictionary right now so let's just put on  our british accent here today what is monorail cat   monorail cat anyway monorail cat if you haven't  heard of that one before that's basically a cat   who would be on the arm of this chair right here  with paws draped over either side like a monorail   right and they do that uh over any uh piece of  furniture that has an arm to it um i've seen   cats uh uh on tops of catios with you know wood  beaming it's just a way to just sort of hang off   the bottom now the first and foremost thing that  that sort of transmits is comfort i'm totally safe   totally comfortable again without the immediate  use of their legs in any kind of a situation   the most universally comfortable position that  i can tell you about arm the legs are not tucked   under the bottom they're not ready to go in  any way they're not curled up and ready to go   it's just i feel safe i feel untouchable let the  day just pass me by and there's your monorail   cat for you and then there is the position  that for me as your esteemed presenter and   somebody who gets to like sort of point over their  shoulders and have pictures appear which is what   i hope is happening right now the contortionist  position and the contortionist i mean that just   sort of that's a catch-all that's just for  a cat who sleeps twisted up in some bizarre   position you walk into the room you're like how  did that even happen again that's about comfort   that's just about me flopping over in any which  way that my body feels like going and if i'm a cat   that body can go just about any which direction  don't forget cats skeletons are incredibly   flexible allowing them to get into crazy tight  places crazy high places it allows them to fall   from from incredibly high places and still have  the ability to write themselves when they are   falling through the air their body has  this incredible writing mechanism where   this skeleton can twist itself around find the  horizon and land that's what a cat's skeleton is   so when they sleep just exploiting that and tell  me you haven't felt jealous a few times now i will   bring this all around again by by reopening  the conversation that what we're saying about   safety not safety ready to spring into action  ready to sit there all day oh i'm in a box i   don't feel safe i'm in a drawer i don't feel  safe all of these things are conditional none   of this just like any other cat behavior that we  talk about happens in a vacuum so just because   your cat is sleeping in a monorail might mean  nothing if they've done it for a long time might   mean something if they've never done it before if  if they're sleeping in a box like i said before   suddenly they're sleeping in a box in a drawer  and it's some kind of a hidden place and they have   never in their life done that the first thing  that you probably want to do is go to the vet   because your cat could be feeling ill and what  cats will do a lot of times when they feel not   well is they will take themselves out of rotation  because again in that raw cat perspective that   ancestral cat perspective weakness means that i  can be picked off at any given second when we talk   about cats being incredibly stoic when it comes  to pain hell yes i mean i have known cats who   who showed up at the shelter with gun pellets  in their legs and they're still just walking   around trying not to favor that leg because if  they show weakness they're dead out there so   just remember that your cat will do certain very  subtle things when they want you to know they're   not feeling well one of those things is hiding so  there you go all of these things are conditional   based on the life around the cat so take what i'm  saying with a certain amount of a grain of salt   take that grain of salt pour it on your  loaf cat and you've got a tasty treat so that's it you guys those are the top sleeping  positions i want to see your cats sleeping i know   you've got some great stuff to share go  to jacksongalaxy.com forward slash submit   show me some videos of your cats in weird  positions in boxes on the top of a door   frame you know i want to see that stuff and in  the meantime don't forget to pass this on to   your friends and click all these buttons and these  bells and everything because you want to make sure   that the next time i talk about something obscure  but has been going through your head incessantly   you'll get the alert when it  comes time all right you guys   until next time all light and all  love and all sweet dreamy mojo team

Channel: Jackson Galaxy

Views: 1,389,842

Keywords: jackson galaxy, cats, cat daddy, my cat from hell, cat whisperer, cat guy, cat guy animal planet, cat expert, cat advice, cat health, cat behavior, cat issues, cat care, cat training, cat psychology, animal planet, jackson galaxy videos, cat body language, cat sleeping positions and what they mean, cat sleeping positions meaning, how to understand cats, cat sleeping positions, cat sleeping position meaning, cat body language explained

Id: zKKQw0kQAt4

Length: 16min 47sec (1007 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 08 2020