Do Dogs and Cats Dream? Scientists Reveal the Truth Behind Their Sleep

The answer to this question is Yes! Pets do dream.  A dog’s brain pattern is similar to their human friend’s.  According to scientists, a dog’s brain goes through the same stages of electrical activity as those that occur in humans. You may have noticed while your dog is sleeping he quivers, twitches his paws or even growls.  This may indicate what he may be dreaming about. Cats on the other hand, experiences REM (rapid eye movement) sleep like humans.  During this stage is where most of dreaming occurs.  Cats love sleeping and they will sleep approximately 16-18 hours a day.  When a cat is dreaming they remain totally relaxed or unlike dogs they don’t usually twitch and quiver. What do pets dream about? You may wonder about this question.  In dogs you can probably guess if your pet is having a good dream or having a nightmare.  It is harder to tell with cats.  Dreaming is important for animals because it increases memory formation.  Scientists believe dogs and cats have long term memory.  Dogs rely heavily on their sense of smell.  After all, that’s how they know their owner or family members.  They also use association whether positive or negative.  For example if your dog usually sleeps in your bed. One day you come home with a cage.  He will probably give you a hard time to get into that cage and also may experience bad dreams associated with the cage. Cats also have exceptional long and short term memory.  Therapists studying their behavior believe that a cat’s memory may be able to retain at least 200 times more than a dog’s.  The trick to this is reinforcement.  So doing something consistently will increase their ability to remember.  But, cats are independent creatures and sometimes they just want to be left alone. Pets will dream about what’s going on around them.  So it’s up to us to make their lives as happy and stress free as possible.