Cats do dream as they enter REM rapid eye movement sleep states where brain activity mirrors wakefulness.
REM
Cat dreams replay activities and adventures from their waking lives like chasing mice, climbing trees, hiding, or interacting with their favorite humans.
Triggers
During cat dreams, they often twitch their legs chasing imaginary prey as their brains are still actively firing neurons to move muscles.
Twitches
From soothing purrs to scary meows, cats may vocalize expressing emotion while dreaming similar to laughing or crying out during human dreams.
Emotions
It's normally harmless to wake a dreaming cat, though they may seem briefly startled or disoriented before relaxing back asleep.
Waking
Kittens experience more active dreaming that adult cats, possibly because they process so many new daily life experiences fueling dream content.
Duration
Strong memories and learned skills from waking life may reinforce cat brains during dreams supporting memory retention.
Memory