Do cats have sleep disorders?

One of my cats is 11 years old, male, neutered, orange tabby named Otis.

A few weeks ago we noticed he has started twitching, moving, and KICKING in his sleep. He does it so much that he falls down from wherever he is sleeping: stool, chair, couch, bed, top of dresser, top of cat tree, etc. whether he's 1 foot off the ground or 5 feet off the ground.

He is still ASLEEP when he falls and sometimes even stays asleep after he has fallen. But most of the time he wakes up. He has fallen on his head, side, etc. because he is still asleep. Whenever we hear a thump or crash, we know it's Otis.

He shows no signs of seizures or stroke (he is perfectly fine when awake and has no problems when he does wake up and no weird behavior or incontinence or drooling and such). We asked the vet about this during his annual checkup and he check his ears and found no ear infection that could be causing the problem and his regular bloodwork was fine. He only demonstrates this problem when he is asleep.

Does anyone have an idea what this could be?

I think that some of that is normal in cats but this sounds pretty extreme. I wonder if there is anyone your vet could check with to see if there is diagnostic work he could do. Maybe you could have him check with the veterinary school in Athens?
http://www.vet.uga.edu/
Becky

I have not heard of such a problem yet, but maybe he is just dreaming and a very very sound sleeper? I know cats will twitch and flex and such when sleeping and that is normal, but I am not sure falling on your head while kicking and not waking up is.. that does sound a bit extreme.

I saw a video years ago where a white cat did exactly as you describe. The cat would be asleep on top of the tv, or the counter...twitch, jerk, and fall off. Then the cat would wake and be just fine.

I think it's more of a reaction to a "good" dream - chasing mice, or something like that - then it is something like a sleep disorder. Especially since the vet has checked Otis out pretty thoroughly.

I would suggest moving him down from high places, though.

Best-
Michele

Yes, cats can have sleep disorders.

I did some minor research after adopting Merlin this past summer. Seems that domesticated mammals, like cats, dogs, and even sheep, can develop the same disorders that humans suffer from, including narcolepsy and sleep apnea.

Mer has sleep apnea, on top of being a very sound sleeper, and suffering from the occational night terror. He always sleeps next to me, and it's scary to wake up to him moving around and growling in his sleep, and even more scary when it takes up to five minutes to wake him up. He's gotten to the point where he'll actually lift his head up and open his eyes while his white third eyelid is still completely covering his eye. He'll even stop breathing for up to 20 seconds. I was very concerned and talked to my vet, too. They ran tests just to make sure it wasn't something neurological, like a result of trauma, stroke, or disease. He's healthy, just wierd.

Since this was something that came on suddenly, there's always the possibility something happened. If could also easily be a change in brain chemistry as he grows older. I'd suggest just keeping in touch with your vet, expecially if it becomes worse. Otherwise, you can brag to your friends that you have a narcoleptic cat.

I think your kitty just has very vivid dreams. Both Miko and Kionu kick when they're sleeping. They also do the infamous "teeth chatter", which leads me to believe they're trying to catch birds in their dreams. Other than that, I think Miko fell about 2 times and just slept right through it.

P.S. Are cat's supposed to snore...loudly? Miko snores at night and it's almost human-like. I took him to the vet for an exam and everything was a-okay so I don't know if I should be worried.

Originally Posted by noni

I saw a video years ago where a white cat did exactly as you describe. The cat would be asleep on top of the tv, or the counter...twitch, jerk, and fall off. Then the cat would wake and be just fine.

Click to expand...

I think I saw that also now that you mention it. One of those america's home video type shows or something. Only diffrence though is that cat woke up, this one doesnt some of the time apparently. I know if I fell on my head I would wake up, unless it knocked me unconscious. I wonder if its possible it wakes him up but he just doesnt care because he was asleep and didnt notice the fall? Boy, what a cat. Setup the video camera and submit a video to some TV show and earn yourself a nice 500 dollar check or maybe one of those nice big 10,000 or 50,000 checks!! woo!!

My concern with this cat is that it is a change. If he had always done it that is one thing. But to start at 11 years of age concerns me. Becky

Hello,

My cat does the same thing, It only happens when she sleeps and her movements get pretty intense. I took her to the vet and she did have a thyroid condition and she was put on medicine for that. She does drool and the vet found no reason for her drooling.

But her sleep problem still persist , now I have spent a lot of money trying to keep her in good health as she is a older cat (17). I really don't have much money to keep spending it without any results. I read that everyone has seen this but has anyone found anything to help relieve this sleep disorder?

I'm not sure what to try

can anyone help?

I am glad in  away to hear that another cat has a similar sleeping disorder. I have an American bobcat that is approx. 18 months old. He was a stray that showed up with pneumonia at my door. Before I took him to the vet he had what I thought were seizures brought on by his high fever. I took him to the vet and got him antibiotics.  And after he was fully recovered I gave him his vaccinations and he appeared healthy and happy. I began noticing that when he would fall into a deep sleep, he  began moving his feet and legs as if he was walking and sometimes running and striking at something. He never cries out or makes any noise and he  can not be awaken when I shake him. Sometimes he wakes up after he has flipped and fallen off the chair, the sofa, the cat tower. If on the floor in his bed he just flips as if he is jumping and hits the wall or furniture and he seldom wakes up. The vet said it was not a neurological disorder and had no explanation other than just a dreaming disorder. He appears to be in good health and runs and plays and climbs and has a healthy appetite so I am at a loss as to why he has these fighting, running in his sleep dreams. I thought that since I did not know his history as a kitten he may have been abused and in his dreams he has bad memories.  I would like to find the reason or cure or something that would help him have a peaceful sleep. I also bred him and have several bob cat kittens a year old with no sleeping disorder yet.  I later had him vaccinated and neutered, but still has sleeping disorders.