do cats have nightmares?

[hatchytt]

I ask this because Hades often wakes up from naps crying and wanting attention and to lay down next to us to go back to sleep, like a kid who wakes up from a nightmare, crawls into bed with mom and dad, and falls asleep again. This is a daily occurrence.

 

[margd]

You might find this thread interesting - I think the general consensus was that cats do indeed have nightmares. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/146043/do-cats-have-nightmares  

One post from the above thread cites a 2001 article about  MIT research demonstrating that animals have complex dreams:    http://news.mit.edu/2001/dreaming  The paper itself was published in Neuron and is available on line.  Basically the research was done in rats and the authors have extrapolated to other mammals.  This paper is 15 years old so there are probably papers out there with even more up to date information.

As for my own cats - I have noticed some twitching paws over the years but that's about it.  Now I'm thinking I should pay closer attention!  

 

[misty8723]

I think they do.  Dreams in general. When we first got Cindy, she would fall asleep and then start shivering. I would pet her gently and talk to her and she would stop and sleep normally. I think she had a rough patch in her little life and it took her awhile to realize she was safe here with us.  Once she did, I never saw her doing that again in her sleep.  I miss that sweet little baby girl so much.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I have seen mine wake suddenly from deep sleep where they were twitching and things; so I think so.  It's usually followed by a look like "who are you lookin at!?"

  I know my old family dog had bad dreams.  She always slept next to my mother's side of her bed and she would wake Mom up whimpering and crying in her sleep.  Mom would put her hand down and pat her a bit and she'd calm down.  We adopted her when she was very small; so I don't know that it had anything to do with her past.