My pet sleeps all day and all night. Is that normal?

"The pets I've known all had their quirks including when it came to sleep. Patches the cat would sleep on my head. Sammy the dog would rest on the couch, only to wake herself with a fart. And Macaroni likes to sleep upside down, his corgi legs aimed at the ceiling. But what they have all had in common was this passion for napping seemingly, all the time."

"This is to be expected: pet dogs and cats typically cycle through daily periods of sleep and rest, explains veterinary behaviorist and University of Pennsylvania professor Dr Carlo Siracusa. Some pets might spend 40% to 80% of their time resting, he says, especially dogs. As with people, pet sleep can vary and is a bit of a mystery, explains Meg Crofoot, director of the Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior."

"How long does a pet typically sleep? What's normal for a pet can vary based on species, environment and personality, says Siracusa. There's no optimal amount of sleep, he says. Normal is difficult to establish for almost all creatures. Domestication has fundamentally changed what's normal for pets, says Dr Cori Blair, a veterinarian and owner of Feline Health NYC in New York City. Plus, most sleep research takes place in a controlled laboratory setting, explains Crofoot;"

Pet dogs and cats typically cycle through daily periods of sleep and rest. Some pets spend 40% to 80% of their time resting, particularly dogs. Sleep requirements vary widely by species, environment, age and personality, and no single optimal amount of sleep exists. Domestication has altered normal sleep patterns compared with wild counterparts. Puppies often sleep 18 to 20 hours daily, adult dogs about 12 to 14 hours, and older dogs sleep more overall but take shorter, more frequent naps. Most sleep research occurs in controlled laboratory settings, which complicates understanding of natural sleep patterns.

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