Your cat sleeps more in winter: what's normal, and what should worry you

Is your cat sleeping a lot in winter? It's usually normal: a cat already sleeps 12 to 16 hours a day, and sometimes more when it's cold, to keep warm, with shorter days and less play. It doesn't hibernate. What should worry you is a cat that sleeps more and eats, plays or grooms less.

Why does your cat sleep more in winter?

A cat may sleep more in winter to save energy and keep warm, according to Cats Protection, the UK cat welfare charity; if it has outdoor access, it goes out less, so it exercises and plays less; and the shorter days encourage longer naps in sunny spots.

The same source puts a cat's normal sleep at 12 to 16 hours a day, in short naps, and points out that not every cat sleeps more in winter. And it doesn't hibernate: it's a light sleeper that wakes quickly.

How can you tell if your cat is sleeping too much, and when should you worry?

The useful marker isn't the number of hours, but what your cat does once it's awake. A cat that sleeps more and does less of everything else is no longer following the season: take it to the vet.

According to the PDSA, the UK veterinary charity, a lethargic cat is quieter and loses interest in food and play; after 24 hours, call your vet. Causes range from an abscess to kidney disease or diabetes.

Where can you set up two or three warm nap spots?

A cat sleeps best where it already looks for warmth. Under the window, that's often the radiator: a radiator cat bed gives it a soft spot right there, a faux-fur plush fitted on a 45 × 30 cm metal frame, where it curls up instead of squeezing onto the top of the radiator.

It won't suit every home: 5 kg at most according to the product page, and the top of the radiator no thicker than the hook opening, marked 6 and 8 cm (go by 6), and wide enough for both hooks, at either end of a 45 cm frame. Large cast-iron column radiators are often too thick, and the product page promises nothing for a very hot, electric or storage radiator.

In the corner of the sofa or on its armchair, the self-warming cat mat makes a second spot, with no cable or plug. Slip it into a corner your cat has already claimed: it only reflects warmth once your cat has settled on it, and that warmth is its own. The third costs nothing: a folded blanket in the room where you spend your evenings.

Three spots in different rooms let it choose depending on the time of day and the sun. Keep them dry and out of draughts, as Cats Protection advises, and don't put your cat in one against its will: it will leave the moment your back is turned.

A proper spot for its long winter naps
Hung on the radiator by two hooks, the bed keeps a soft spot ready for it all winter; the cover goes in the washing machine at 40 °C, and the frame folds away when spring comes. Discover the radiator cat bed →

Less daylight: how can you save it a spot in the winter sun?

With shorter days, a cat may spend more time sleeping in sunny spots, according to Cats Protection. Winter sun is low and doesn't stay long: find the window the sun reaches for longest, and clear it.

A narrow sill leaves it room only to curl up, one paw hanging over the edge. The cat window perch gives it a spot in the sun, fixed to the glass with suction cups, to watch the world outside without drilling. It needs smooth, clean glass, large enough for its four suction cups: small-paned windows don't always work.

How can you help it stay active when it's cold?

For the drop in activity, the answer is play, not a bed: however cosy, a radiator bed won't make a cat play. Cats Protection advises giving it plenty to play with and do, whatever the season, so that it stays active.

• Short and regular. Several sessions of a few minutes beat one long one; there's more in how long to play with your cat.
• Bring the game to it. A cat dozing in the warm won't cross the living room: start near its spot, with a feather wand it can follow with its eyes first.

If it no longer perks up at all, even for a toy it used to love, check the signs of a bored cat.

Frequently asked questions

Do indoor cats sleep more in winter too?

Nobody really knows. A New Zealand study (Smit et al., Sensors, 2024) measured the activity, not the sleep, of 28 cats fitted with accelerometers, for a week in summer and a week in winter: the 18 with outdoor access were less active in winter; the 10 indoor cats showed no difference. If yours has slowed down noticeably since autumn, look at what has changed at home (less play, a cooler room); if nothing explains it, talk to your vet.

Why does my cat look rounder in winter?

Often because of its coat: according to Cats Protection, cats grow a thicker coat in winter, which can make them look fatter. So your eyes aren't enough. To know whether it has really put on weight, or lost some under that coat, weigh it now and then, always the same way; if the number shifts noticeably for no clear reason, talk to your vet.

Will it get back to its usual rhythm in spring?

The sources consulted don't measure it: the New Zealand study only compares winter and summer, and the cats with outdoor access were more active in summer. If it's still sleeping as much in spring with nothing to explain it, stop putting it down to winter: note since when, what it eats, whether it still plays, and take it to the vet.

Key points

• A cat already sleeps 12 to 16 hours a day; in winter it may sleep more to keep warm, with shorter days and less play, but it doesn't hibernate.
• The marker is how it is when awake: a cat that sleeps more but eats, plays and grooms is following the season; a cat that has been lethargic for more than 24 hours needs the vet, according to the PDSA.
• Two or three warm nap spots where the cat already looks for warmth (radiator, sunshine, armchair) work better than a bed imposed somewhere else.
• Against the drop in winter activity, short, regular play sessions are the answer, not a bed.