We all wish we could sleep our days away sometimes. Who doesn't love the occasional long, lazy nap or sleeping in on the weekends? Cats, however, take this penchant for sleep to a whole new level. If you have a cat, you know they spend the majority of their time lounging about, basking in the sun, or sleeping out of sight. There is a reason they call it a "cat nap."
However, humans don't often realize just how much cats sleep. Cats actually sleep 70% of their lives, which equates to about 16 hours a day. They sleep more than any other mammal besides bats and opossums. There are a number of reasons that cats sleep so much.
As natural predators with few enemies, they can afford to sleep a lot. Also, the need for sleep increases proportionally to the amount of energy required. When cats are actually hunting (or pouncing on that toy mouse you leave out for them), they use enormous amounts of energy. So all that sleep is for something.