Cats often come across as fairly lazy creatures.
It’s not uncommon for a cat to spend the vast majority of its day sleeping (read our article here on why Bengal cats sleep so much for more information on this).
But is your Bengal cat actually lazy? Or is this just a case of applying human behaviour traits to a different species?
We often hear comments from owners asking why their Bengals are so lazy. In this short article, we aim to find out.
Why Is My Bengal Cat So Lazy? What You Need To Know
If you’re concerned that your Bengal is lazy, here are some key points to consider:
- Your Bengal sleeps and “lazes” about a lot to conserve energy. This behaviour that from a human perspective may come across as lazy actually is actually for good reason. In the wild, cats need to conserve as much energy as possible in order to be able to hunt (when the opportunity arises) and also evade predators or defend themselves (when the need arises). Therefore, your Bengal has developed via many generations of evolution a need to sleep and lounge about in order to conserve significant amounts of energy, which massively improves the chances of survival in the wild … it’s just that the “modern” Bengal is given food and shelter by a human instead, rendering this biological urge somewhat redundant.
- It is normal for cats to sleep for many hours a day. Anything from 12-20 hours per day is perfectly normal for an adult Bengal cat. Kittens and senior cats are definitely at the higher end of the scale, possibly even higher than 20 hours per day. Therefore, chances are your Bengal’s sleeping patterns and habits are totally normal and nothing out of the ordinary. No matter how much your Bengal is sleeping, you probably don’t need to be concerned or worried.
- Weather may affect your cat’s energy level as well. For example, your cat may appear to become lazier when the temperature rises or cools substantially. This is because your Bengal cat is trying to better regulate its internal temperature. Of note, the reason your Bengal will seek out sunny and warm spots in your home is that finding this warmth makes it easier for your cat to maintain the desired internal body temperature, thus conserving energy.
Conclusion
Chances are, your Bengal cat isn’t as lazy as you think. In fact, there is a very good reason for all that lounging about and taking it easy.
Your cat sleeps and lounges about a lot in order to conserve energy for hunting prey and self defence.
This isn’t done out of laziness, but actually done out of a strong evolutionary/biological directive.
In other words, your Bengal is lazy so that they can be active when needed.
We hope you found this article helpful and informative. Please check out the rest of our site for more information on Bengal cat ownership. We have a number of articles on the best food for Bengal cats, top toys, behavioural advice, and more.
