Cat Twitching While she sleeps.

Kittykitty0417 · Apr 8, 2020

Hi Everyone,
My cat was sleeping in daughters room and started twitching her paws. My daughter said she tried to pet her while this was happen and my cat hissed at her, but then quickly calmed down. I went in and checked on my cat and she seemed fine just tired. We’re worried about a seizure, is there a way to tell the difference? She is the first cat we’ve ever had. We just recently lost our dog in a horrible accident, so we’re all really scared of our cat getting sick or something happening to her. She’s about 9 months old and she’s very loving. Please any reassurance will help thank you.

Xraystyle · Apr 8, 2020

Other people will probably have better knowledge, but my brother's dog has had seizures occasionally and it is a much scarier experience. She was probably just deep in a hunting dream and mistook the hands on her for a threat. But obviously, keep an eye on her just in case~

When my bro's dog would have a seizure, he would whine and his whole body would shake uncontrollably. He would also urinate. Finally, when he came out of it, he was really, really scared and confused--not aggressive. He wanted to be held (this is a mid-sized border collie, btw). The one night it happened and my brother was gone, I had to sit and stroke the dog for a good hour before he calmed down.

tabbytom · Apr 8, 2020

Kittykitty0417 said:
Hi Everyone,
My cat was sleeping in daughters room and started twitching her paws.

and welcome to CS!

It is normal for a cat to twitch in their sleep as sometimes they are in a dream and they kind of act it out while sleeping. Some even mumble (sleep meowing) a little while sleeping and I know that because my boy does that and twitches in his sleep.

But do keep an eye on her and see if there's any unsettling issues while she sleeps and keep track of it and do inform your vet about it and a good way is take a video and show it to the vet for a professional advice and you may also like to post it here too.

Here's an article on what a seizure looks like :- seizures-in-cats

vyger · Apr 8, 2020

When animals and people enter into the stages of sleep, especially REM, a rather amazing thing happens in that the body becomes disconnected from the brain. I can't remember the name of it right off. Anyway it prevents the body from thrashing around as the brain goes through dreams. Things like running and jumping and hitting would be transmitted to the muscles if this didn't happen. There is a condition that some people have where this disconnect process doesn't work correctly. In the very serious cases people can become badly injured, both themselves and others, but it is pretty rare. Very often a few muscle commands manage to get through the barrier and are manifested in mild muscle twitching. People often talk in their sleep because of it. When people have bad dreams and get startled awake they sometimes talk about being paralyzed with fear and not being able to move. What really happens is that it takes a little time for the brain to reconnect to the body and in that moment they are literally paralyzed. Anyway, animals and people twitching and moving in their sleep is normal. In fact if you look at their eyes closely you will likely see them moving under the eyelids. Hence the name REM which stands for rapid eye movement. The eyes are the only muscles not disconnected.
Don't worry about it, enjoy it, it's cute, especially when their whiskers start going at it.

di and bob · Apr 8, 2020

Every cat I have had does that twitching, definitely a dream. The hissing was because she was startled awake by the daughter touching her, and reacted by taking that as a threat, as any animal will do. Twitching can progress to legs pumping, tail thrashing, whiskers moving and soft moans, just like us in a dream. (well maybe not the whiskers and tail thing!)