Do cats and dogs dream?

If three little kittens did lose their mittens, they might have dreamed about it the same night. Cats and dogs do dream. In their dreams, they probably relive exciting or frightening events of the day.

When scientists studied the sleep of cats in a laboratory, they found that the cats first went to a quiet state of sleep. The cats' eyes moved slowly under its lids. Then, after a few minutes, they eyes moved rapidly and jerkily. Brain- wave recordings showed that the animals had entered a sleep state called REM--for rapid eye movement. Throughout their sleep, the animals passed back and forth between the deeper quiet state and REM sleep.

Humans experience the same sleep states. Studies have shown that humans dream only during the REM sleep, so scientists think that cats and dogs dream then as well. Scientists believe that cats and dogs dream then as well. Scientists believe that REM sleep serves as a useful purpose for cats and dogs. In this state, the animals sleep lightly. They wake from time to time and inspect their surroundings for danger.

A dog that is dreaming may whine, pant, bark and wag its tail. Sometimes, it makes running movements. A cat usually lies more quietly, but it may twitch, or swat with its paw.

If your sleeping pet appears restless, don't worry. It's probably just living in a dream world.