A video of a cat giving in to his slumber during a road trip has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted on June 17 by Liam The Cat Actor (@liam_the_everyday_cat), the TikTok account of a rescue cat, and had over 472,000 views at the time of writing.
The footage shows Liam sitting on the rearview window deck between two headrests in the backseat area, with his eyes slowly closing. A caption shared with the post reads: “I just doze off right away LOL [laugh out loud].”
Liam’s urge to snooze is unsurprising as our feline friends sleep a total of around 18 hours per day. This amount is spread over a series of naps each lasting about 78 minutes, veterinarian Sandra C. Mitchell explained in a February 2022 article for PetMD.
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Dr. Sarah Ellis, the head of cat advocacy at International Cat Care, a U.K.-based charity, told Newsweek in July 2021 that cats sleep during the day because they are crepuscular, meaning they’re more active at dawn and dusk. In the wild, these are the “periods when their prey are also active.”
Veterinarian Dr. Cathy Lund from the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) also previously told Newsweek that felines retained many of the biological traits of their wild ancestors. This sees them “awake and hunting at the most opportune times.”
Veterinarian Dr. Kira Ramdas, the board director of the AAFP, also told Newsweek in July 2021 that cats nap when it is “more beneficial for them to rest,” meaning when there is no prey or human attention. They’re more prone to napping after meals.
Lund noted: “Carnivores are hard-wired to sleep much more than prey species, and cats are unique in their ability to move from deep sleep to wakefulness without any of that grogginess so familiar to us humans.
“In fact, cats are so adept at falling asleep that they were used as models of REM sleep in early sleep research studies.”
A message overlaid on the viral clip reads “Me: I’m so excited for the road trip. I will absolutely NOT fall asleep.” The cat is shown laying down with his head up and eyes wide open.
His eyes begin to slowly shut before the feline is later seen snoozing as a subsequent message overlaid on the video says: “Me: Five minutes later.” The footage shows Liam sleeping with one of his paws dangling over the top of the backseat.
TikTok users were delighted by the sleepy cat in the viral clip, with many relating to the feline’s struggle to stay awake while traveling.
Mel and Maurice said it was “hilarious” and Concerned_Kitty wrote: “Omg [oh my god] so cute.”
Frank and Cole wrote: “Just a quick cat nap.”
Liza Mendoza said: “Lol that’s me on road trips.”
Cat Lover wrote: “me too when my husband drives, which is always.”
WendyReads said: “This me on a plane!”
User @beancat123 said: “Aww Liam! You are the sweetest, sweet dreams bestie.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster via TikTok for comment. This video has not been independently verified.
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