Two-thirds of cats apparently sleep on their left side, which could be part of a survival strategy
Cats sometimes curl up and sleep in a crescent shape, but even in the crescent shape, there are cats that sleep with their left side on the ground and cats that sleep with their right side on the ground. An international research team analyzed hundreds of YouTube videos posted on YouTube and found that two-thirds of cats sleep in the left-handed position.
Lateralized sleeping positions in domestic cats: Current Biology
Why cats prefer to sleep on their left side may be part of a survival strategy
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-cats-left-side-survival-strategy.html
Lateralized sleeping positions in domestic cats / Curr. Biol., Jun. 23, 2025 (Vol. 35, Issue 12) - YouTube
A research team consisting of the University of Bari Aldo Moro in Italy, the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Hamburg in Germany, and partners from Germany, Canada, Switzerland and Turkey, published a research paper titled 'Lateral sleeping position in domestic cats' in the biology-related peer-reviewed scientific journal Current Biology on June 23, 2025.
Cats sleep about 12-16 hours a day, and typically sleep high up so that predators can only approach them from below. A research team led by Dr. Sevim Isparta of the Animal Physiology and Behavior Research Unit in Bari, Italy, and Professor Onur Güntürkün of the Biopsychology Working Group at Ruhr University Bochum, investigated whether cats sleep on their left or right side.
A cat sleeping on its left side
A cat sleeping on its right side
The research team analyzed 408 videos published on YouTube. The 408 videos analyzed were those that 'clearly showed a cat sleeping with its entire body visible for more than 10 seconds.' In addition, only the original, unedited videos were analyzed. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that two-thirds of cats sleep on their left side.
'Because the two hemispheres of the brain are specialized for different tasks, behavioral asymmetry may be advantageous,' said Professor Onur Güntürkün, who participated in the study.
Cats who sleep on their left side use their left visual field to check their surroundings when they wake up. Using the left visual field means that information is processed by the right hemisphere of the brain. The right hemisphere of the brain is specialized for spatial awareness, threat processing, and regulating quick escape behavior, so the research team concluded that 'sleeping on the left side of the body may be a survival strategy.'
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