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A man home sick from work made an amusing discovery about his cat’s daily routine—and the internet can’t get enough of it.
The post, shared on April 15 by Reddit user slimmyboy007, has already earned more than 23,000 upvotes after he revealed what his pet gets up to while he’s normally out of the house.
The answer: absolutely nothing.
The viral post includes two photos of the gray cat—one fast asleep, sprawled across the sofa, and another wide awake but in the exact same position. The caption summed it up: the cat “literally does nothing all day.”
In another post, the man states the cat was found in a bin but has now found comfort in their home, often opting for a blanket for extra comfort.
Reddit Reacts
Users quickly piled into the comments, many relating a little too well to the feline’s lifestyle.
“Is it weird that I’m jealous of a cat?” one person asked. Another joked, “Did you think he was working on his novel?”
Others defended the cat’s apparent laziness.
“Being a cat is a full time job,” one commenter insisted, while another added, “Look at him, he’s exhausted!! He works so hard!”
One user shared their own experience adjusting to a low‑energy pet: “On the first day I spent with my recently adopted adult cat, I called my mom to ask if I should take her to the vet because she slept all day. Our family cat was a zoomie orange male who did not prepare me for a chill cat.”
Why Cats Really Sleep So Much
While the internet had fun with the situation, the behavior itself is completely normal. According to pet‑food company Purina, cats typically sleep 12 to 18 hours in a 24‑hour period—two to three times more than the average human.
Age, breed and personality can influence this, but even the most energetic cats spend far more time napping than playing.
Purina explains that the reason goes back to feline biology. Cats are natural predators, and hunting—whether stalking a toy or chasing a mouse—requires intense bursts of energy. Their bodies are built for short, powerful activity followed by long periods of rest to recover. Even domestic cats, whose meals arrive neatly in a bowl, retain these instincts.
During play or “hunting,” cats burn through adrenaline and energy reserves quickly. That means even if they’re only active for a short window, they need extended downtime to recharge. For indoor cats, that often translates to long naps on sofas, windowsills or warm piles of laundry.
Cats also follow a different rhythm from humans. They aren’t nocturnal but crepuscular, meaning they’re most active at dawn and dusk—the prime hours for hunting in the wild. Because they never know when the next opportunity to “hunt” might come, they tend to nap lightly throughout the day rather than fall into deep, prolonged sleep cycles like humans do.
So while the gray cat may look like he’s perfected the art of doing nothing, he’s simply following millions of years of instinct—and enjoying the perks of domestic life while he’s at it.
Newsweek reached out to u/slimmyboy007 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.
Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.
