A team of scientists from the University of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy), Ruhr University Bochum, Medical School Hamburg and other partners in Germany, Canada, Switzerland and Turkey conducted a study to see which side most cats sleep on and why.

They concluded that cats sleep on their left side because they can perceive their surrounding when they wake up with their left visual field. This is processed in the right hemisphere of the brain which specializes in spatial awareness. This allows the cat to quickly process information about predators. Therefore it is a survival strategy.

Journal Reference:

Sevim Isparta, Sebastian Ocklenburg, Marcello Siniscalchi, Charlotte Goursot, Catherine L. Ryan, Tracy A. Doucette, Patrick R. Reinhardt, Reghan Gosse, Özge Şebnem Çıldır, Serenella d’Ingeo, Nadja Freund, Onur Güntürkün, Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas. Lateralized sleeping positions in domestic cats. Current Biology, 2025; 35 (12): R597 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.043

Cite This Page:

Ruhr-University Bochum. “Why cats prefer sleeping on their left side—and how it might help them survive.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 June 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250626081533.htm>.