It is normal that, as natural predators, cats sleep pretty long. Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually 12-16 hours, with 13-14 being the average. Napping so much during the day could be easily explained by the fact that cats are, for the most part, nocturnal hunters. But actually, cats are crepuscular, meaning that they are more active around dawn and dusk (when their prey is out and about). Cats are less active through the middle of the day and in the middle of the night. Rather than sleeping for one long stretch, felines alternate sleep and activity throughout the day. As predators, cats are also inclined to engage in significant spurts of physical activity. They can expend extraordinary amounts of energy stalking, pouncing, and wrestling their prey into submission. Even when this prey is a tattered toy mouse or a rubber ball, cats generally obtain substantial amounts of exercise.