'I honestly thought they just hated the fact that I slept': Pawrent's two cats constantly wake him at night, leading him to discover that he has sleep apnea and they alerted when he stopped breathing

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Aug 14, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

Cats have a meowgical ability to tell when their owners are distressed. Ours always know when we've had a bad day and are extra cuddly during those meowments.

When our best friend passed away, they didn't leave our side for weeks. They followed us around the house with extra determination and insisted on doing, quite literally, everything with us. It was the only time they've ever willingly gone into the bathroom with us. They're usually terrified of the shower, but during those weeks they would wait patiently outside of the shower, and would paw at the glass if they felt we were taking too long.

Now, grief is one thing, but being sensitive to an illness is a whole other story! The pawrent in this post was furious with his midnight menace cats. They would wake him up at all hours of the night, multiple times, every night. This led him to discover that he actually has sleep apnea, and they were waking him up because they sensed his breathing had stopped. They were actually saving his life! 

It's crazy that some animals know how to alert for certain behaviors when some animals go through rigorous training for years in order to do so. These kitties must only really love their hooman! Maybe it's time for us to start having service cats as well? Sounds purrfect to us!

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  • 01
    Hello, Just wanting to share a wholesome story.
    via aria-du
  • 02
    As we all know, our cats love to wake us up at night for multiple reasons. It could be to play, cuddle, get attention etc - and don't get me wrong, mine do wake me up to demand breakfast but otherwise it
    via aria-du
  • 03
    appeared as though it was for absolutely no reason. I was starting to accept that they would wake me up multiple times a night, sometimes every hour or two for seemingly no reason at all.
    via aria-du
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    Cheezburger Image 10542028544
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  • When our cats were kittens, they went through a horrific phase of destroying things at night. They were the stereotypical 3 AM zoomies…. and 5 AM…. and 6 AM…. and then straight until we finally decided to get up and play with them. Those were some hard months. We maybe got four hours of sleep a night.

  • 05
    They would go to the effort and then once they saw I was awake, they would run off and do their own thing (unless it was breakfast time). I'd wake up to one of them on my legs. intensely staring into my soul while the other would be on my
    via aria-du
  • 06
    side table, doing what he could to make noise like knocking things off my shelves or repeatedly tapping my blind etc. When I would sit up, the one that would be on my side table would quickly run and lay behind me so I couldn't lay down unless I moved him.
    via aria-du
  • 07
    Fresh and Crisp
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  • 08
    They would even do it when I would have naps during the day and I honestly thought they just hated the fact that I slept, in general.
    via aria-du
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    Cheezburger Image 10542028800
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  • 10
    Well, turns out I was very wrong. My sweet boys were waking me up because I would stop breathing. It turns out that I have sleep apnea and I don't know how long it would have taken for me to realise and get it checked out if it weren't for them. I didn't think I could love them more than I already do, but somehow I can.
    via aria-du

  • Our partner snores a lot. He went and got tested for sleep apnea, but thankfully, it's not. After reading this story, maybe we can train our cats to wake him up when he starts snoring too loud? That sounds pawssible, right? We hope so, it would save us a lot of trouble.

  • 11
    It kind of blew my mind and ever since I made some changes with how I sleep, they have only been waking me up for breakfast so something must be working. It could just be my perception but considering they let me sleep now, I feel it's accurate.
    via aria-du
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    Cheezburger Image 10542029568
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  • 13
    Bless their little souls, honestly. I feel terrible for just assuming they were a h les-ugh so much love for them. Little service kitties.
    via aria-du
  • 14
    CoppertopTX • 7h ago This dude will wake my husband 10 minutes before his CGM screams out a low bl d glucose alert. I think he'd get the juice glass for my husband if he could.
    via CoppertopTX
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    Cheezburger Image 10542032896
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  • 16
    summerbee18.7h ago Cats and dogs really have a seventh sense and love their bosses to the core. It's nice to have such creatures close to you who protect you and love you immeasurably. Glad your cats are making you feel better.
    via summerbee18
  • 17
    smangela69. 7h ago omg same happened to me! my german shepherd and two cats would take turns waking me up in the middle of the night, which they'd never done before. then i'd go about my days exhausted as f thinking it was from that. nope. brain wasn't getting oxygen
    via smangela69
  • 18
    Mintteeeea • 5h ago My boyfriend found out he had sleep apnea about a year... ish? (probably more, my concept of time and memory is terrible) so now that I've told him this story he's pondering if maybe our kitty was doing
    via Mintteeeea
  • 19
    that. He would constantly complain about her coming to bother him, but now she's usually just bothering him at breakfast, demanding cuddles and making him almost late for work lol. He has now put 10 minutes of snuggle time into his morning schedule to avoid this.
    via Mintteeeea
  • 20
    Now that I'm sitting here thinking about it, she does tend to come in and scream at us more any time he falls asleep before putting his mask on (I also poke him and remind him to do it as soon as I notice.)
    via Mintteeeea
  • 21
    ApplicationLost126 • 6h ago I have one cat whom I'm confident could save me from a heart attack based on her love of running across the room, jumping and landing on my chest
    via ApplicationLost126
  • 22
    ICantSeeD dPpl · 6h ago . So awesome, and your floofballs are so adorable! What made you realize it was sleep apnea?
    via ICantSeeD**dPpl
  • 23
    MommaDiz • 5h ago I have self taught alert kitties too! I have bad asthma and they wake me before a full on attack in my sleep. One in particular can be ANYWHERE in the house and smell me about to pass out and comes screaming her head off u til I get down on the floor and she can sniff all over
    via MommaDiz
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    • Ornery Too 4h ago Medical alert beasties! You should send this story to a news outlet.
    via OrneryToo
  • 25
    KarinSpaink 6h ago . When I was really ill two years ago and was in bed most of the day, my cat would insist on being by my side. She even stayed next to me when I had visitors, while she would usually dash outside whenever a friend came around.
    via KarinSpaink
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    Cats have a strong instinct about their personnel not being ok, and are utterly willing to adjust their behaviour when you're in need, even doing stuff that they would otherwise never do.
    via KarinSpaink
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    eruvadhoren913 · 5h ago . Such amazing cats!! Cats really do have a 6th sense.
    via eruvadhoren913
  • 28
    Mine lets me know I'm pregnant before I get a positive test. He becomes an instant lap kitty that won't leave me alone, and he's normally a bit of a loner. He loves babies, from the time they are smaller than a poppyseed on.
    via eruvadhoren913

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sleep apnea discovery breathing Cats sleeping animals alert service animal pawrents
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