Cats are famous for falling asleep in weird positions and places that make nearly zero sense to us, because they look anything but comfortable. Despite our confusion about it, they will continue to sleep wherever and however they want, and while perplexing, it does give us some funny stories to tell.
Like this one cat named Telly, for example. She’s found a way to sleep not only in a weird position but with an expression that literally makes it look like she’s preserved in a museum. It’s unsettling but incredibly funny too. Take a look!
TikTok user @lookitstelly shared a video of their sweet gray cat, Telly, who makes one of the strangest sleep faces we’ve seen a kitty make, and I can’t stop laughing at it.
Her mom is used to Telly’s weird eyes-half-open sleep habits, so when she approached the sleepy cat taking a nap on the chair, she wasn’t fazed. To be honest, though, I worried for a minute. Telly doesn’t move when her mama starts talking to her… and her face looks frozen until her mom gives her a chin rub. It’s the perfect video to watch if you need a quick rise in your heart rate and a laugh.
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In the comments, thousands of other people felt similarly when watching Telly take a nap, unsure if she was real.
One person wrote, “Ngl, I thought Telly was bad taxidermy at the start.”
Another shared, “1 1/2 years old? Do you mean one and a half decades old?”
Someone else added, “As a taxidermist… I thought this was taxidermy.”
One joked, “They got cats at the shelter, you ain’t gotta dig ’em up.”
Other comments included, “I thought she was freeze-dried at first,” “Does Telly know she’s alive?” “I wasn’t sure Telly was with us for most of that,” “I thought this was taxidermy. I’m so SORRY,” “Was Telly the first cat in America?” and “I thought Telly had tucked into the afterlife, and I apologize.”
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How Much Sleep Does a Cat Get in One Day?
Telly looks really tired, and that makes sense because cats need to sleep a lot during the day, experts say.
According to the Sleep Foundation by Sleep Doctor, more than half of all cats sleep up to 18 hours a day, and 40% sleep more than that in one day. But that’s not all in one sleep. They take many naps throughout the day, with the average being about 1 hour and 15 minutes in length, the site explains.
Hopefully, Telly is getting some good quality sleep. She looks like she could really use it.
This story was originally published by Parade Pets on Jan 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add Parade Pets as a Preferred Source by clicking here.