Seeing the world from a cat’s eye
Let’s “CAT”scan the world together!
Although there are some similarities between a cat’s and a human’s vision, cats do have some unique visual capabilities that are distinctive to them. Cats are able to see exceptionally well in dim light, making them well-suited to hunting by moonlight. Even though cats can't see all the colors, they have great night vision and can see movement more clearly than human eyes.
In this article, we will cover 3 aspects of feline vision, like:
1. Color
2. Night vision
3. Near sightedness
4. Peripheral perception
Cats and colors
Cats do have some color vision, but it is limited. There is some debate among experts as to what colors cats can see, but it seems they perceive less color saturation than humans do. Like people who are colorblind, for domestic cats, blues and greens are easy to differentiate, while reds and pinks can be confusing as they might look more green, and purple might look like a different shade of blue. Therefore, they may be unable to distinguish between red and green.
The human retina has about 10 times more cones than a cat’s eye does. Cones are light receptors that work best in bright light. In addition, humans have three different kinds of cones that enable them to see a wide range of colors, with particular sensitivity to red, green, and blue. Cats might have three different kinds of cones, but the quantity and placement of these structures differ greatly. Behavioral studies have shown that cats’ color vision is limited compared to that of humans.
Thus, cats are also believed to be trichromats, but not in the same manner as humans. Cats have vision that is comparable to that of a person who is colorblind. Therefore, the red squeaky mouse that you bought your foster kitty might not really be a red mouse to her!
Cats and night vision
For a natural hunter like the cat, being able to see well in low light and at night is important. The truth is that cats cannot see in absolute darkness any more than humans can. However, they are much better adapted than humans for seeing in low levels of light. This is done due to 3 biological evolutions:
● Cats’ pupils are elliptical, whereas human pupils are round. Pupils with an elliptical structure have a greater range of motion and can open or shut more quickly than the round pupils that humans possess. The cat’s night vision is enabled by its enlarged pupils.
●The cat’s eye has a lot of rod cells, which are cells in the eye that turn light into electrical signals. As we learned in the previous paragraphs, cones are largely responsible for color vision. They are less sensitive and function better when there is a lot of light available. Rods are more sensitive and work better in low light. During the day, the rod cells simply turn off. There are six-to-eight times as many rod cells in the cat eyes as there are in human eyes, making them highly efficient at seeing in low light as compared to humans.
●Cats’ retinas have a layer of tissue called the “tapetum lucidum,” which is also known as the “mirror layer.” It’s made from 15 types of cells and is very reflective. This layer may reflect light back to the retina and help it gather more light. Light that has not hit a human rod is absorbed by the black layer located behind the retina. In cats, however, if the light hasn’t hit a rod, it will reflect off the mirror layer. If some sort of light is pointed at a cat's eye (don’t keep shining torches in their eyes), it glows a silvery-greeny-golden color in most cats, but can be ruby-red in Siamese cats. The light has been given a second chance to hit a rod to accomplish its mission. It's possible that the tapetum changes how cats see different wavelengths of light, making them more sensitive to moving prey or other things that stand out against the night sky.
Thus, cats can see 6–8 times better in dim light than humans due to the high number of rods and because of their elliptical pupil, large cornea, and tapetum lucidum.
Cats and near-sightedness
Humans can see things clearly from 100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 meters) away, but cats can only see things clearly from about 20 feet (6 meters) away.
Because cats don’t have the muscles needed to change the shape of their eye lenses, they need to be a little further away to see things clearly.
Cats also can’t see right under their noses, which is why they sometimes can’t find a treat that is right in front of them!
Thus, what a typical person can see as unblurred and sharp from 100–200 feet away, a cat must see from 20 feet away (a cat’s visual acuity ranges from 20/100 to 20/200).
Cats and peripheral perception
Cats’ protruding eyes offer them superior peripheral vision compared to humans. The visual range of a cat is 200 degrees, while that of a human is only 180 degrees.
Humans have 20 degrees of peripheral vision on each side, while cats have 30 degrees on each side. Given that cats have binocular vision, they are capable of seeing in three dimensions and judging the relative sizes of things at different distances. Although cats can perceive depth, their 3D eyesight is not as developed as humans’.
In conclusion, there are some aspects of vision where felines show superiority (peripheral vision, night vision), yet there are some aspects where humans show off their superiority (color perception and apparent distance). But it is safe to say that felines are equipped with all the visual attributes that will help them catch that snarky mouse at 3 a.m. while you sleep!
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