A cat has been considered a close friend of a person for more than 10 thousand years, but, despite this, it remains a mysterious animal, which we still have to get to know more closely. Today, the cat family is credited with many unique abilities, for example, to see in the dark and feel otherworldly creatures. Let's see what kind of vision a cat has, whether she, for example, can see in the dark.
Vision in the dark
Many people wonder why cats see in the dark. But is it? Of course, a cat sees better at night than a person, but it cannot see in pitch darkness. This is due to the fact that in this species of animals the pupils are narrowed, and they need much less light particles in order to clearly see objects. In the process of evolution, this ability has developed for a quality ambush at any time of the day. Despite the fact that the cat’s vision in the dark is eight times more effective than that of a human, it is still not able to see in pitch darkness. The world through the eyes of a cat is not the same as in humans, due to the perception of colors, let's look at why.
Cat's vision
Thanks to the observations of scientists, it was found that the eyes of a cat see the same way as human eyes, but at the same time they have slightly greater possibilities. Experts call feline vision binocular. With this type, myopia is high, which allows us to perceive the world in three-dimensional form and to highlight all objects in the zone of visibility, but the farsightedness of the binocular gaze is much less than human.
Due to their myopia, cats clearly see objects located next to her, but because of eye pathologies, they see only certain colors. Many people think: cats have color or black and white vision? Let's figure it out.
Does the cat distinguish colors
Some animals see the world in black and white. But not cats. They very clearly perceive blue and green in the surrounding world, but at the same time they practically do not see red, brown, orange and purple. Evolution made such changes in feline vision due to their active nightlife, which led to the development of only certain parts of the brain.
A person distinguishes a huge number of colors compared to a cat. Of course, she does not see the world in black and white, but the blue-green world is also not saturated with a large number of shades. Therefore, we can assume that the cat sees worse than her best friend. In addition, she cannot see what is happening over a long distance, unlike other animals. Therefore, the world through the eyes of a cat is completely different than that of other animals. But why does a person distinguish between objects and see over long distances better?
Grey colour
A cat is a nocturnal predatory animal, therefore it is very important that its gaze at night allows one to distinguish prey from unnecessary items. In the dark, a cat, like a person, cannot see colors, this is due to light particles, which are very few at night, but they see more clearly than other animals. But the world is becoming not with yellow, green and blue hues, but painted in gray.
At night, the cat can clearly distinguish a gray shade, which, of course, affected the choice of a favorite prey for the home mouse prankster. But whatever the cat’s vision would be, it in any case stands out clearly from other animals.
Differences with Human Vision
Of course, the whole thing is in the brain. Unlike humans, cats have developed areas of the brain that are responsible for hearing and smell, so feline eyesight is worse than these feelings. In humans, most of the neurons are taken away by the motor skills of the hands.
Unlike other creatures, the cat’s vision is an auxiliary feeling, and not the main one — hearing and smell are considered the main ones. Evolution has put everything so in its place due to the fact that the cat is considered an animal hunting from ambush. That is why she does not need a farsighted look for several kilometers.
Dogs see better than cats, and this is also related to brain development. The structure of the limbs and their work in the feline family is much more complicated, therefore, in conjunction with the development of sites responsible for hearing and smell, cats have no place for vision on the surface of the cerebral cortex, and they see worse.
Cat eye color
Many people think that every cat with green eyes, is that so? In fact, cats today have a large number of eye shades. Here are the main colors:
- Hazel - often found in outbred cats, including wild ones.
- Blue - found in rocks in the colors of which there is a white tint.
- Golden, yellow, orange, copper - depends on the incest of the breed and the color of the coat.
- Sapphire - found in Siamese breed.
- Turquoise - Tonkin and Siamese breed.
There may also be a cat with green eyes, but this is often connected not with the breed, but with the fact that the color gradually fades or is noticeable only in a certain condition of the pet.
Cat Vision
Let's summarize what kind of eyesight a cat has. Despite the fact that the structure of the eyeball is similar to the human, cones and rods in the cat family are much more sensitive. They do not need a large amount of light, so they respond to any movement even in the dark. The peculiarities of cats' vision include the fact that they do not see the object in the smallest details, but only its silhouette. But for any predator hunting from an ambush, this is enough to catch prey.
To understand what kind of vision a cat has in the daytime, you should know that in bright light, its pupils narrow to regulate the flow of light particles. Because of this, in daylight, the eyes of a cat see a little worse than in the evening. But she is able to see with her own eyes infrared radiation, which is inherent in all living beings.
The features of binocular vision include a wide coverage of the world, namely this type of vision is developed in cats. They see, unlike other animals, 270 degrees around, it is much wider than in humans. But in this regard, feline fix vertical movement worse, but they see the horizontal movement of prey perfectly. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they are less likely to catch flying animals.
Cats see better at night than during the day, because their photosensitivity is too strong. It is connected with this that cats like to sleep during the day, and hunt at night.