Cats are truly amazing creatures. Where else in nature can you find such graceful, intelligent, incredibly sensitive and mysterious animals? People have been trying to understand how cats perceive our world for centuries, and no matter how many scientists have tried to unravel the mystery, it is impossible to say with 100% certainty that the answer has been found. The main organ of perception for cats is their eyes - their deep, unbelievably mysterious gaze makes us believe that our furry pets see much more than we can imagine. Each photo of a cat's eyes is unique and holds a sea of secrets. How is the pupil structured? Why do such drastic changes in the perception of their surrounding world occur in daylight and darkness? This article, no less informative than Wikipedia, will help you understand the intricacies of a cat's perception.
How a cat's eye works
A cat sees because light passes through the pupil to the retina, which is connected to the brain. The pupil, controlled by a special muscle, regulates the flow of light, which is why it is huge in nocturnal predators and narrow, slit-like in diurnal ones. The image is focused on the retina by the cornea (the front transparent layer of the eye) and the lens, which is suspended on muscles and ligaments behind the pupil. Dogs and cats have 2-3 times lower accommodative ability (focusing the image on the retina by changing the shape of the lens when objects are close or far) than humans. Due to the peculiarities of the structure of the visual organ, a cat can see the outlines of the same object simultaneously with both eyes - the images it receives overlap by 45%, allowing them to identify shapes of objects and the distance to them.
Color blindness
The retina of the eye contains photoreceptors - cells containing pigment that change shape and lose color when light hits them. This generates an electrical potential. Two types of photoreceptors - rods and cones, the ratio of which varies among different animals, are responsible for daytime and nighttime vision. Cats' cones decode blue and green colors, but they cannot distinguish red. Yellow, red, orange, and green colors are indistinguishable to them. Violet, blue, and gray shades are considered one color for them. Rods are responsible for recognizing various shades of gray, and these whiskered beauties can distinguish many more shades of gray than humans.
Darkness - cats' ally
Cats have incredibly sharp vision. A 270ยบ field of view and the mobility of the head provide them with readiness for self-defense and a full circular view. Objects less than 2 meters away appear blurry and indistinct to cats. Although their close-range vision is not as good, they have always been and remain excellent hunters. Excellent hearing and lightning-fast reaction to sudden movements help them, as feline gaze captures rapid object movement instantaneously.
In daylight, cats see very well. At night, they need moonlight or distant headlights, and the iris is capable of enlarging the pupil to enhance visibility 40-50 times, which is extremely important for the animal's self-defense and safety. This ability of the iris is due to the so-called tapetum - the inner cellular layer of the eye, which is yellowish and directs light to the retina. Cats cannot stand direct sunlight, and for this reason, their pupils take on a narrow, slit-like shape when exposed to the sun, allowing the necessary amount of light to pass through.
As darkness falls, their pupils, on the contrary, turn into huge black discs and let in a lot of light. Do you know why a cat's eyes mysteriously glow at night, and this gleam (light blue, gray, golden, green, depending on the breed) is visible even in photographs? It turns out that each cat's eye has a nictitating membrane, serving as a third eyelid, horizontally closing on each eye. It moistens the surface of the cornea and helps protect it from dirt and dust. Some cats have unusual different colored eyes.
Differences between cat and human vision
There are not so many differences between human and cat vision: a cat has binocular vision, can see the surrounding world in three dimensions, estimate the distance to an object, and determine its outlines. The fundamental difference in cat vision is their more accurate tracking of moving objects rather than stationary ones; when cats are static, their keen sense of smell and excellent hearing come to the rescue more than their vision.
Newborn "blind kittens"
Cat offspring are born blind. Within a few days, newly born kittens can already distinguish some objects because the formation of the retina is not yet complete. Approximately after 3 months, the vision of the kittens becomes fully developed, and from this point on, their lives depend entirely on their ability to see the surrounding world. If a cat loses its vision due to a street fight or some other reason, it will have to hide and survive by all means, as the inability to see can adversely affect its future existence.
Pupils as a reflection of internal state
Depending on the cat's mood, its pupils change: joy at the sight of its favorite owner, a playful mood, excitement, curiosity lead to dilation, while in an aggressive state, they narrow significantly. Are you familiar with the concept of a "cat kiss"? Feline pets show their love and tenderness quite uniquely - they first stare at you for a long time and then close their eyes after a few seconds, prompting you to do the same.
Cats react quite unusually to mirrors: they first scrutinize their reflection, try to touch it with their paw, sometimes even press their ears, and only after some time do they calm down. A cat cannot understand that it is looking at itself. Cat owners surely know that their pets love watching TV, but the question of whether they understand what is happening on the screen remains unanswered. Cats see people as they are, just in the color range that they can perceive.
