The huge eyes of cats are a source of inspiration for artists, poets and photographers. It seems that such eyes are able to see anything. But what do our furry brethren see and is human vision different from that of a cat?
Can't see in the dark
A common misconception is the theory of night vision in cats. In fact, these animals are really able to navigate well in the semi-darkness, but if there is no light at all, they will not see anything either. The secret is in the special structure of the cat's eye. In the mammalian eye, there are two types of light-sensitive receptors: rods and cones. And if the cones are responsible for the clarity of objects and the recognition of colors, then the rods provide twilight vision. Cats have much more rods than cones, because these animals are nocturnal predators and they simply need sharp vision in the twilight.
As an added bonus, cats received a different structure of the so-called best vision area. If in humans it is in the form of a small depression on the retina, then in cats it is much larger and is a disc. By the way, the famous magical glow of the cat's eye is also a structural feature that provides additional acuity of twilight vision. The eye of our cattle is designed in such a way that it can capture light, usually scattered along the surface, and direct it to the retina. It turns out that the light is reflected from the cat's eyes, giving her the opportunity to see more. It is because of these "reflectors" that the eyes glow in the dark.
How well cats can see
Do not think that cat's vision is the standard. Contrary to popular belief, cats don't see very well. They perfectly distinguish objects close, but what is distant from them at some distance, they are already seen blurry. For humans, this would be considered a visual impairment, but pets simply do not need to see everything around at a distance. Being a predator, a cat must be able to fix a potential prey in the field of attack. In addition, during the hunt and everyday activities, the cat is more focused on hearing, which is very sharply developed in her. When the mice run 20 meters away from her, there is simply no point in keeping an eye on them for the cat.
Another feature of sight is also associated with hunting, better concentration on moving objects. This is not to say that if something moves slowly, the cat will not notice it, but it will best of all see those objects that move faster.
Color vision
The human eye is able to distinguish the colors of the spectrum, but representatives of the animal world, for the most part, do not have this feature. Dogs, for example, see everything in monochrome, as for cats, they only distinguish some colors: shades of gray, blue and yellow. But red cats are not able to see.
