Cats Vision: What Does Your Kitty See?

Say Cheese~

Ever wonder about cats vision? 

This article is written for cat lovers.

Even though I don't fancy cat much (I am a dog lover), I can see why many people are crazy over them.

hey are both graceful and sinfully cute animals (if they aren't scratching anything at that time). It is hard to not try to understand them.

You and your purring pet see the world differently.

Even though your eyes are located in a similar fashion, human and cat revolutionize differently.

As human we are evolved to omnivorous while cats they become nocturnal meat-eating hunters.

This results in us having different sets of specialization.

Other than relying on their keen sense of smell and hear, cats rely greatly on their vision.

By comparing ours and cats vision, it will help you understand how your cat sees in the day and acts in the dark.

Cats Vision At Day

Cats are nearsighted.

Humans with normal vision have a visual acuity of 20/20 while most cats have an average visual acuity of 100/20 to 200/20.

This means that the object which we can see clearly at 100 feet, your cat can only see it at 20 feet.

Cats vision is sharpest at 2 to 3 feet from their face and they focus their view in the center than the entire landscape like human do. 

This helps in zeroing on small preys.

They are also much better at detecting motion as they have more rods than humans do. Making them better at detecting things that speed across their field of vision than something coming straight at it.

Can Cat See In The Dark?

Like Two Moons

The myth which cats can see in the dark is an exaggeration.

Cats can’t see in total darkness but they can see way better than us in the dim light. 

Have you ever notice the eerie glow on your cat’s eyes when you shine light into their eyes or when they look at you in the dark?

The glowing effect is the direct result of a reflective membrane called tapetum lucidum. 

The tapetum is located at the back of the retina. It collects and reflects light which enters the eye to re-stimulate the retina.

This provides more opportunity for the retina to collect visual information in reduced light environment. 

In addition, cats have more rods than humans in their retinas. 

Rods and cones are light receptor cells. Cones primarily work in lit environment and is responsible for detecting colors and detailed viewing.

On the other hand, rods work primarily in dim light environment and is responsible for motion detection.

With all these in place, cats only need ⅙th illumination level and use twice as much available light as humans.

As domestic cats are night vision keen, they have elliptical pupils which help them to reduce the amount of light entering their eyes in lit environment.

The pupils open and close much faster than human’s round pupil. 

It can also open wider than round pupils, so that more light can enter the eyes when there are not enough light around.

Cats Field Of Vision

Your kitty has a wider field of vision. While we have a 180 degree field of vision, cats have 200 degree. 

Cats Field of Vision

Predators rely on binocular vision to provide them accurate depth perception so that they can judge distance and pounce correctly.

Cats have the greatest range of binocular vision than any other carnivores, making them remarkable hunters.

However, this also compromises their peripheral vision. Like humans, they will have to turn their heads in order to see what’s beside them.

Interestingly, there is a blind spot in cats vision right under your kitty's nose.

If you drop anything right under her nose, she will have to sniff around before finding it.

What Color Can Cat See?

Cats are color blinded.

Color blindness is often misunderstood as not being able to see colors at all. The truth is, color blindness only means color deficiency.

The reduced number of cones in the retina prohibits cats to see as many colors as a normal human.

In the case of most cats, they see the world like humans who have red-green color deficiency.

While they have no problem picking up purple, blue, green and yellow color range, they are unable to distinguish red, orange and brown colors.

Cat Eye Diseases

Your lovely kitty is subjected to eye diseases just like you do.

Cats are vulnerable to both minor diseases such as conjunctivitis (pink eye) and eye stye, and serious diseases (blindness) like glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration.

As good cat's vision is important for your kitty’s overall well being, bringing her to the veterinarian at the first signs of symptoms is crucial.

Many conditions can be treated if early intervention is made, and cause severe vision loss or even blindness if ignored. 

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