Cat's Eyes: What Do Cats See?
It’s a well known fact that cats can see very well, even in the dark.
Cat eyes have a wide field of vision
Since the eyes of cats are directed forward, they have excellent spatial vision. This helps them, for example, when hunting for small, agile prey.
In addition, cat eyes have a very wide field of vision of about 200 to 220 degrees. Even if their vision is blurred at the edges of their field of vision, they can still perceive movements well.
How sharp can cats see?
Cats can see very sharply and can perceive their surroundings with their eyes in a very differentiated way. But this is only true if an object is not too far away.
From a distance of about six metres, the visual acuity of cats decreases significantly, so that they can only perceive objects in a slightly blurred way.
The human eye is therefore superior to the cat's eye in this respect. Because we can normally see objects that are a little further away in focus. However, this weakness of the cat's eye should not be a hindrance in everyday life.
Do cats see colours?
To perceive colours the eyes are equipped with so-called cones. The human eye has three different types of cones. These enable us to recognise red, blue and yellow as well as mixtures of these colours.
Cats also see colours. However, unlike us, cat eyes only have two types of cones. This means that they are able to see blues and yellows but not reds.
How do cats see in the dark?
Cat eyes are very sensitive to light. This means that cats can see their surroundings very well even in low light conditions.
One reason for this is that the cat's eye has more rods than the human eye. Rods are the sensory cells that are used to see in low light.
In addition, cats can dilate their pupils very much so that more light can enter the eye. Furthermore, cat eyes have a so-called tapetum lucidum. This is a reflective layer that ensures that light passes through the retina a second time.
This special structure of their eyes enables cats to make better use of the available light and thus to find their way around even in very dark surroundings.
However, even cat eyes ultimately need light to see. If you would lock your quadruped up in a completely dark room, he would not be able to see there any more than you can.
Common problems with cat's eyes
Cat eyes are not only extremely powerful, but also quite sensitive. For example, watery eyes are not uncommon in cats and can indicate conjunctivitis, among other things.
Besides inflammation, cats can also suffer from cataracts. There are also various other diseases, such as catarrh or diabetes, which can also cause problems with the eyes.
How do blind cats orient themselves?
Unfortunately it can happen that a cat goes blind for various reasons. This can happen for example because of an eye disease, an injury or also because of age.
In this case it is quite possible that owners do not notice at first that their quadruped cannot see anymore. This is because cats can find their way around very well with their sense of touch, smell and hearing.
Thus they learn very quickly to orientate themselves even without functioning cat eyes. Nevertheless, you should not let a blind cat outside, of course. You should also refrain from rearranging your home in order not to make life unnecessarily difficult for your quadruped without sight.
Eye Care Drops for the gentle care of cat eyes
Healthy eyes are very important for your cat. For this reason, you should definitely pay the necessary attention to the topic of eye care. For this purpose we recommend that you use the high-quality eye care drops from I love my cat.
Well tolerated ingredients allow you to gently cleanse your cat's sensitive eyes and can thus help to prevent eye problems and counteract existing complaints such as non-infectious conjunctivitis in your cat.
How do cats see - our conclusion
As you can see, cat eyes are extremely powerful. Cats have excellent spatial vision and can orientate themselves very well even in poor lighting conditions.
The ability to see colours and the sharpness of distant objects are the only points where the eyes of a cat are inferior to those of a human being. In order to find their way in everyday life, both are not very important for cats anyway.
In order to ensure permanently healthy cat eyes, you should pay sufficient attention to the topic of care and do not hesitate to consult a vet in case of complaints.
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