March has its eyes set on spring! Interesting facts about cats eyes.

 
With every type of season happening in March here in Syracuse, the cats boarding here at Rock The Cat Spa  love to lay by the door or up in the big cat tree looking out at rain drops, snowflakes and birds flying by. They can see the tiniest thing that I have no idea what they are seeing and sometimes, it is creepy to see them staring and tails twitching while I see nothing!  How can these little creatures see better than us humans?  Let’s find out! 

On the side- Due to the shape of their eyes, cats have a much better peripheral vision than us humans as we only see 180 degrees but they see 200 degrees. Also, with their eyes a bit more angled out than humans, they have an advantage.

They sense it- Cats really utilize their senses.  From ears and hearing, smell and sniffing everything to using their big whiskers to feel their way around, cats really use all they’ve got. 

​Not up close and personal- With not the best up close vision, cats tend to have 20/100 to 20/200 vs our 20/20. Over 20 feet and kitties start to see blurry fuzzy things.  It explains why they paw at their water bowl and never see the toy or treat set right smack in front of them!  

Life is a bit dull- I’ve come across a lot of colorblind people in my life and wondered how they enjoy a less than colorful life. Cats can relate as they do see color but just much more muted shades and tones that most of us see as colorful and vibrant. Less cones in their eyes are the reason for the lack of color in their worlds. 

Up and down, not round- Vertical slit pupils ( elliptical pupils) have extra muscles which help the pupils open and close which give cats better vision. The pupils can go round when very stressed or upset to a thin vertical line out in the sun. It’s kind of neat to watch them in action! 

Night Vision-  Cats love to wander around at night and can do so because their eyes have more rods in their eyes which allow light in. Since they are crepuscular ( meaning they’re more active at dusk/ dawn), cats can see around 7 times better than us humans in low light. While they are gifted in the low vision world, they cannot see in complete darkness. 

Third Eye, not Blind- Have you seen the little lid that creeps over your cat's eye when they are resting? It’s called palpebra tertia and is a nictating membrane and it's there to protect their eyes. This third eyelid helps add moisture and clear debris away. Since they don’t blink as much as we do, they need extra moisture and tears and this little internal wiper can stay busy.

Internal Protective Gear- It’s interesting to be driving at night and suddenly see eyes glowing at you. This is from the animals internal layer behind their retina.  Tapetum Lucidem gives the eyes another opportunity to have light bounce off and gives them an advantage in low light. 

More is better-  Eyes all contain photoreceptors which are little rods and cones inside our eyes. Rods help with motion and light but the cones are best during the day and see color. The advantage of less cones in their eyes means they can see better in low light and better motion.  I guess it’s a trade off for color blindness! 

The variety of colors- Colors do not predict mood or behavior but color does tend to associate with breeds.  For example; Blue eyes are siamese, green eyes are Siberian and pure bred cats have more vibrant colors vs a domestic breed or mixed breed which has a duller color eye. Non pedigree cats have green, hazel or yellow eyes or a mix of these colors and hues. 

Take a look at your cat resting in the day vs night time and you’ll understand how they can move much better than we can and their advantages!  

Photo-   One of our regular guests here at Rock The Cat Spa, the distinguished Snickers! He likes to get up close and personal with those baby blues!