Everyone knows that cats have sharp eyesight. Predators need it to hunt, prey to hide in time. What do we mean by "excellent vision"? We mean the ability to distinguish the slightest shades of the color spectrum, to clearly see objects near and far. Is it possible to apply these visual abilities to animals, in particular, to cats? Or do domestic purrs see the world not at all as clear and bright, or maybe they think that it is black and white? Today we will tell you Interesting Facts about how cats see, as well as how dogs see, and how the vision of animals differs from ours.

Cats are known to see six times. better than a man. Since the cat is a predator that prefers to hunt at night, nature has taken care of the perfection of her "night vision device". The animal can easily focus its sharp eyes to any distance and is able to see all the smallest details of a small mouse in deep twilight in dense grass. But contrary to popular belief, the cat does not distinguish between objects in pitch darkness. Her eyes need some source of light, even a hint of it. Getting on the retina, the light spot is duplicated many times, illuminating everything around.

If you close a person and a cat in a completely dark room, the animal, although it will not see anything around it, will nevertheless begin to move more confidently. She has an assistant and guide - sensitive whiskers (whiskers). Spreading them and touching objects with them, the cat receives information about the surrounding space.

The pupil of cats is arranged quite differently from that of us humans. It is located vertically and has a remarkable ability to turn from a narrow slit into huge circles, filling the entire iris. Nature has taken good care of protecting the retina of a furry predator: in bright light, the pupils are completely narrowed so that the rays do not damage their delicate structure. In the dark, the pupils turn into black circles, absorbing the slightest source of light.

Have you ever seen a cat in the dark with light shining on its face? The eyes become like searchlights, they burn with some kind of unearthly fire, like the eyes of the "Baskerville dog", which is perfectly visible in the photo taken at night. In fact, the eyes of cats do not glow, they only reflect the color falling on them. What makes your eyes turn into spotlights? On the back wall of the cat's eye there is a so-called mirror - a layer of cells (tapetum). It intercepts the incident light and returns it back to the retina.

"50 shades of grey"

Yes, the title of a fashion movie is in the subtitle, but the article is about cats! So, the eyes of a cute creature are able to distinguish, of course, not 50, but 25 shades gray color. This is necessary in order, again at dusk, to be able to see the victim well: its size and color. The photo below shows a city at night: above - what a person sees, below - a cat. It turns out that only a small part of the picture is available to our eyes, while a domestic purr is able to see even small details.

Faded world, but wide

Contrary to the philistine theory, the outside world does not appear in front of cats in gray or black and white. They quite distinguish colors, however, not as brightly as people. The human eye has color photoreceptors called cones that provide us with sharp daylight vision and a rich color spectrum. In the eyes of cats, instead of cones, there are receptors responsible for night vision, the so-called rods. They give the ability to see at dusk. The ratio of rods to cones in all living beings is different and depends on the priority. It is more important for people to see during the day and distinguish many shades of the spectrum. It is important for cats to be able to see at night, but it does not matter to them whether the color of the rose is ash pink or purplish red.

What colors are available to the eyes of cats? These are shades in the range of 450-454 nm, as well as 550-561 nm, which corresponds to the blue-violet and yellow-green spectra.

How is a dog's vision?

If you're wondering how dogs see, they have a similarity to cats in terms of the ratio of cones to rods. They have more of the latter, which means that a person’s friends distinguish colors poorly, but they see at dusk better than us. The dog's eye can perceive medium and short wavelengths, that is, cool colors (blue, green, purple), but does not see long wavelengths (orange, yellow and red).

Some more interesting facts

In order to find out how cats see the world around them, scientists conducted an experiment. Electrodes were implanted into the cat's brain and connected to 177 neurons. When the data from the electrodes were received, they were brought to a computer and people saw the world through the eyes of a “murka”. It turns out that the general plans for the cat appear very vague, but the faces of people, the outlines of other animals, as well as the slightest movement, she sees very clearly. This is clearly shown in the photograph.

Now look at the next photo. It presents two pictures: the upper one is the visible “picture of the world” by a person, the lower one is, respectively, by a cat. Pay attention to the ends of the photo. On the top side you see black stripes. This is where human peripheral vision ends (approximately 180°), blurring at the edges shows that the available image coverage in humans is deteriorating at the edges. And the bottom photo shows the peripheral vision of cats - more than 200 °.

Cats most clearly distinguish objects at a distance of no more than 6 meters, and humans - 30-35 meters. In addition, the cat is not able to see the object under the very nose. She finds him by smell.

But cats can follow fast moving objects without losing sight of, for example, a flashing sunbeam. A person does not have time to keep track of the fast flickering. However, humans are 10 times better at seeing slow moving objects, and a cat is unable to consistently focus on one object without being distracted by others.

We hope that after reading the article, you learned a little more about everyone's favorites - cute cats, these wayward, incomprehensible and very complex creatures.

Summing up the story, we recall the main facts:

1. In pitch darkness, purrs do not see anything, just like a person.
2. They contemplate the beauty of the world in the faded shades of the cold color spectrum.
3. They can only see faces and moving objects clearly.
4. Their peripheral vision is wider than ours.
5. They do not see under their nose and beyond 6 meters.
6. They see more shades of grey.
7. They see perfectly in thick twilight, if there is at least a little diffused light.

True, domestic minions need their wonderful device - night vision - mainly to find a bowl of food in the dark in the kitchen. If you have a furry friend at home, watch him, because the eyes of a beloved creature can tell a lot.

The animal world is full of unsolved mysteries and mysteries. Cats are perhaps the most unusual of all the representatives of the fauna familiar to us. Their unusual bodies, the ability to navigate in space are of great interest to all animal lovers. But most of all, people, as a rule, note the amazing beauty of the eyes of cats and their deep, bewitching look.

Of course, it's no secret that cats see the world differently than other animals. Let's figure out exactly how.

The unusual vision of cats is due to peculiarities in the structure of the cat's eyes. First of all, this is the presence of a pupil working in a vertical position. Take a closer look at how the cat's pupil reacts to bright light. That's right, it shrinks. And at dusk or subdued lighting expands.

Photo - How cats see our world

Do not forget that the cat is a born hunter, although because of this fact, many believe that these animals have sharp eyesight. But in fact, cats see worse than people. True, only during the day. Night vision of cats is probably one of the best. However, like all representatives of the cat family. Have you often seen how your pet does not see any obstacle in front of his nose, and crashes into it? All this is because cats are naturally nearsighted. They are helped to navigate at close distances by special hairs on the body (including), called vibrissae. More than once, those who have observed cats have noted that they rarely fall to the ground if they jump from one surface to another. This is possible thanks to the very vibrissae, using which the cat can calculate the range and flight path with an accuracy of 3 cm. This possibility is also helped by the cats' viewing angle, which is 270 degrees (!). This means that cats have spatial, one might even say, 3D vision.

Photo - Vision in cats in the dark

The cat is a nocturnal animal. Therefore, at night she sees much better than during the day. If we compare human vision with cat's, then we will come to the conclusion that during the day the cat sees quite badly, at dusk her vision improves (the animal sees like a person during the day), and at night, respectively, cats can see as a person sees at dusk .

This skill went to the modern domestic cat from its wild ancestors, who were not domesticated and were forced to earn their livelihood by hunting small animals at night. It would be rather difficult to make out a small thing without the ability to see in the dark.

Why does a cat's eyes glow?

The eye of any animal, or rather the lens of the eye, consists of two types of photoreceptors: rods and cones. The rods are just responsible for night vision, and the cones are responsible for its sharpness, that is, for the ability to distinguish color shades and small details of an object. In cats, the number of rods significantly exceeds the number of cones, so they are perfectly oriented in the dark. Around the photoreceptors of the cat's eye are specific formations called "tapetum". The tapetum acts as a reflector of unabsorbed light, which it intercepts and directs to the retina. This is the reason for the night glow of the cat's eyes. Of course, they don't actually glow, it's just that the tapetum reflects light.

Photo - How a cat sees a parrot

Previously, many scientists mistakenly believed that cats do not distinguish colors, but see the world in black and white. But during the research, they came to the conclusion that in the presence of cones in the lens, the cat should be able to distinguish at least the primary colors. It soon became clear that the representatives of the cat family are still capable of separation. colors. It turned out that cats can distinguish between purple, white and yellow (the last two can be confused), and the main colors of the cat's visual world are called blue, green and gray. True, murks do not see red, brown and orange colors at all. I hope you figured out what colors cats see.

We don't know much about these graceful creatures yet, but just a glance is enough to admire them and want to see them again.

An interesting video about the vision of cats:

People have always been fascinated by the unusual eyes of cats, which amaze with their ability to either expand or contract the pupils to minimum dimensions. Sometimes there is such an impression that cats see something completely inaccessible to the sight of people, about which many myths have been composed among the people. To this day, many cat lovers are interested in such questions: what colors do cats see? Why do cats see in the dark? We will try to give a detailed answer to these and other questions in our article.

Everyone knows that cat vision easily copes with pitch darkness. Zoologists, figuring out why cats' vision easily copes without sunlight, found that this is due to the anatomical structure of the pupil. At night, pets see very well, while their pupils dilate during excitement or hunting. In order to better examine the object of interest to her, she narrows her pupils, thereby focusing on prey. A vertical pupil is much more beneficial than a round one and helps to completely protect from sunlight, as a result of which it completely protects the cat's vision from ultraviolet radiation.

At night, a cat's vision improves, she sees about the same as a person during the day.

People exaggerate the eyesight of a cat; in the daytime, pets see much worse than them. Cats' eyes are very sensitive to bright light, and the vertical pupil helps protect the special sensitivity of the eye. On a bright sunny day, they squint and like to just take a nap, at which time they see blurry, fuzzy.

Cats, like their owners, have binocular vision, that is, each eye sees a certain picture, then it overlaps and adds up to a single image. Moreover, cats and here bypassed people. A human has a 180-degree field of view, while a cat has 20 degrees more, 200.

Shades of colors distinguished by a cat

Owners often wonder if cats can see colors. There used to be an opinion that cats see the world by practicing only black and white image, but this is not so. Of course, they perceive the environment not in such bright colors as people, but still they have some shades. They perceive the world as if in a haze, their colors are more faded. The cat perfectly sees gray, blue and green, but does not distinguish red, yellow and orange at all. He does not see the difference between blue, cyan and purple, white and yellow.

The reason for the night glow of the eyes are specific formations (tapetums), which act as a reflector of light, which is directed to the retina of the eye - this is the reason for the glow in the dark of cat's eyes.

Do cats see the paranormal world?

Many mustachioed lovers claim that their pets see the paranormal world, something that is not accessible to the human eye. This is expressed in the abnormal behavior of cats. As a result, pets seem to be watching objects unknown to us. Suddenly they jump off and start running around, knocking down everything in their path. At this time, their pupils dilate, the hair rises on end.

Zoologists explain these facts in a blurry picture that rises in the minds of pets. They perceive all the changes that take place around them with their ears. The slightest rustle at a motionless picture leads to similar inadequate behavior.

However, everyone knows very well that there is a world that is not perceived by people, ultrasound, which animals perfectly perceive, light waves that are invisible to the human eye. Due to its natural indicators, a cat can perceive the world much wider than a person.

How far can a cat see

Cats can notice an object at a distance of 800 meters, and they clearly see the world from a meter to 60 meters, but near they see quite poorly. Sometimes a pet walks completely without noticing objects that are right under its nose. This is due to the fact that cats are naturally nearsighted, and whiskers help them cope with close distances.

What do cats see in the mirror and on TV?

Sometimes owners watch with laughter as cats attack mirrors in a funny way. As a result, a frightened animal arches its back in an arc, bulges its mustache, and presses its ears. So what do they see in the mirror? Whiskers in the mirror see their reflection, only they do not understand that they see themselves. They are frightened by the fact that their auditory and tactile receptors do not transmit any information about the presence of another animal. Cats simply do not get a picture in their head from the information received.

Speaking of TV, most zoologists say that cats only notice flickering on the screen. They are fascinated by moving objects on the screen. However, everyone knows that cats love to watch programs about animals, they, without looking up from the screen, follow the flight of birds, the hunting of cats. And they do not come off the screen even when the sound is turned off. As soon as the channel is switched, the animal, having lost interest, leaves the room. An exact explanation of this fact, scientists on this moment they cannot give.

How does a cat see a person?

The mustachioed pet sees the owner as he is, only in a slightly different color. When a person is in a place remote from him, the pet perceives only the outlines of the figure. Up close, he poorly distinguishes the outlines of the owner's face, orienting himself only by smell.

As we can see, our pets are rather mysterious creatures, which we are sometimes unable to understand. They still do not allow us to fully reveal all their secrets, and sometimes one gets the feeling that they live in their own world, closed to people.

From time immemorial, the bewitching feline look has been surrounded by numerous beliefs and mystical conjectures. Cats are even credited with the ability to see the other world and its inhabitants. To date, not all features of cat vision have been studied by scientists. But some information about how cats see has already been obtained and confirmed by experts.

Features of cat vision

The organ of vision of a cat differs sharply from the human one in structure and ability to perceive space. They have big Round eyes with convex lens. The viewing angle of space is 270 degrees.

A feature of cats is stereoscopic vision. Each of their eyes receives its own image of the object, which is then added by the brain into one three-dimensional picture. As a result, the predator receives accurate information about the location of the prey and the distance to it.

Everything that the left eye sees goes to the right side of the brain and, conversely, the right eye transmits the image to the left half.

The genetic memory of a predator causes animals to react to moving objects. The immovable ones are practically of no interest to them. Watching a moving object, the animal begins to actively move its head up and down: this is how the cat changes the viewing angle and focuses on the prey. This natural ability helps the predator calculate the distance to the prey down to the millimeter, which is why the cat's jump is so accurate.

The special sensitivity of the cat's eyes is directly related to the structure of the pupil. It is located vertically and has increased elasticity. In bright light, it narrows, limiting the amount of light reaching the retina. The lack of illumination causes a strong pupil dilation, which facilitates the penetration more Sveta.

The cat's eye is 6-8 times more sensitive than the human eye. The reason for this is a special layer behind the retina called the tapetum. It is a shell of vessels that look like mother-of-pearl.

How many colors do cats see

Until recently, there was an opinion that the colors of the cat do not distinguish. It was assumed that all objects for them looked gray, similar in shades to mice. The main argument for this was that the cat simply did not need color vision, because they hunt at night.

Recent studies by scientists have refuted this assertion. It has been proven that cats do not distinguish only some shades: orange, brown, red, green. Their eyes are available blue, purple, gray, yellow colors. This perception is based on an increased number of cones in the eye, which decipher blue and green colors. There are practically no cones sensitive to shades of red in the eyes of these animals. Therefore, red colors are not available to cats.

Basically, the world from the point of view of a cat looks bluish-gray, because they capture purple and yellow colors worse.

There is no bright picture before the eyes of the cat, but her world is by no means gray

How far can see

The maximum distance at which the cat clearly sees objects is 60 meters, but the image of such a distance looks like a solid spot for him. The range of vision is limited to 20 meters. Scientists explain this feature by the fact that a predator hunts from an ambush, and there is no need to distinguish between distant objects.

At too close a distance, cats also do not perceive what is in front of their eyes. An object brought to the muzzle closer than 50 cm, the animal recognizes the organs of touch. This feature should be kept in mind when playing with a pet.

Most clearly, domestic predators see objects located at a distance of 75 cm to 6 m. This value is necessary for them to calculate the height and length of the jump for prey.

How they see in the dark

The opinion that cats navigate in pitch darkness is a myth. The animal sees in minimal light. A cat needs 10% of the lighting that a person needs. People with such illumination cannot see anything. But this animal is a predator, so its eyes are equipped with additional receptors that have an increased sensitivity to light. The tapetum on the back wall of the retina reflects light twice, like a mirror, which is why the eyes of cats glow in the dark. In fact, the eyes do not glow, but reflect the rays that have fallen into them.

Cats look at us with different colored eyes. Colors are similar to yellow amber, blue sea, blue sky, green grass or bright gold.

Good orientation in the space of a dark room is explained by the fact that vision is not the only organ with which cats perceive the world. The secret of the animal is in the especially sensitive organs of touch - the vibrissae.

Vibrissae (whiskers) are a kind of sensors that send information about surrounding objects to the cat's brain.

What is the connection with the other world

Cats often observe objects that are not visible to humans. They suddenly jump up, start running around the room, knocking them over. The pupils of the animal at such moments are dilated, the hair is reared. This behavior makes you believe that the cat sees the other world and its inhabitants. His eyes can see what a person is not able to see.

When an animal looks into the void or, turning its head, inspects an empty wall, there is no reason to worry. This is explained by the fact that even the quietest sounds that are alarming are available to the cat's hearing. They do not come from the other world, but, quite possibly, from under the plinth. The assertion of grandmothers that at such moments a domestic predator communicates with a brownie is also from the realm of half-tales.

For centuries, cats, thanks to the peculiarities of their vision in the dark, turned into a source of scary stories.

But the connection of a cat with a world unknown to man still exists. If a pet begins to behave restlessly, for no apparent reason, it is advisable to bless the home. Esotericists claim that a cat, having noticed an otherworldly body on its territory, tries to protect its owner from it. First, the animal freezes, trying to assess the intentions of the "alien". If it seems to the cat that the uninvited guest is dangerous for the owner, she tries to force him out with her own energy. When the danger is too strong and the cat cannot cope with it, she may even leave the house. It is not uncommon for cats to return as unexpectedly as they left it. So the pet takes out of the home evil spirit, and having got rid of it outside the walls of the house, it returns.

Scientists do not see anything mystical in such behavior of cats and argue that any behavior of a cat is explained by its increased sensitivity to sounds and smells.

But there is no convincing refutation of the ability of cats to see the inhabitants of the other world, so you can still believe in the supernatural power of the cat's eyesight.

How they see our world

To see our world through the eyes of a cat, you need to look at a faded, blurry photograph. Nature provided for the ability of predators to see moving prey well, without paying attention to small details. The eyes of a cat do not give a complete picture of the picture of the world, so their vision is complemented by other senses.

Cats see immediately with their eyes, nose and vibrissae - sensitive organs located on the muzzle and tail. It is much more important for them to touch an object and sniff it than just to see it.

Do they see the image on the TV and their reflection in the mirror

The opinions of scientists about the perception of images on the TV screen are divided. Some argue that animals see the flicker and movement of objects. In support of this, many owners testify that their pets love to watch animals on the screen, and after switching the channel they immediately lose interest in the TV.

Cats love not only to watch TV, but also to sleep on it.

Others are sure that TV programs in the eyes of animals look like static pictures replacing each other. They explain this fact by the fact that cat's eyes perceive images at a speed of 40 frames per second. At the same time, the TV is tuned to the perception of a person, that is, 24 frames. In order for the animal to see movement on the screen, the frame must be updated 50 times per second.

In the mirror, the cat sees itself normally, but begins to hiss and flatten its ears. This behavior is indicative of fear. The image without smell and auditory vibrations is incomprehensible and causes fear.

How do cats see humans?

Pets see people for who they are. They adequately assess growth, recognize movements and voice. But animals see a distinct picture only at a distance of 0.5 to 5 meters. At a distance of 7-10 meters, the pet sees only a silhouette and can recognize the owner by smell and voice.

It is believed that, in addition to the physical body of a person, cats can see his biofield. This ability can explain the different attitudes towards strangers. To some, the animal approaches without fear, allows itself to be stroked and even walks on hands. Some strangers are not allowed to take a single step. The animal evaluates the aura of a person and accurately determines who may be a danger to him.

The ability to see the aura is reflected in the cat's ability to determine the sore spot on the host's body. The pet draws out the negative energy of the owner, thereby beneficially affecting his health.

If the cat living in the house is constantly sick, and no treatment helps him, the owners should think about their own health.

By the way a domestic predator looks at a person, you can understand what his mood is at the moment and guess his desires:

• peace and tranquility is expressed by narrowed eyes and constricted pupils;
• fear is reflected in wide-open eyes and maximally dilated pupils;
• when the pet intends to beg the owner for a treat, the gaze becomes fixed, straight into the eyes of a person;
• if the animal, without looking up, looks at the person, periodically slowly covering its eyes, it expresses its love.

Vision problems: how to spot them

Cats suffer from various visual disorders quite often. The owner should be wary if the animal hides its eyes from bright light or often rubs its muzzle with its paws. Signs of inflammation - frequent blinking of the pet, pus in the corners of the eyes, clouding of the protein, swelling of the eyelids. Any of these signs is a reason to immediately consult a veterinarian.

In the blind early age kittens whiskers are much longer than those of their brethren. So nature compensates for the lack of visual perception of the world

Some eye diseases can cause complete blindness in a pet. It is difficult to notice vision problems in cats in order to take action in time, because they are able to navigate in space even with complete blindness. About the beginning problems with vision, which should be checked, say the signs:

• the animal does not jump to its favorite places located at a height or misses when jumping, falls;
• when moving around the house, stumbles upon moved or new furniture, objects standing in unusual places;
• the pupils of the pet do not narrow in bright light;
• stops responding to favorite toys;
• when a pet looks at its owner, its gaze does not focus on it.

All these signs indicate a deterioration in the cat's vision or the onset of blindness.

What to do if the cat began to see badly

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to restore a pet's vision, but this is not a reason to abandon a sick animal. The owner should organize the space of the dwelling in such a way that the animal feels comfortable. The pet will be able to live fully if you do the following:

• do not change the location of bowls with food and water;
• do not let the animal go outside unattended, take it for a walk on a leash;
• in a new room, accustom the cat to the arrangement of objects, without frightening and allowing it to find its own way;
• do not clutter the path with boxes, scattered toys and other objects.

Video: why do cats eyes glow in the dark

Cat vision is an area in which there are more mysteries than clues. Scientists continue to study the features of these cute creatures, and every day we learn more about them. A person, first of all, should take care of the health of the pet, including its vision.

Attractive cat eyes seem to be something amazing. Bright green, blue, yellow, they slyly look at us, and many are simply sure that cats see ghosts and brownies, and the Egyptians believed that these amazing animals communicate with the gods.

Does she really see in absolute darkness and only see shades of gray? How does a cat react to bright objects? And can she see colors?

This amazing animal is shrouded in many myths. Consider the main physiological indicators of cats and cats and try to find out how these animals see.

cat pupils

The first thing we notice when looking into a cat's eyes is the pupils. In the evening they are large and round, and on a sunny day they turn into thin threads. This is due to the fact that cats do not tolerate bright light. These small predators prefer to hunt at night. In order to see the prey, the light of the moon is enough for them.

But in the daylight, the cat sees much worse: bright sunlight blinds it. In order to let in as little light as possible, the cat's pupils constrict. In the sun, the cat often squints and prefers to just take a nap, because on a sunny afternoon she sees everything blurry and indistinct. During a hunt or in a state of excitement, a small predator dilates her pupils in order to better examine prey or danger, while an angry animal, on the contrary, narrows them to focus on the enemy.

Can cats see in the dark?

In the dark, cat eyes glow mysteriously, so people used to believe that these animals perceive what is inaccessible to human eyes. To some extent, this is indeed true - mustachioed hunters see in the dark 10 times better than a person.

Why do cat eyes glow?

The vision of this animal, due to its nocturnal lifestyle, is significantly different from ours. On the back wall of the retina there are special tissues, a kind of mirror that can reflect light to the nerve endings. At night, the cat's pupil dilates to capture as much light as possible. It is the light reflected from the retina that we see when we look at a cat's eyes in the dark. Contrary to popular belief, cats cannot see in absolute darkness. But in a well-known room, thanks to a developed sense of smell, good hearing and mustaches - vibrissae, animals perfectly orient themselves even without a light source.

How far can a cat see?

Cats actively react to objects that are in motion. These small predators can notice a running mouse at a distance of 800 meters, clearly see objects at a distance of up to 60 meters. But things located directly under the nose, closer than half a meter, the cat sees poorly. You probably noticed that if you put something right next to the cat, then she will first of all begin to sniff it, receiving information using smell and touch.

For effective hunting, the animal does not need to see the prey in detail. The main thing is to determine the distance to the victim well, the direction of its movement. And the cat's vision is designed for just that. The organs of vision of the cat are located close to each other, which allows you to see the object with the left and right eyes at the same time. Thanks to this, the animal can very accurately determine the shape and size of prey. A cat's field of view is 20 degrees wider than a human's, and they see much better in the horizontal plane.

25 shades of gray

Many are interested in how a cat reacts to bright objects, because in nature its main prey is a nondescript gray mouse. It is precisely in order to distinguish and highlight from the environment many shades of gray that cat vision is designed. The question remains whether the animal sees any other colors.

What colors does a cat see?

For a long time it was believed that animals see the world in black and white, so the question of how a cat reacts to bright objects was not raised. But modern scientists have carefully studied the structure of the cat's eye.

Nerve endings in the organs of vision are represented by two types - cones and rods. Rods are responsible for the perception of light, and cones - colors - blue, green and red. cones responsible for the perception of red cat's eye extremely small, so it can be understood that animals distinguish well only blue and green shades. But there are a lot of rods in the cat's eye, which allows them to see well with a lack of light. Cats do not see the difference between red and green, and perceive shades of blue as one color, but still they have color vision.

Vision and behavior of a cat

Owners are interested not only in how the animal reacts to bright objects. The cat often shows interest in the TV, but can she see the image on the screen? Scientists believe that cats can only see flicker. However, the researchers note that the animal can see movement. Indeed, many owners claim that their pets enjoy watching animal shows, especially those with hunting scenes. Cats see themselves in the mirror perfectly. Many young animals, seeing their reflection for the first time, mistake it for a rival, and may even sneak up and attack.

How does a cat see its owner?

From a distance, they are able to recognize only a fuzzy silhouette, and a close face turns into a blur. In close communication with the owner, the cat focuses primarily on the smell.

How does a cat react to bright objects and toys?

There are owners who claim that their pets prefer toys of certain colors. Most likely, this is an individual feature, and no pattern has been identified. Therefore, when buying toys, you can safely be guided by your own taste.

How is cat vision different from human vision?

Yes, you can read that cats see better in the dark, their field of view is wider and they perceive colors differently. But it's pretty hard to imagine. Fortunately, photographer and retoucher Nikolai Lamm decided to demonstrate how our pets see the world. Thanks to a series of his photographs, we can easily find ourselves in a cat's shoes. He contacted veterinarians and cat specialists, and with their help he was able to replicate the animal's vision.

How to understand that a cat has vision problems

Cats are prone to various eye diseases. An attentive owner should be alert if the animal rubs its muzzle with its paws, blinks often, avoids bright light, the eyes become cloudy, tears flow, pus appears in the corners, and the eyelids are swollen. This is a reason to go to the vet. The most common eye disease in cats is conjunctivitis. Especially often it affects street animals. There are some really serious problems. The cat may begin to lose sight, simply go blind, but this is not immediately noticeable. Even a completely blind animal can navigate the house well.

How to define vision loss?

Firstly, the cat stops jumping on its favorite places - high cabinets, shelves, or does it awkwardly, misses, falls.

Second, she stumbles upon new or rearranged furniture.

Thirdly, her pupils do not narrow even in the bright sun.

Fourth, she stops responding to her favorite toys.

Finally, the animal is not looking directly at you, if you are addressing it, the gaze is defocused.

If you notice any signs of visual impairment in your pet, contact your veterinarian immediately. Even if the cat is blind, this is by no means a reason to refuse it. The pet can live full life, if you follow a few simple rules: do not let the animal go outside, do not change the location of the food bowls and the tray for no particular reason.

How a cat sees and perceives stationary and moving objects

Among the most impressive discoveries made in the second half of the twentieth century are the discoveries of two American physiologists - Hubel And Vizela, which recorded the electrical activity of individual cells of the visual cortex of the cat's cerebral cortex when presented with simple visual figures.

Light stripes were used, projected using a projector onto a screen located in front of the cat. Hubel and Wiesel found that in some cells, electrical activity occurs when a strip of light is presented to a cat at a certain angle. Only at a given inclination of the strip, the brain cell responded with excitation in the form of a long stream of impulses, and when the angle changed, it was “silent”.

Different cells respond to different tilt angles.

• The cat was presented with differently oriented lines (they are shown on the left). An individual brain cell was excited only at a certain orientation of the line. This can be seen from the recording of electrical spike potentials.

Cells deep in the brain respond to more General characteristics irritation, and the answer is no matter which part of the retina is stimulated by light.

Other cells of the cat's visual area are sensitive only to movement, and to movement in only one direction.

• The arrows indicate different directions of motion of the strip of light that were presented to the eye. Registration of electrical impulses shows that certain cells are excited only when the eyes move in one direction.

These discoveries have greatest value, since they show that there are analyzing mechanisms in the brain that single out certain features of objects.

Source: R.L. Gregory, The Eye and the Brain. Psychology of visual perception”, publishing house “Progress”, Moscow, 1970, 272 p., ill.

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