The vision of cats has been studied by many scientists and today we have a fairly precise idea of ​​it. The eye of cats is constructed differently from that of humans. For this reason, we do not see images in the same way. This explains why the Get cat crazy cat sees well at night and is able to follow a moving target very quickly. On the other hand, he does not perceive as many shades of color as we do, and his field of vision is quite limited.

HOW DOES VISION WORK?

To understand what cats see , it is necessary to know a little more about how vision works. The eye is made up of several parts. Those that interest us here are the pupil, which allows more or less light to pass through, and the retina, on which the images that we perceive are formed. This is made up of several million cells in the shape of cones and rods. Cones allow colors to be seen, and rods receive light.

Highly developed night vision

The retina of cats contains a much larger number of rods than that of humans. In addition, their pupil is able to open more than ours, in order to let in more light. Finally, cats have an extra wall in the back of their eye that reflects light – that's why their eyes glow at night! Thanks to all these elements, your cat has very good night vision: it is said to be nyctalope. Be careful, cats cannot see in complete darkness! However, a very weak light source is enough for them: they can easily locate themselves thanks to the light of the stars.

Cats see moving objects better

If the cat is an excellent hunter, it is not only because it is very fast, but also because it perceives moving objects very well. Indeed, the images follow one another much faster on his retina than on ours. It can therefore easily follow a prey, even if it moves very quickly. Conversely, the cat has much more difficulty in locating motionless prey, especially when they are far away.

Limited color perception

While our retina contains three types of cones, intended to perceive three different colors (red, green and blue), the cat only has two types of cones, green and blue. He is therefore unable to perceive the color red and its derivatives. In other words, he is color blind! Therefore, he perceives the world in shades of blue, yellow and green, presumably in pastel shades. At night, he sees the world in shades of gray.

Cats' field of vision

Cats have a very different field of vision than humans. While ours only measures 180°, to which are added 20° very blurry on each side, your four-legged friend sees 260°, including twice 30° of peripheral vision. But if its field of vision cat crazy is wider, it is much less precise than ours. Cats see very blurry from afar, and rather badly up close. Thus, your cat only sees you well when you are at a distance ranging from 10 centimeters to a few meters. We can not have everything !

DO ALL CATS SEE THE SAME WAY?

Since cats do not express themselves, it is difficult to determine precisely what they see or do not see. However, some studies seem to show that the vision of our feline friends adapts according to their environment. An apartment cat would therefore perceive the world differently from a cat living outdoors. Also, some eye diseases can affect your cat's vision, such as conjunctivitis.  If in doubt, do not hesitate to consult a veterinarian! As they age, cats can also lose some of their visual abilities.

Color vision in cats

Felines have less intense color vision than ours. The colors seem to them way more pastel than what we do.

Unlike humans who have three areas of color perception (red, blue and green), cats only perceive two areas: blue- violet and yellow-green .

They therefore have trouble distinguishing red, which they see more as a pale, slightly greenish yellow, like the roof of the house in the photo below.

This is due to their genetics. Indeed, cats, whether a ragdoll , a chartreux , etc., have only two types of cones capable of seeing colors. For comparison, we have three.

They have the same color vision as a color blind person who cannot see red. Cats distinguish static elements in a landscape less well than humans because they see little color contrast.

We can visualize this difference in the example of the photo below.