This is the vision (nocturnal and diurnal) of cats
Many people choose to share their life with a pet, and cats are one of the most common species. These felines are very popular, providing companionship and affection while being generally independent creatures, but interestingly, despite how well they fit into the habits of life of human beings, they see things in a very different way U.S.
In many cases we can get to ask how the animals perceive the world. In order to satisfy this curiosity, in this article we will review the conclusions reached by various experts about night and day vision of cats .
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The eye of the cat
Vision is one of the most developed senses in the human being. Although in other animal species this sense is not as important as for a human due to the great development of hearing and smell, it remains an important tool that allows to fix and locate the stimuli with relative precision.
But the cats present some peculiarities in the eye if we compare it with that of a human. They have a much larger number of rods, the receptors that perceive light and that are also linked to the perception of movement, while their cones are not as effective as ours and enjoy a less pigment. In addition, these rods establish connections between them, and create small nodes before connecting to the optic nerve.
Another particular element of the cat's eye is that behind the retina they have a layer of reflective cells called tapetum lucidum, which makes it easier to capture any available light. It is also of interest that they have a great capacity for pupillary dilation, which on the one hand makes it easier to capture light in the dark but on the other, in high luminosity conditions, they have to make efforts to focus the image.
They also have a third inner eyelid that keeps the eyes lubricated, which is why it is not so frequent to see them blink.
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Characteristics of a cat's vision
We have seen that the eye of a cat, although it resembles in some things that of a human being, has certain differences that allow it to have a different visual capacity. Some of the differences that have been found throughout the various investigations carried out are the following.
1. A visual field greater than the human
The investigations carried out by various authors reflect that the visual field of a cat is greater than that which a human can capture. While the human being has a 180º vision, cats enjoy the possibility of being able to see in 200º .
2. Night vision
Domestic cats have on average a lot of canes or photoreceptors much greater than human. This means that, together with the aforementioned tapetum lucidum, they are able to see in the shadows or in the darkness, specifically up to 8 times better than us .
3. Perception of movement
The eyes of a cat are very effective at distinguishing movement, especially in the presence of small or fast objects. However, it has been observed that they have difficulty perceiving very slow movements , being for them something almost static.
4. Color perception
There is a popular legend that cats and dogs are color blind, and can only see black and white. The investigation reflects the opposite; the cats they are able to see in color . However, they are dichromatic, and do not have a pigment that allows them to see the color red. In this way, like us, they are able to see blue and green. His vision of color would be similar, then, to that of a colorblind human with protanopia.
5. Sharpness
In situations of darkness or darkness, the vision of the cat is clearly superior, being able to see with great ease. But nevertheless, during the day the vision of the cats is not so good , and it has been seen that in very bright circumstances their canes are activated in such dimension that they do not finish being able to determine which are stimulated. Thus, the clarity of cat vision is less, which makes them see the images in a somewhat blurred.
6. Neither near nor far
In general, the characteristics of the eyes of cats, their size and location in the body make these felines have an optimal field of vision between three and six meters. Before the three meters usually have a certain level of hyperopia , while beyond the six there may be a slight myopia.
