I’ve had cats all my life. My cat now is so personable, and not going to lie, we all treat him like a human. I find it hilarious how we talk to him as if he can understand us and show him things as if he can see them. On occasion, I stop and remember he is not a human and has very different senses. One I’ve really always been curious of is sight. Does he know what I look like? Does he see what I see to at least some extent?

I came across this Yahoo! News post just last week and many of my questions were answered. Here are the facts behind cat vision, “Cats have a 200 degree field of vision, compared with humans’ 180 degrees, but worse peripheral vision (20 degrees compared to 30). Cats’ range of vision is approximately five times worse than our own, and their ability to perceive color is much worse. However, their night vision is between six and eight times finer than ours.” Cat eyes are specifically designed to detect motion, which is beneficial to their hunting nature. Cats have an elliptical pupil, opposed to a circular one like humans have. This allows for the pupil to open and close much wider and faster. Also, this leads to cats being more nearsighted which is helpful when catching prey that is in running distance. Another aspect of the cat eye is the Tapetum, which is a mirror like membrane in the back of their eyes. The combination of the elliptical pupils and the Tapetum allows the cat to have great night vision. This is the main difference between cat vision and human vision. Like I said previously, cat’s night vision can be up to eight times better than ours. We know this because when compared to humans, cats have many more rods than cones in their pupil. This always explains why cats do not see colors as well. “Cats appear to see less saturation in colors than do humans, meaning cats do not see colors as intensely or vibrantly…Purple, blue & green appear to be the strongest colors perceived by cats.” This is very interesting because these colors are not often seen in nature, or the wildlife that cats would be going after.

All of the previous information was found at this website. Not only does this website have excellent research on cat vision but the purpose of the website is interesting as well. All the research was done to help them create a video for cats. The video is “is devoted to providing indoor cats with entertainment, exercise, mental stimuli and companionship when alone.”

Another big difference with cat vision is the peripheral vision. Cats have a wider field of view (as you can see in the pictures) at a 200-degree view, than humans at a 180-degree view. This difference may not seem very drastic but when trying to spot prey in a field or the woods this certainly helps (LiveScience).

These pictures really help get an idea of what it’s like through cat eyes. It may seem irrelevant and stupid to study, but these are pets that live in our homes for years and years. They truly become part of your family. I find it important and interesting to have a deeper understanding for what life is like from their perspective.