How a cat reacts to bright objects. How the cat sees the world around us

The fascinating cat's eyes seem surprising. Bright green, blue, yellow, they look at us slyly, and many are just sure that cats see ghosts and brownies, and the Egyptians believed that these amazing animals communicate with the gods. How does the cat see the outside world? Does she really see in absolute darkness and distinguishes only shades of gray? How does a cat react to bright objects? And is she able to see colors? This amazing animal is shrouded in a lot of myths. Consider the main physiological indicators of cats and cats and try to find out how they see these animals.

Cat's pupils

The first thing we pay attention to, looking at the cat's eyes, are the pupils. In the evening they are large and round, and on a sunny afternoon they turn into thin strings. This is due to the fact that cats do not tolerate bright light. These small predators prefer to go out hunting at night. In order to see the prey, they have enough light of the moon.

But in the light of day the cat sees much worse: bright sun rays blind it. In order to pass as little light as possible, the cat's pupils narrow. In the sun, the cat often squints and prefers to just take a nap, because on a sunny afternoon it sees everything blurry and indistinct.

During hunting or in a state of excitement, a small predator dilates the pupils to better understand the prey or danger, and the enraged animal, on the contrary, narrows them to focus on the enemy.

Do cats see in the dark?

In the dark, cat eyes mysteriously glow, so people used to think that these animals perceive what is inaccessible to human eyes. To some extent this is really true - moustached hunters see in the dark 10 times better than a man. Why are the eyes of a cat glowing?

The sight of this animal in view of the nocturnal lifestyle differs significantly from ours. On the back wall of the retina are special tissues, a kind of mirror that can reflect light on the nerve endings. In the dark the cat's pupil dilates to catch as much light as possible. It is the light reflected from the retina that we see when we look at the cat's eyes in the dark.

Contrary to popular belief, cats can not see in absolute darkness. But in a well-known room, thanks to the developed sense of smell, good hearing and whiskers, the animals perfectly orient themselves even without a light source.

How far do cats see

Cats actively react to objects that are in motion. Running mouse these small predators can see at a distance of 800 meters, clearly see objects at a distance of up to 60 meters. But the things located right under the nose, closer than half a meter, the cat sees badly. You probably noticed that if you put something right next to the cat, it will first sniff it, getting information with the help of smell and touch.

For effective hunting, the animal does not need to see the prey in detail. The main thing is to determine well the distance to the victim, the direction of her movement. And the sight of a cat is meant for this.

The organs of vision of the cat are located close to each other, which makes it possible to see the object with the left and right eye simultaneously. Due to this, the animal can very accurately determine the shape and size of the prey. The angle of view of the cat is wider than that of a person, by 20 degrees, and they are much better seen in the horizontal plane.

25 shades of gray

Many are interested in how the cat reacts to bright objects, because in nature its main prey is an ordinary-looking gray mouse. It is to distinguish and distinguish from the environment a lot of shades of gray, and cat eyes are calculated. The question remains whether the animal still sees any colors.

What colors do cats see?

For a long time it was believed that animals see the world in black and white, so the question of how the cat reacts to bright objects, was not standing. 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. Sticks are responsible for the perception of light, and cones - colors - blue, green and red. The cones responsible for the perception of red color in the cat's eye are very few, so you can understand that animals can only distinguish between blue and green shades. But the sticks in the cat's eye are many, which allows them to see well with a lack of light.

Cats do not see the difference between red and green, and the shades of blue are perceived in one color, but still they have color vision.

Vision and behavior of a cat

Owners are not only interested in how the animal reacts to bright objects. A cat often shows an interest in the TV, but can it see the image on the screen? Scientists believe that the cat can only see the flicker. However, the researchers note that the animal can see the movement. Indeed, many owners claim that their favorites like watching programs about animals, especially with hunting scenes.

They see themselves in the mirror beautifully. Many young animals, seeing their reflection for the first time, take him for an opponent, and can even sneak up and attack.

And how do cats see their master? From a distance, they are able to recognize only a fuzzy silhouette, and the approximate face turns into a blurry spot. In close communication with the owner the cat is guided primarily by the smell.

How does a cat react to bright objects and toys? There are owners who claim that their favorites prefer toys of certain colors. Most likely, this is an individual feature, and no regularity is revealed. Therefore, when buying toys, you can safely follow your own taste.

What distinguishes cat's sight from the human

Yes, you can read about the fact that cats are better seen in the dark, their viewing angle is wider and they perceive colors differently. But this is quite difficult to imagine. Fortunately, photographer and retoucher Nikolai Lamm decided to demonstrate how the world sees our favorites. Thanks to a series of his photos, we can easily find ourselves in a cat's skin. He contacted veterinarians and cats specialists, and with their help he was able to repeat the features of the animal's view.

How to understand that a cat has vision problems

Cats are prone to various eye diseases. The attentive owner should be alerted if the animal rubs the muzzle with his paws, often blinks, avoids bright light, eyes become cloudy, tears flow, pus appears in the corners, and eyelids swell. This is an excuse to contact the veterinarian. The most common eye disease in cats is conjunctivitis. Especially often it affects street animals.

There are really serious problems. A cat can begin to lose sight, simply blind, but noticeably it is not immediately. Even a completely blind animal can orientate well in the house. How to determine the loss of vision?

First, the cat stops jumping on favorite places - high cabinets, shelves, or does it awkwardly, misses, falls. Secondly, it stumbles upon new or re-made furniture. Thirdly, her pupils do not narrow even in bright sun. Fourth, she stops responding to her favorite toys. Finally, the animal does not look directly at you, if you address it, the view is unfocused.

If you notice that your pet is showing signs of impaired vision, contact your veterinarian immediately. Even if the cat is blind, it is by no means an excuse to abandon it. The pet will be able to live a full life if you observe several simple rules: do not let the animal out into the street, do not change the location of the food bowls and the tray without special reason.