Ten Interesting Facts About Cats Eyes You Will Want to Know

Have you ever taken a family photo and ended up with a red “glow” in the centre of their eyes? Well, when it comes to cats eyes the same thing happens because their eyes have a special reflective surface called the “tapetum” which improves their night vision by doubling the amount of light that is able to hit the retinal cells and it is also why cats can see so well in the dark! This special layer is what makes a cat’s eyes glow brightly in the dark, especially when you shine a light near, or at them at night. But that is not the only interesting thing about cats’ eyes as you will soon find out reading these ten other facts about them (and enjoying coms pictures of cats eyes reflecting in the dark)…

FACT: Most of us cats fans know this, but studies show that a cat can see clearly in only one-sixth the light that we humans need. And cats don’t even like carrots!

FACT: Linking in with the previous fact, it seems that cats can’t see in total darkness at all! Just much better in low light. So not that amazing at all.

FACT: Cats are the only animal in the world (and that included monkeys) that can not only suffer, but indeed catch our human eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, and pinkeye!

FACT: The back of the cat’s retina contains a layer of mirror-like cells called the tapetum lucidum which collects and reflects light and is responsible for “eye shine”. This is why you get eerie glowing eye photos when you use the flash, hence this laser-eyed cats post.

FACT: Here is a strange one, ALL pure white breed cats will have blue eyes are almost 80% of them are deaf! Scientists still don’t really know why this is, but the best guess is that it is a genetic marker to make them naturally weak because in the wild white cats would have ruined any possibility to hunt!

FACT: Your cat’s large pupils are not just good for seeing in the dark, they are also a strong indication of its emotional state. Narrow pupil means anger or irritation, and wide-open pupils mean the cat is excited!

FACT: Because the elliptical pupil opens and closes faster than the round pupil cats eyes adjust to light very rapidly, in fact from an almost dark room to a light room it takes them just 0.5 of a second!

FACT: Despite what you might have heard cats are not in fact colour blind! But strangely they do have trouble seeing the colour red.

FACT: The higher rod count of a cat’s eyes allows cats to detect even the slightest of movement, meaning they can catch small rodents quite easily.

FACT: A cat’s vision is sharpest when the object they are looking at is just 2-3 feet from their face! Any further away and the item will look blurry to them.

Do you know of any other facts about cats’ eyes? Do let us know in the comments below.