Sometime, someone may have told you that cats don’t see color. You may have imagined your pet seeing the world in black and white. But we know of only one animal that can see that way, and that’s not what this person means by “color blindness.”
Even though cats can’t see all colors, they can see some of them. Getting to know your cat’s pretty eyes better will help you understand them and can also help you with things like play and training. So cats can’t see colors? Read this to learn more.
How do animal eyes see light and color?
Take a quick look at some biology first: Our eyes and our cats’ eyes use rods and cones to see light and color, respectively. Color and light do mix, but you get the point. Some people are color blind because they don’t have enough cones for the colors green, blue, and red. It is thought that about 8% of male humans are colorblind. This type of color blindness is called red-green, and it is similar to how our cats see.
How do animal eyes see light and color?
Take a quick look at some biology first: Our eyes and our cats’ eyes use rods and cones to see light and color, respectively. Color and light do mix, but you get the point. Some people are color blind because they don’t have enough cones for the colors green, blue, and red. It is thought that about 8% of male humans are colorblind. This type of color blindness is called red-green, and it is similar to how our cats see.
Does it really happen that cats can see well at night?
Cats can see very well at night, which may help them make up for the fact that they can’t see red. This is a trait they developed to help them hunt in the dark. They have up to eight times as many rods as humans, which helps them see much better in dim light. This may be why they love to walk around at dusk.
Also, you should notice that your cat’s pupils get very big in low light—much bigger than ours—which lets them see a mouse even when there isn’t much light. Finally, they have an extra layer inside that “mirrors” lighting. This is what makes their eyes glow sometimes.
The good news is that cats don’t seem to mind that their eyesight isn’t very good (like a dog’s, it’s much worse than a person’s) so it doesn’t stop them. They can’t see red or green and are also very nearsighted, which makes it hard for them to focus on things far away. All of these things don’t stop them, but we need to think about them when we try to guess what they will be able to tell apart that we might see without any trouble.