What colors do cats see?

Indeed, scientists have long believed that the world for a cat is painted in shades of gray. However, recent research in this area suggests otherwise.

What colors do cats see?

It turns out that cats still distinguish colors, albeit weakly. For example, these animals distinguish between shades of green, red and yellow poorly, but they are well oriented in shades of gray, white and dark colors.

Important parts of the eye are receptors on the retina – rods and cones. The former are responsible for the perception of light, and the latter for the recognition of colors. Cats, like humans, have both types of receptors. The difference is only in their number: there are much fewer cones than rods. Therefore, pets recognize colors much worse than people, but their vision in the dark is better.

Night vision

It is impossible to say that cats are able to see in complete darkness. They also need light in order to distinguish objects. But still, at dusk, cats see much better than people: the light sensitivity of their eyes and the ability to distinguish many dark shades are affected.

By the way, in complete darkness, cats really move easily and gracefully, which is why it seems that they see the surrounding space. The secret is that whiskers help them navigate in such situations. This is a special organ of touch, thanks to which cats are able to feel the slightest changes in the space around them. This allows the cat to catch mice even in complete darkness.

By the way, another feature of the cat’s vision is how it sees moving objects. It is believed that the animal can easily notice a moving victim at a distance of 700 meters. True, this applies specifically to moving objects. At the same time, the cat tracks horizontal movement much better than vertical movement. So a mouse that wants to remain whole must run up a tree from the cat, for example.

Most clearly, a cat sees objects at a distance of 60 cm to 5 m. That is why cats sometimes so funny poke into a tidbit that lies right under their noses. They just don’t see it!

How do you know if a cat has vision problems?

Even an attentive owner is not always able to immediately notice that the cat has problems with vision. Here are a few symptoms that you should contact your veterinarian for:

• Slezootdelenie;

• The appearance of swelling around the eyes;

• blurred vision;

• Lethargy, apathy, depression;

• Redness of the eyes;

• discharge from the eyes;

• Prominent third eyelid.

It is almost impossible to independently determine the cause of discharge from the eyes of a cat: it can be mild allergic reactions, cataracts, and infectious diseases.

Therefore, the first thing to do if you notice eye problems in a cat is to take your pet to a veterinary clinic. Only a specialist can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment.

Do not forget about the hygiene of the pet’s eyes: you should periodically rinse them with filtered water or ophthalmic solution, which can be purchased at the pet store. This is especially true for owners of cats of brachycephalic breeds: Persian and Exotic.

Photo: Collection