If you’re a cat parent, you’re likely no stranger to things going bump in the night, from books toppling over to balls rolling across the floor, your cat’s nighttime antics might have you wondering: How do they see in the dark? Do they have built-in night vision or are they secretly superheroes? While we can’t say they aren’t superheroes, we can certainly explain why cats have such impressive night vision.
Do Cats Have Night Vision?
Cats are equipped with excellent night vision, though not quite in the same way we imagine superheroes seeing in the dark. While they can’t see in total darkness, they do have remarkable sight in low-light conditions. This means your cat can easily navigate your home even with minimal lighting, such as streetlights, moonlight, or the soft glow of your appliances.
Surprise! Cats Are Not Nocturnal
You may think your cat’s preference for sleeping during the day and playing at night makes them nocturnal, but domestic cats are most active during dawn and dusk. This behavior stems from their wild ancestors, who hunted at those times. However, a cat’s behavior may also be influenced by your own routine.
How Do Cats See in Low Light?
Cats have an advantage when it comes to seeing in dim light. They have more rod cells in their retinas than humans, making them more sensitive to low-light environments and motion. Rod cells are excellent for detecting light and shadows but don’t help with color vision. In contrast, humans rely more on cone cells for seeing color in bright light.
If you’ve ever taken a picture of your cat with flash or seen them in headlights, you’ve probably noticed their eyes glow. This glowing effect comes from the tapetum lucidum, a layer of reflective cells behind their retinas. It bounces light back to their retina, allowing them to gather even more light and see better in low-light conditions.
Cats also have larger corneas and pupils relative to their eye size, allowing more light to enter their eyes. Their vertical, slit-shaped pupils adjust to light more efficiently than human round pupils, allowing them to see more clearly at night.
How Do Cats See Humans? How Do Cats See the World?
Cats have impressive depth perception, which helps them when hunting, jumping, and exploring. Their binocular vision allows them to focus on an object with both eyes, making it easier to judge distances. With a visual field of about 200 degrees, cats also have wider peripheral vision than humans, making them more alert to potential threats or prey.
However, cats don’t rely heavily on visual details. Their visual acuity isn’t as sharp as ours — what a human can see clearly from 100-200 feet away, a cat needs to be only 20 feet away to see with the same clarity. But since cats primarily rely on their sense of smell and hearing, visual clarity isn’t as essential for them.
What Do Cats See in the Dark?
Cats have fewer cone cells than humans, which affects their color vision. While humans can distinguish a wide range of colors, cats mostly see in shades of blue, green, and gray. Reds, oranges, and browns appear as muted grays. This limited color range actually helps them in low-light environments, as they focus more on contrast rather than color.
Cat Vision Excels in Low-Light Situations
In low-light situations, cats have superior vision compared to humans. While we may be better at seeing fine details or detecting more colors, cats outshine us when it comes to navigating in the dark. Still, both you and your cat would need night vision goggles in total darkness!