A. Cats have the ability to see 6 times better than a human can see in the dark. Cats can also see in near total darkness due to their tapetum lucidum. The tapetum lucidum is a reflective layer behind the visual receptors of the retina that gives a shiny appearance to the eyes. The tapetum lucidum increases the probability of visual stimulation by reflecting light back to the retina, increasing the light available to the photo receptors.

A. Yes, cats can see color, but not as high resolution as a human eye can see. This has to do with the amount of cones and rods that a cat has in it’s eyes. Cats have two kinds of cones that are sensitive to green and blue light, which means they see a lighter color palette of blues, greens, grays, blacks and whites. According to studies it has also been found that cats cannot see red, orange or brown colors.

A. Cat’s eyes will often squint when they are fighting and hunting. This allows them to see better and also protects their eyes from being scratched. When a cat squints their eyes they block out everything else and are able to focus on one thing – like the opponent they are fighting or they prey they are hunting. Squinty eyes are also a sign of trust and affection, cats will often squint their eyes if you are petting them and they feel loved and relaxed.

A. Dilated and large pupils can indicate a variety of things ranging from surprise to fear. If your cat is startled, their pupils are likely to enlarge. Big pupils can also indicate fear. Sometimes excitement can cause your cat’s pupils to dilate. If your cat’s pupils are always dilated this can be a sign of eye problems which should be checked by your veterinarian as soon as possible.

A. Cats also use their eyes to show dominance over other cats. A dominant cat will stare into his opponent’s eyes while more submissive cats will look away and ignore the dominant cat.

A. Cat’s distance vision is not the best. Cats can only see objects clearly up to 20 feet away. After this their vision becomes blurry. On the bright side, cats have a 30 degree range of peripheral vision on both sides of the eye (humans on have a 20 degree range). This means cats have a 200 degree visual field where humans only have a 180 degree field of vision.

A. Signs of eye problems are fairly obvious – cloudiness, redness, discharge, squinting of one eye, different sized pupils and constantly dilated pupils can all indicate problems. If you notice any of these issues in your cat, please take your cat to the veterinarian for an eye examination.