SIGHT
Cat retinas are different from human retinas: they have more rod receptors and fewer cone receptors. Rods are responsible for peripheral and night vision, cones are responsible for day vision and color perception.
Cats’ super- efficient peripheral vision enables them to spot the tiniest of movement in their visual field, a wonderful asset to catch small prey.
Cats’ elliptical pupils open & close much faster than humans’ round pupils and allow more light to enter the eye.
Cats can't see rich color, but the large number of rods in their retina gives them the amazing ability to see in the dark. In addition, they have a structure behind the retina, called the tapetum, whose cells act like a mirror, reflecting light that passes between the rods and the cones back to the photoreceptors and giving them another chance to pick up the small amount of light available at night. This is what makes cats' eyes glow in the dark.
Human view
Cats can't see rich color, but the large number of rods in their retina gives them the amazing ability to see in the dark. In addition, they have a structure behind the retina, called the tapetum, whose cells act like a mirror, reflecting light that passes between the rods and the cones back to the photoreceptors and giving them another chance to pick up the small amount of light available at night. This is what makes cats' eyes glow in the dark.
Human view
Cat view
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DID YOU KNOW? Cats can see shades of blue and green best.
Cats have a wider visual field of 200 degrees compared to the human visual field of 180 degrees.
Cats are longsighted, which is useful for hunting and capturing prey.
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HEARING
Cats’ ears are very large compared to their head and are literally mini-satellite dishes that rotate through 180’ and can pick up the faintest of sounds all around.
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DID YOU KNOW? Cats can see shades of blue and green best.
Cats have a wider visual field of 200 degrees compared to the human visual field of 180 degrees.
Cats are longsighted, which is useful for hunting and capturing prey.
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HEARING
Cats’ ears are very large compared to their head and are literally mini-satellite dishes that rotate through 180’ and can pick up the faintest of sounds all around.
A complex network of sensory neurons then channel the information to the brain to be processed and acted upon if necessary. Cats’ ears are super sensitive and can differentiate between two sounds coming from sources very close apart. Cats can hear a very wide range of frequencies and can hear sounds inaudible to the human ear.
The structure of cats’ external ears, known as pinnae, keep the ears upright. The corrugations inside the pinnae cause complex changes to sound as it passes through and make it easier to identify the source of the sound with accuracy.
CATS EARS ARE MOOD BAROMETERS
Forward: RELAXED
Erect& forward: ALERT
Twitching: AGITATED
Flattened: DEFENSIVE
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DID YOU KNOW? Cats can hear sounds that only bats can hear
Cats can discriminate one tenth of a tone
Cats can hear sounds two octaves higher than we can
Forward: RELAXED
Erect& forward: ALERT
Twitching: AGITATED
Flattened: DEFENSIVE
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DID YOU KNOW? Cats can hear sounds that only bats can hear
Cats can discriminate one tenth of a tone
Cats can hear sounds two octaves higher than we can
White cats with blue eyes have a high chance of deafness
---------------------------------------------------------- SMELL
Cats have a highly developed sense of smell thanks to the millions of olfactory cells lining their noses and they take in a wealth of different odours every time they breathe.
The most curious part is that, unlike humans, they retain smells when they breathe out because of a special structure in their noses called a subethmoid shelf.
Cats have a highly developed sense of smell thanks to the millions of olfactory cells lining their noses and they take in a wealth of different odours every time they breathe.
The most curious part is that, unlike humans, they retain smells when they breathe out because of a special structure in their noses called a subethmoid shelf.
Cats heavily rely on their sense of smell to locate prey.
They also use their sense of smell to navigate. This is why cats spend a long time sniffing around their surroundings. Cats have an extra smelling apparatus, the vomeronasal organ (also known as Jacobson’s organ) in the roof of their mouth. It is supplied with numerous nerve cells which send signals to the amygdala region in the hypothalamus. This is an added asset for the cat to scent prey or food.
They also use their sense of smell to navigate. This is why cats spend a long time sniffing around their surroundings. Cats have an extra smelling apparatus, the vomeronasal organ (also known as Jacobson’s organ) in the roof of their mouth. It is supplied with numerous nerve cells which send signals to the amygdala region in the hypothalamus. This is an added asset for the cat to scent prey or food.
When a cat uses his vomeronasal organ, it curls up its upper lips and is said to be “flehming”. All cats flehm, but toms will often do so when detecting female odours.
The cat’s acute sense of smell develops very early and every kitten can identify which is its own nipple when feeding.
The cat’s acute sense of smell develops very early and every kitten can identify which is its own nipple when feeding.
Smelling and leaving scent marks are vital to a cat throughout its life, for hunting, mating and establishing or recognizing territory ownership.