Ever wondered how cats view the world? These fascinating visualizations by artist Nickolay Lamm reveal what their eyes see.
The structure of cat eyes is similar to human eyes, but they have adapted to suit difference purposes due to their nature as predators that hunt in the dark. Compared to the rich, vivid images of human sight, feline sight sacrifices fine details and colors but makes up for those with powerful night vision.
Lamm consulted with ophthalmologists from the University of Pennsylvannia’s veterinary school and animal eye specialists for this project. Some facts he took into account were that cats have a bigger visual field of 200 degrees compared to 180 degrees for humans, and are unable to tell red, orange or brown apart, which means they cannot view faraway landscapes very well.
Their superior night vision stems from having more rods in their retinas. Cats can open their elliptical pupils widely in dim light, and contract them to tiny slits to protect the sensitive retina from bright light. In addition, they have a reflective layer of tissue called tapetum lucidum that bounces light through the retina so it can be absorbed a second time.
Chew on some pictorial food for thought with the images below; the top half shows human vision while the bottom half represents cat vision.
[via Popular Science, images via Nickolay Lamm]