Cat Eye Anatomy + How to Communicate with Your Cat

Discover how cat eyes work and learn to communicate with your cat
We often hear the saying "don't give me those puppy dog eyes." I would venture to say 95% of the time brown-eyed homosapiens are the ones that hear this. In contrast, we rarely, to never, hear "don't give me those kitty cat eyes." I wonder about this since like humans, cat eyes come in an array of shapes, sizes and colors. I love both cats and dogs and wouldn't mind someone telling me not to give them my kitty cat eyes and I am of the brown-eyed variety. Perhaps it has to do with the proportion of cat eyes to the size of their head, similar to the large eyes on the owl's head. The humanoids with large eyes in proportion to their head should then be said to 'give kitty cat eyes.' Read on to discover how fickle, independent cat's eyes work; learn cat eye anatomy, how to communicate with your cat and the true capacity of cat vision at night.

Listen to your cat's eyes
Have a starring contest with your cat. While you are at it check for healthy cat eyes - clear and moist. Your cat will win the contest of course, since they blink as little as once every few minutes. Oh but why stop there? Try this fun experiment. Wave at your cat to get its attention - I tried this about 10' away from my cats field of sight. Now, lightly say hi 'cat.' This resulted in a wink for me. I must admit we played the game for a few more minutes. Show kitty your love by winking back.

Listening to your cat eyes will help you communicate with your cat. When I look into my cat Larry's eyes I know if he wants pet or not. To help decipher what your cat is trying to tell you, here are some tips:
- Dilated or widened pupils indicate excitement, playfulness or fear.
- Cats eyes with constricted or narrowing pupils are signaling aggression and feeling threatened.
- When stressed or challenged, cat's pupils may constrict and dilate in succession.

Cat eyes have an extra layer of protection and moisturizer with the third eyelid or nictitating membrane. If visible, it may signal sickness. If your cat's eyes are dull, sunken, swollen or have a thick discharge - your cat may have an infection, take it/him/her to your vet.

To experience life, pleasure and habits through your cat's eyes I recommend reading We Are the Cat: Life Through the Eyes of the Royal Feline by Terry Bain.

Cat Eye Anatomy
The retina gives cats the gift of sight while the lens gives cat vision clarity. The rods are motion sensitive and light receptors. Cat eyes have less cones than humans and this helps them see better at night but also means they only see a limited number of colors.

The tapetum lucidum (TL) located behind the retina, is a layer of cells that create a mirror effect by reflecting light back to the retina rods to re-stimulate them. gives cat's eyes their glow and great night vision. The TL reflects light from the retina back into the cat's eye. You can see the TL when you shine a light into their eye or take a picture. My beautiful cats TL's are visible in the picture I included. Diamond (stripes) has an orange TL, while Teddy's (black) green. Larry is looking at my daughter or maybe didn't feel like being in the picture.

How Cat Eyes Work and Understanding cat vision
Contrary to popular believe, cat vision is not limited in color. Cats are not color blind but only see blue, green, gray and yellow. Cat eyes are designed to fulfill their predatory nature, the frontal location of cat's eyes allow for a wider field of vision to utilize both cat eyes at once. This gives cats a hunting edge. Eyes of prey are positioned toward the top and laterally to give them more peripheral and upward vision. The many light receptors and motion detectors (rods) in the retina of cat eyes make prey moving across the wide field of cat vision a perfect target. The prey will be toyed with before being presented (hopefully not half alive) to its provider as a trophy.

Cat vision is binocular - just like that of all animals - they see with both eyes and the brain combines signals from each eye into one image. Cat eyes are equatible to tunnel vision in that cat eyes focus on their center (prey) and rather than taking in their entire line of sight. How cat eyes work has a lot to do with their wide field of vision -similar to humans peripherals. Cat vision lacks detail. Have you ever dressed differently and confronted your cat without saying anything? They don't know it's you! Rest assured when you speak they will recognize you even if their cat eyes don't know you.

The following 'test' will help you understand cat vision and how cat eyes work: While your cat or kitten is focused on something, kneel beside it and approaching from the side gently touch the back of their head and/or neck. You have startled them since they have poor peripheral vision and didn't anticipate the touch. Now, try it approaching from their field of vision by reaching in front of their face. Even when they are focused on another object, they are less frightened because they caught a glimpse of your hand.

Cat Vision at Night

While their night vision abilities are astounding, in a completely dark room, cats are as blind as humans. If you are a cat provider, you have probably been awakened by your nocturnal feline friend that loves to hunt and play at night. Their ability to see in dim light is attributed to their elliptical pupils which widen to produce maximum light and create a wider field of vision. In contrast, cat eyes large pupils narrow to slits to minimize light hitting the retina allowing cats to see better in bright light.