Understanding How Your Cat's Eyes Work and How to Keep Them Healthy

If you find yourself staring eye to eye with your cat or any cat, wait for the kiss that is coming! You'll have to return their stare steadily and then there it is, a slow blink, shut and then back open. You've just been kissed by a cat. Return the kiss if you don't want to offend your kitty.

A cat's eyes are beautiful features, but they are very different than our human eyes. From basic human anatomy and health classes, most people know that light enters the eye through the pupil and is reflected back off of a system of "cones" and "rods" in the back of the eyeball. Cats have these also, although they have more rods than cones which lets them have superior night vision.

But if you look closely at a cat's eye, you can see that it's pupil can do something that human eyes can't. Because a cat's eye doesn't need as much light as a human eye, it can narrow till it's almost completely closed in a slit. If the light fades and night comes, the pupil expands like ours does and goes from the slit to a more open and rounded pupil. This elliptical shape of your cat's pupil's is large like most nocturnal animals who all have 80 percent better night vision than humans!

Of course if you've spent much time locked in staring with your cat, you also know that your cat's eye can almost glow, especially in the dark. This is because a cat's eye has a special membrane at the back of the eye, called a tapetum lucidum, that is almost a mirror in the cat's eyeball, collecting life and sending it back to the retina. Your cat's eyes will appear to glow as this light is reflected off the tapetum.

In addition to this novel "mirror" in the cat's eyeball, they also have a third eyelid, called the nictitating membrance. This membrance is crucial in protecting your cat's eyes. When a cat is sick, you will see it immediately in their eyes. This inner eyelid will close up and become blurry and cloudy, often with a watery or yellowish discharge. You should immediately take your cat to the vet! It's an alarming scary thing and a cat's eyes are susceptible to all sorts of eye infections.

Their eyes are indeed the window to their soul and a cat owner should take care to ensure that their cat's eyes are healthy. A change in the size of the pupils can also indicate infection or inflammation.

Some interesting trivia about your cat's eyes

Cats can see for long distance and in fact have more difficulty focusing at objects that are near to them.

A cat's eye is also an indicator of their emotional mood and feelings. When he's excited or frightened, they will have their wide open. A happy cat's eyes will darken. When they're angry, their pupils narrow.

Cats can develop the same eye problems that humans do including cataracts, glaucoma and pinkeye. And yes, that pinkeye can be passed from cat to human!

Cats cannot see things that are directly beneath their noses.

Cats are not colorblind, while they can't see color as well as humans, they can see color.

A cat's vision is 20/100 compared to human vision!

This Pet University website gives you some great information on how to care for your cat's eyes to keep them shining, glowing and "kissing" you all the time.

Resources:
Dr. Sarah Charles: Author's personal Vet.

Wild Cats FAQ

Cat Eye Care