It has been a well-known fact for a long time that certain animals, especially our fluffy friends who share our homes, don’t see as well as we do. Cats actually have better near sight than dogs do, but both of them still don’t see as well as humans.
This changes a little bit when discussing night vision, as both cats and dogs can see better than we can in the dark. This is because the pupils and corneas of these animals are larger than those in humans. It allows more light to reach the back of the eye where the retina processes it. But when we talk about colour, how do our furry friends compare?
The Animals Seeing Colour
Both cats and dogs don’t appear to perceive the full range of colours that we can see. While it’s still contested amongst veterinarian communities, dogs and cats apparently only see most greys, with some blues and yellows mixed in. This results in seeing almost exactly what we see, but having the vivid colours washed out.
Other animals like monkeys, squirrels and birds have a better range of colour. In fact, even fish have a fairly good range of seeing colours! It may not be exactly what we see, but better than our cat and dog pals. Bees and butterflies can see colours that we can see as their range extends into the ultraviolet!
Our Vision Against Our Pets
Where we are beaten by our furry friends though is through things like low light vision and peripherals. Due to the nature of the reflective cells behind the retina, cats only need a sixth of the light we need in order to see things in the dark. Dogs, while not as good as cats in this regard, are better than humans.
Both dogs and cats have an amazing peripheral vision, both better than ours. They see a sharp focused object at a distance in their extreme peripherals out the corner of their eyes which is triggered by something in motion. This also gives them the urge to chase something out the corners of their eyes.
Pets in Peace Toowoomba
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