A few months ago, I looked into whether cats can see in the dark, and learned that cats have rods and cones in the eyes, just like people do. And that made me wonder, can cats see in color, or do cats only see black and white? If you're wondering about color vision in cats too, read on!
According to catster.com in their article "Are cats color blind?" , scientists are debating what colors cats can see. It is the cones in both human and cat's eyes that perceive color, and cats have fewer of them and not the same kinds as people do. According to just cat lover, humans have 3 kinds of cones and they allow us to perceive red, blue and green light. This is called trichromatic vision. Cats have 2 kinds of cones, so they are believed to have dichromatic vision where they can distinguish blue and green the best. Some scientists think they can also see yellow.
According to catster.com the comparison of human and cat color vision is something like this.
There is a big difference on the red end of the spectrum! Humans have the cones to see red, but feline color vision doesn't seem to include red, so shades of red, pink and orange may appear more neutral to them They also don't see the same brightness of colors so they may see colors that we perceive as different shades all as the same tone.
So, cans can indeed see in color, even though it's not as many colors as humans do, but that doesn't necessarily mean that cats have worse vision than humans do, it's just different. Cats do see blues and greens, but their history as desert hunters make them more adapted to seeing movement and seeing in low light, and less to seeing colors. Spotting a mouse moving against the ground is more beneficial for a succesful hunt than seeing all the colors of the rainbow.
Justcatlover.com suggests that cat's color vision is still useful to them though. It plays a role in helping them find plants they might like to eat, like cat grass, and that they can also identify other cats and even their own kittens by their coloring, so seeing colors plays a role in their social interactions.
If you are wondering what color toys your cat will enjoy, you can try for blues and greens, but catster.com notes that your cat will be attracted more to the smell, movement and maybe sounds of their toys than to their color, so don't let that stop you from buying those red toys (one of my cats favorite toys is a red chili pepper with catnip!)
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