Why do the kitten's eyes glow red? Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark?

As you know, cats have always been considered minions of evil spirits, as well as active assistants to witches and sorcerers. The eyes of these animals played a significant role in this. Not only do they have a vertical and narrow pupil, unlike other animals, but cats' eyes glow in the dark!

Agree, something like this in the Middle Ages could scare anyone, because people sacredly believed in gods, evil spirits and otherworldly forces. Today, no one can be surprised by this effect of cat’s eyes, because people have become more educated, but many are still perplexed: why does a cat’s eyes glow in the dark? Let's figure this out together unusual phenomenon, and let’s find out why this amazing glow occurs.

So why do the eyes glow?

The cat is a domestic predator, a descendant of true hunters, whose lives directly depended on whether they could catch their prey. Powerful paws, a movable spine for instant acceleration, sharp claws - all this was created by evolution to improve the hunting abilities of big cats.

However, these properties were supplemented by one more - thanks to the specific structure of the eye, cats see perfectly in the dark, and can hunt even after sunset. This is undeniable competitive advantage, which was passed on to our pets.

What is the reason for this acute vision? It's all about the structure of the eye - all the light passing through the pupil hits the retina, but only a small part of it causes an impulse in the sensitive cells. That is, if there was a special system that allows you to collect all the remaining light and direct it to light-sensitive cells, vision would be many times sharper. And cats have such a system.

This is the tapetum - or the mirror fundus of the eye, which reflects the transmitted light back. Thus, the light is used twice, significantly increasing visual acuity.

It is this mirror coating that reflects light, creating the illusion of glowing eyes. In domestic cats, it has a different shade - from green to yellow, and thanks to this, the reflection also changes its color.

Simply put, we see light reflected from the fundus of the eye, and the less light there is, the weaker this effect will be. And therefore, when they say that cats’ eyes glow in the dark, this is not entirely true, because... there must be at least some source of light. IN complete darkness, cat's eyes, of course, will not glow: they simply will have nothing to reflect.

That's the whole secret of this interesting phenomenon, How glowing eyes in cats. Our pets are full of surprises, and if we want to learn to understand them well, we need to be interested in such phenomena and study our charges.

People have always been afraid of the inexplicable. Fears and superstitions have haunted us throughout human history. People were especially worried about the phenomena that happened at night.

For example, a cat, a familiar companion animal, thanks to its eyes, turned into a source of scary stories in the dark.

We have all seen this unnatural glow at least once, which turned our beloved Murzik into an incomprehensible and mysterious creature. So why does darkness make cats look so mysterious and creepy? Let's look at it through the eyes of the cats themselves.

No matter where they come from, big, small, fluffy or not, all cats are born predators. Their body is designed for movement, and their reflexes betray a skilled hunter.

The eyes are what a cat relies on when it tracks prey, and night is its favorite time for hunting. Exactly their eyes work best in the dark. Widely opened pupils collect greatest number light, in contrast to a bright day, when the cat is forced to constrict the pupils, turning them into small dots.

From their ancestors, cats inherited a unique eye structure. They instantly capture any reflections of objects in the dark, allowing the night hunter to track his prey. cat eye sensitivity exceeds ours by 6 - 8 times. The reason is a special layer behind the retina - “tapetum”. It is a shell of vessels that look like mother of pearl. It is the tapetum that reflects everything that the cat sees at night and increases the sensitivity of the animal’s eyes.

The work of a cat's eye. How everything works

Light hits the pupil after passing through the cornea. Then it moves to the lens and, due to refraction, arrives in an inverted state. This is where the retina comes into play. It sends a special signal to the brain, whose task is to turn the resulting image “from head to toe.”

Cats' eyes, by nature's design, are directed straight ahead. It's all about the viewing angle, which is 200 degrees and gives the animal more visual information. Everything that the left eye sees goes into right side brain and, conversely, the right eye transmits the image to left half. Scientists call it stereoscopic vision. With this approach, it is easy for the brain to combine the received information into one three-dimensional picture.

Why is tapetum needed?

The more light the eye receives in the dark, the greater the cat's chances of catching prey. The tapetum helps convey as much visual information to the brain as possible. In other words, it increases the animal’s vigilance. A cat navigates in the dark six times better than a human due to its tapetum. That’s why little hunters run so deftly and overcome obstacles in our houses and apartments, even at night, when at every step we hit our foreheads against the doorposts. An interesting fact is that the tapetum gives different colors to the eyes of animals. It's all about the coloring pigment. The color changes from green to yellow and blue.

Variety of colors

Cats are looking at us with different colored eyes . The colors are like yellow amber, blue sea, blue sky, green grass or bright gold. Some breeds have differently colored eyes. For example, white Angora cats have one eye that is green or blue and the other that is yellow.

Color is influenced by two factors. How much pigment is there and how is it distributed throughout the eye:

If the pigment is mainly in the back area, the eyes will be blue or turquoise.
If there is more of it in front, then the color is similar to walnut. Shades of yellow, green and blue appear due to melanin.

Cats' eye color changes as they age, as all kittens are born with the same blue iris. It will take 4-5 months before the pigment is distributed and it becomes clear what color the eyes actually are.

What to pay attention to. Nutrition issues

The main sign of tapetum violation is faint glow of eyes in the dark or its complete absence. Veterinarians say that the vascular layer is located in the safe zone of the eye, behind the retina. And there are not many reasons for damage at home.

However, owners should pay attention to cat food. For normal operation animal needs tapetum amino acids and taurine. IN wildlife they are found in meat and fish.

Manufacturers of food for domestic cats try to maintain sufficient levels of taurine to prevent deficiency in our pets' bodies. Owners who decide to prepare food for cats on their own should study the issue in detail or talk to a veterinarian. It is important to make sure that the animal receives required dose taurine and the furry hunter's night vision will suffer.

We are already accustomed to the eyes of cats in the dark. But there are other inhabitants of the planet with similar properties. The eyes of predatory spiders and some fish shine in the dark with an eerie white and red color. Yes, you and I also create a similar effect. It is enough to shine bright direct light directly into your eyes. A simple example, camera flash. And what happens later in the photo we call the red-eye effect.

Legends and superstitions

In the Middle Ages, cats were considered messengers of Satan. Their eyes, shining at night, frightened people who could not explain the effect in any way other than the intervention of evil spirits. In Europe, animals that did not understand anything were put on a par with witches and sorcerers. The attitude was appropriate. They were caught, burned and drowned. The rats saved the cats. People realized that rodents are carriers of diseases, including the plague. The cats were not afraid of rats and hunted them with pleasure. As a result, the diabolical origin was reconsidered and it was concluded that the benefits from the little hunters were greater than the harm.

Thus, the cat's eyes do not glow, but only reflect small and subtle beams of light. Since in ordinary life It is difficult to find a place where the light does not fall at all, so it always seems that cats' eyes are glowing. At complete absence light sensitivity of vision decreases, and the cat’s eyes will simply not be visible.

Eat scientific explanation why cats' eyes glow in the dark. For many centuries, this mysterious feature has forced humanity to endow the animal with mystical abilities and associate it with evil spirits. Only in the 20th century did scientists figure out for sure that the mysterious reflection is just a physiological consequence of the special structure of the eyes and a convenient tool for hunting at night.

Why can cat eyes glow at night?

Cat's perception of surrounding space and structure eyeballs Animals are completely unique and different from humans because they have the ability to reflect light as much as possible. This is due to the twilight lifestyle of the predator.

The hidden dorsal wall of the eyeball has a concave shape. Opposite this recess is the lens, which acts as a kind of lens. But in order for this optical effect to manifest itself fully, nature provided for the presence of a special reflector or mirror - a tapetum. It is located directly behind the mesh shell and is similar in structure to a dense, pearlescent film, vaguely reminiscent of polished silver.

It is the tapetum that reflects the light flux not absorbed by the photoreceptors back to the retina. This explains the fact that the cat sees well even in the dark, and its eyes acquire the ability to mysteriously glow at night.

The tapetum is saturated with guanine and various pigments that affect the color of the iris. That's why the eyes glow different colors: reddish, green, yellow or even blue. It is interesting that the structure of the eye section is the same in all cats, but the chemical composition of the tapetum is different. In some animals, the “mirror” is largely covered with mother-of-pearl, which is why the eyes glow brighter; in others, it is highly pigmented, which causes a rare violet glow.

It is impossible to see the mystical reflections of cat's eyes during the daytime, since the light is absorbed almost completely by the retina. This is due to the vertical structure of the pupil, which is the result of long evolution. He has high degree elasticity and changes its shape and size depending on the lighting.

On a clear sunny day, the pupil becomes as narrow as possible and completely absorbs the minimum amount of light. And in the dark, it expands significantly (up to 14 mm in diameter) to absorb a large stream of light rays. In addition, it can transform, adapting to the animal’s state: becoming larger in times of fear or stress, or smaller in moments of calm.

Honoring the cat Ancient Egypt - Interesting Facts

Can cats see in complete darkness?

Cats have the largest organs of vision among other members. cat family relative to body dimensions. If we project this size of eyeballs onto a person, then their size could reach 20 cm in diameter. In addition, cat eyes have a convex structure, which provides optimal vision within 200 degrees. For comparison, in humans it is about 180 degrees.

But the huge size of a cat's eyes has little effect on visual acuity in the dark. The secret lies in the fact that the eyeball of nocturnal predators is equipped big amount light-sensitive cells - photoreceptors. They are divided into two types:

rods that provide reception of light rays;
cones responsible for image clarity.

In cats, it is the rods that are sensitive to light that predominate, which allows them to navigate the terrain well even in poor visibility conditions.

But a cat is not able to see in pitch darkness; without light, the animal cannot move and distinguish even large objects.

The fact is that the sparkling layer is not capable of creating a reflection on its own; it needs at least a minimal light source to reflect it. If in dark room light up the screen mobile phone, the animal's visual acuity will increase seven times compared to a person, thanks to the reflective function, and the cat's eyes will literally flash.

An amazing fact is that the tapetum reacts even to barely noticeable reflections - reflections from a crystal or chandelier, the distant glare of a street lamp, or even soft Moonlight. But the intensity of the cat's eye glow depends not only on the brightness of the source. Big influence It also affects the angle at which the stream of rays hits the mirror layer of the eye, as well as the angle at which a person looks at the animal. The strongest shine can be observed when the light flux is directed towards retina at an angle of 45 degrees, while the person looks straight into the cat’s eyes.

To compare feline and human vision in the dark, US photographer Nikolai Lamm, together with zoologists and other specialists, created a series of photographs on this topic. But these pictures give only an approximate idea of the cat’s vision of the world.

This is how cats see at night

Even a child knows that cats' eyes glow in the dark, but adults cannot explain why. No, cats do not produce light, and the mysterious reflection of their eyes is a consequence of special physiology and a tool for survival. Curious to know the details? Read on, below we will look at all the complex nuances in simple language.

Cats have been domesticated since ancient times. It’s interesting that no matter how hard people try to completely domesticate the purr, nothing works. Cats have been and remain versatile and the most successful hunters in the world. In everyday situations, cats are calm and affectionate, but have you ever seen a purr when angry? Their strength, agility and ability to inflict wounds are so deeply embedded in their DNA that even the most peaceful pet can greatly surprise its owner.

Cats belong to a large family and are relatives of pumas, lynxes, ocelots, tigers, and lions. People became interested in domesticating these magnificent creatures even before our era. It’s interesting, but cats became people’s companions earlier than dogs. How an ancient, vulnerable person came up with the idea of encroaching on the will of a universal predator is not entirely clear. However, the fact remains that cats have lived next to people for centuries, they are loyal in their own way, but there is still something wild in them. If you carefully observe your pet, you will find in its gait and manners many features similar to wild cats. There is only one reason: the cat is a hunter and its skills have not atrophied despite domestication.

For what merits did the cat receive the title? best hunter? This list is quite long, but there is one key factor - success. Doesn't matter wild cat or domestic, she will have a number of skills:

Silent gait and ability to sneak.
Sharp teeth and fangs with grooves that allow normal breathing while holding the victim.
Acute sense of smell.
Sensitive hearing.
Agility, flexibility, ability to move in difficult terrain.
Acute vision and the ability to record any movements of the victim at a great distance.
Wide angle of lateral vision.
The ability to hunt in the dark as in the light is the main and very remarkable feature of cats, given that they are not nocturnal animals.

Cats are generalists; they can hunt during the day, at dusk and at night, while most predators hunt in certain time days.

The eyes of a cat are very sensitive and vulnerable, at the same time they are the main “weapon” and mystery of the purr.

Features of cat vision

Cat's eyes function in the same way as human eyes, with only one difference - humans do not see well in twilight and darkness. Let's briefly look at the structure and features of a cat's eyes. So, there is such an expression - the eyes are the brain out. Although it sounds a little strange, this statement is completely justified. The eye is a sensory organ that has direct contact with both the brain and the outside world. The outer layer of the eye consists of three layers: sclera, vascular tissue and cornea. The sclera is like an elastic film; it helps maintain the correct shape of the eye. The vascular layer nourishes the outer chamber of the eye. Blood constantly circulating in the vessels delivers and oxygen. With the blood and through the same vessels, decay products are removed from the outer chamber of the eye. Next is the cornea layer. This is the very part by which eye color is determined. The cornea has a hole called the pupil, which expands and contracts on command. nerve impulses. The pupil performs the function of focusing vision, that is, thanks to it, the cat can see objects nearby and far equally well.

Next important organ eyes are lens. This part of the eye is not solid, as you might think; its structure resembles a viscous liquid. The lens refracts light rays transmitted by the sclera and pupil. The rays of light are collected into beams and travel further to the retina.

Note! It is believed that too much light can harm the health of a cat's eyes.

Retina, this is the most sensitive part of the eye, it is dotted with photoreceptors different forms: cones and rods. Each type of receptor is responsible for the perception of images in the dark and in the light, so a cat has approximately the same number of them. The retina, like the pupil, has a round hole; it connects to the optic nerve. The retina, struck by light rays, transmits electrical impulses to the nerve, which carries information to the brain. Optic nerve entwined with a lot blood vessels, which feed the second (back) chamber of the eye.

This is interesting! The holes in the retina create a blind spot, which is located exactly in the middle of the picture seen.

It is interesting that when passing through the lens, the rays of light are refracted so that the picture seen is turned upside down. The brain, which cooperates with the vestibular apparatus, is responsible for the correct perception of the picture. In its turn, vestibular apparatus is responsible for the sensation of the horizon, that is, thanks to this organ, the cat understands where is up and where is down and in what position it is in relation to the support.

In addition to the eyeballs, the external or protective organs of the eye play an important role in the visual acuity of a cat. Eyelashes protect your eyes from damage and your eyelids from drying out. Blinking is a reflex, and every time the cat closes its eyelids, the eyes are moistened with tears and secretions of the mucous membranes. Main role The conjunctiva plays a role in moisturizing the eyes - the layers of cells located on the lower and upper eyelids. Cats also have third century or nictitating membrane , it is a transparent and dense tissue attached to the muscles of the eyelids. When a cat blinks, the nictitating membrane also closes and helps keep the eye moist.

This is interesting! Thanks to the nictitating membranes, the cat can sleep with the eyelids open without harm to the eyes or the threat of dryness. In humans, this membrane is atrophied, but for cats it serves as a tool to “ward off” larger predators.

Unlike humans, cats have oval pupils that can expand to cover almost the entire area of the iris and narrow to barely noticeable slits. If you compare the proportional structure of the eyes of a cat and a human, it becomes clear that the former are superior to the latter in visual acuity. At the same time, a person is able to distinguish between seven colors and three spectra, while a cat sees the world in bluish-green light. It is known that purrs can distinguish some shades of yellow and orange, but they see red as gray.

Cats' eyes are located on the front of the head and point forward. This type of vision is called binocular. In comparison, herbivores have eyes on the sides of their heads and this type is called peripheral. The cat has no blind spot, since the brain receives information from both eyes simultaneously. Herbivores have a blind spot, it is right in front of their muzzle. This difference is due to the fact that predators do not attack head-on, but attack from the side or from behind.

This is interesting! The viewing angle of a cat is approximately 285°, while a person covers only 210° of what he sees.

About glow in the dark and more

The eyes of the purr shine in different colors: blue, red, green, yellow, and sometimes purple. It is believed that the color of the reflection varies depending on the ratio of the number of cones and rods (photoreceptors), although this version has not been proven. The gases of cats do not glow (do not produce light), but rather reflect, that is, reflect rays of light. Perhaps you have seen sparkling eyes in pitch darkness, but this only proves the superiority of cats over people. Reflection is impossible if there are no light sources in the room, even very weak ones. In complete darkness, anyone is blind, because the eyes do not see a picture or objects, but rays of light reflected from them.

Do you think that this feature is unique to cats? This is not true, people's eyes also glow, but it is not so noticeable. The red eye effect in the photo is direct proof of this. The glare of a cat's eyes is more intense due to its physiology.

The back, hidden part of the eye has a concave shape. In front of this fossa is the lens, which acts as a lens. Did you play with a magnifying glass as a child? Directed Sunbeam on paper? Much the same thing happens when you see the reflection of a cat's eyes. Note that a cat’s eyes glow not only in the dark, but in the daytime this phenomenon is invisible.

This is interesting! It is believed that cats can see seven times in the dark better than people. It is difficult to realize this, but this is exactly the ratio that was voiced by scientists.

The reflector that allows the lens to be used as a lens is called a tapetum. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish between the glow effect and the so-called tapetum effect. The fact is that in some spiders and even mollusks, glowing eyes are observed, although due to physiology it is impossible. When the eyes reflect light contrary to physiological structure, this is called the tapetum or lucidum effect.

The tapetum is located just behind the retina, the structure resembles a dense, pearlescent film. In zoology, the tapetum layer is called the speculum. It is interesting that the structure of the tapetum different cats is the same, but its chemical composition may be different. In some cats, the mirror is more pearlescent and the eyes glow brighter; in others, the tissues of the tapetum are pigmented, which gives a rare violet glow.

Behind the tapetum is the fundus of the eye, which also has a shiny, slightly pearlescent surface. This is why the glare in the eyes is characteristic of many warm-blooded animals, but in cats it is more intense. It is known that the tapetum may not completely cover the cat’s fundus, which will affect the shape of the eye glow you see.

One of the observations of the color of the reflection of the eyes led scientists to an interesting conclusion. In cats whose fundus is not completely covered with tapetum, eye glow of varying intensity and even light may be observed. The fundus gives a red sheen, and the tapetum is green; in the case of partial coverage, the colors can mix and form new ones (blue, violet, yellow).

How to explain to children

If your interest in this topic was sparked by a child's question and you are looking for an easy way to teach about the structure of a cat's eyes, the video below will help you:

The baby is still very young, but very interested by the question asked? Well, fairy tales will help you. Usually, in order not to mislead the child, they talk about a cat that got lost in the dark. The plaintive call of the animal was heard by the moon or the lunar sorceress. Taking pity on the purr, she gave the cat's eyes special property: Gathering light in the darkness of the night. The cat returned home and everyone lived happily ever after.

As you can see, this fantastic story tells about the real reason what is happening, but in a soft and understandable form for the child. It’s up to you to decide whether to use real data or imagine something unnatural, but keep in mind that most strong beliefs are formed precisely during the period of whys.

Myths and legends

Do stories about the structure of cats' eyes and reflective layers seem boring to you? Well, the glow of a cat's eyes can be explained in more ways in an interesting way, attracting mysticism and old fads. In ancient times, for their ability to sparkle with their eyes, cats were considered servants of the devil and were greatly disliked. To strengthen their authority, rulers and especially churches publicly dealt with the purrs... not in the most humane ways. People were encouraged to fear and not want to go into details. The public reaction was predictable - seeking protection from the rulers and the church.

The apogee of the persecution of cats “coincided” with the witch hunt. The Inquisition pursued only one goal - to instill fear in people, to make lost people out of the people, obeying them in everything. The tactics were successful and so intense that there were no cats left in some regions of Europe. Retribution came quickly... in the form terrible epidemic bubonic plague.

The absence of cats led to a disruption in the food chain; the cities were overflowing with rats, which “brought” the virus. Realizing where salvation lay, despite intimidation from religious concessions, the remaining cats of Europe were collected and brought to the infected regions. Naturally, there were not enough European purrs and cats began to be imported from Asia. Saving humanity from death, cats have earned a positive reputation and received the status of “man’s friend.”

The glow of a cat's eyes in Ancient Egypt was explained differently. According to legend, Bastet (the goddess of love, fun, joy, beauty, hearth) came to people in the guise of a cat. In addition, cats served the goddess in their “natural” form, they drove the Bastet carriage across the sky. In Ancient Egypt, cats were revered; many beliefs and traditions were associated with purrs, which is described in detail and interestingly in the video below:

In Ancient Rome, purrs were a symbol of independence, freedom and independence. Considering the warlike nature of the Romans, the qualities of the cat deserved special respect. There were also legends of bravery. According to one legend, a large circus in Italy lost its four-legged performers, thanks to a cat that was able to get out of captivity and free its “colleagues.” Naturally, according to legend, the circus owner was a terrible and cruel person, people were afraid of him... but they silently but dutifully sympathized with the animals.

The Romans also explained the glow of a cat's eyes in their own way. According to this version, the cat was endowed with the gift of lighting the way in pitch darkness. This event took place after the acquaintance of the purrs and the goddess named Freedom (Libertas). The goddess was so amazed by the combination of independence, independence, devotion and affection that she decided to mark the cat with a special “sign”.

In Japan, the attitude towards cats was twofold. Purr was feared and respected, which is natural, given the information shortage of those times. For quite a long time in Japan, cats' tails were cut off, believing that it was this part of the body that contained all the evil... the rest of the cat, as you understand, was considered good. Incredibly, this ridiculous tradition lasted almost a century.

Later, attention was switched from the tail to the eyes, which glow in the dark. Suspecting something was wrong, namely the prospect of being punished by the gods, the Japanese “accepted” cats as mystical animals. Murlyk were settled in temples, and with their help they communicated with the gods. Quite quickly, the glow of a cat’s eyes came up with a special meaning. It was believed that if a person saw a magical reflection, then great joy, luck and good fate awaited him.

“God looks at people through the eyes of a cat.”

Lobsang Rampa

Cats, amazing and capricious creatures of nature, have been worshiped and admired since the times of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. Mysterious purrs were attributed to representatives of dark forces and at the same time these graceful animals were deified. Now the fluffies have lost their divine status, but their mysticism has not diminished.

One of the extraterrestrial, superstitious talents is the mesmerizing cat's gaze and the mysterious glow emitted by the animal's eyes in the darkness of the night. Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark? It's time to look at the world from a cat's perspective.

Amazing cat eye

There is more than one dedicated to the study of cat vision. research and report - mysticism has always attracted and interested people. In fact, cat's eyes have a lot in common with the human eye apparatus. A cat's eyes are made up of three main layers:

External. It consists of a thin, transparent cornea (it occupies ¼ of the part) and sclera, a thick, opaque layer.
Average. It is located between the sclera and the cornea. The tasks of this vascular part include providing the eye organ with oxygen and nutrition. The ciliary body is located in the area where the sclera connects to the cornea. This is the septum that holds the lens and passes into the iris. In the central part is the pupil.
Interior. Or the retina, consisting of cones and rods. Rods enable purrs to see at night, and cones provide daytime vision. Catfish have 25 times more rods than cones. Inner layer converts the captured light and sends signals to the nerve compartment.

How do cat eyes work? First, the light beam passes through the cornea and ends up on the pupil. The presentation of light continues: from the pupil, a ray of light is sent to the lens and reflected upside down (due to light refraction). The retina sends a signal to the brain, where all data takes on a normal (non-inverted) form.

Cats' eyes look straight ahead - this provides a visual field of 200⁰.

In our purrs, vision is created according to a stereoscopic design - the right eye cooperates with the left hemisphere, and the left with the right. The brain combines all received data into a three-dimensional image.

Protection. Like human eyes, felines have protection. These are the eyelids. Cats have three of them: lower, upper and third (conjunctival fold or nictitating membrane). It is located inside the canthus. The tasks of the third eyelid include distributing tear fluid across the cornea and protecting the eye sclera from dirt and dust. Tear fluid in cats it contains two important components:

Lysozyme. Antibacterial substance.
Lactoferrin. Performing an immunological function.

Attention owners! If your pet’s nictitating membrane begins to cover half of its eye, go to the vet! This arrangement of the conjunctiva is abnormal and indicates the development eye disease– protrusion or prolapse of the third eyelid.

Fantastic color. The color of the iris in fluffies is amazingly diverse. Purr looks at the world with amber, sapphire, blue, gold, blue and green eyes. Some cat breeds inherit eyes of different shades, one eye is blue and the other green or yellow (this phenomenon is observed only in snow-white cats).

The color of a cat's eye depends on the amount of pigment and its distribution in the areas of the eye organ:

The concentration of pigment in the rear area gives the cat's sky blue or turquoise eyes.
In the front zone it gives the purr a nutty color, and the presence of melanin adds yellow, blue and green to the color.

Cat babies are born blue-eyed. What color the cat's eyes will glow can be seen 4-5 months after birth.

How purrs see. The visual acuity of cats varies in the range of 1-6 meters. Cats are nearsighted, but this deficiency is compensated by the animal’s sense of touch and excellent sense of smell. Cats see moving objects best (they clearly capture an object in motion at a distance of up to 700 m).

But people appear to animals in a blurred, indistinct form and dim image (cats do not distinguish some colors). The cat's reality is colored in shades of gray, green and blue (other colors are not available to purrs). Although yellow and purple fluffies can see, they distinguish them very poorly. But their range of vision is 1.5-2 times wider than that of humans!

Mysterious night light

Our purrs love to lounge on a soft sofa or armchair during the day and doze off, phlegmatically watching the movements of their owner. Fluffy couch potatoes spend the whole day in a relaxed state. But at night, cats awaken the genes of their wild cat counterparts, night hunters. And the cats go on mischief, scaring those around them with their brightly glowing eyes. Why do they glow like xenon?

Scientific explanation

Thanks to the glorious pedigree of their ancestors, cats have a special eye structure that helps them catch the reflection of different sources in the dark. Helps purrs with this unique coating choroid, reminiscent of mother of pearl. This layer is called the “tapetum” and is located behind the retina.

The tapetum mirrors images, visible to the cat in the darkness, and gives special sensitivity to the cat’s gaze (a cat’s eye is 8 times more sensitive than a human’s). The color of the mirror shell is green or yellow (in Siamese cats the tapetum has a soft crimson tint).

Physics says that cats have absolutely no magical properties, and the glowing eyes are the merit of the tapetum. When the mirror layer reflects the light beam falling on it, this phenomenon occurs, allowing night hunters to pursue prey at dusk.

In complete darkness, cat's eyes do not glow! For a mysterious effect, you need the reflection of the moon or stars. Only when the cat's gaze catches the light source, then their eyes turn on as if from electricity.

Do all animals have this phenomenal feature? This ability is endowed not only by representatives cat world– in the dark, the eyes of some fish, crustaceans and predatory spiders glow. Only the glow of their eyes is milky white or violet-red.

Myths and legends

Because of its ability to reflect light, people attributed the unfortunate purr to the messenger of the devil. Poor cats were oppressed and poisoned. The countries of medieval Europe were especially successful in this - in a dark time, furry creatures were considered evil spirits and drowned/burned along with the rest of the “sorcerers” and “witches”.

Only huge infestations of rats, bringing with them fatal diseases, sobered up people, and the purr received rehabilitation. What does mysticism say about magical luminous vision?

Ancient Egypt. The graceful animal was the faithful companion of the goddess Bastet, who lived on the Moon. Every night the deity descended to earth and protected people and their livestock from attacks by predators. But Bastet could not always visit the land - her duties included other matters. In order not to leave people unattended, the goddess sent her faithful servant, a graceful cat, to Earth.

Since then, the cat has lived next to people, treated them, protected them, and every night reported on completed tasks to its mistress. At these moments, the animal’s eyes “turn on” - she communicates with the mistress.

For the ancient Egyptians, the purr was a symbol of fertility, life and well-being. The culprit was punished for the murder of a fluffy death penalty. When a pet died a natural death, family members shaved their hair and pulled out their eyebrows as a sign of grief. The deceased cat was embalmed and buried with honors in special cemeteries.

Ancient Rome. Proud representatives of the Mediterranean associated the cat with independence and freedom. The inhabitants of Italy had a legend that one evil and cruel Roman kept a circus consisting of animals. The poor animals suffered in captivity and dreamed of escape. Cherished dream Only a fearless cat was able to accomplish this - on a gloomy night she gnawed through the bonds and rushed to freedom.

The Roman goddess of freedom Libertas, admiring the animal’s love of freedom, gave the cat amazing feature- illuminate your path with your eyes. Since then, the independent creature received complete freedom and could choose its own owners. And at night, the cat’s eyes glow as if from electricity, reminiscent of a fearless escape.

Japan. According to the Japanese hypothesis, the cat was endowed with this feature by the Supreme Gods and made her the patroness of the greatest temple “Maneik-Neko”, a sanctuary of good luck and happiness. The mystical animal walks near the temple at night and if her luminous gaze touches a person, he has the great honor of being caressed by fate.

How to explain to children

While schoolchildren are able to understand the structure of a cat’s eye organ and the ability of animals’ eyes to glow at dusk, this is still difficult for kids. What to answer to the little ones, why do cats’ eyes glow in the dark? Professor Pochemushkin gets down to business with his collection of educational cartoons for the little ones with answers to all questions.

But, if there is no video at hand, and the baby stubbornly demands an answer? Make up a fairy tale!

“Once upon a time, in a small village there lived a cute cat. She was friends with a kind boy. And then one day her little friend fell ill. And only magic berries growing in the swamp could help him.

The brave kitty set off on a long journey to the gloomy swamp to collect a magic potion. But it was so dark and scary! The little animal got lost in the darkness and began to cry. His cry was heard by the mistress of the night - the powerful Moon. She looked out from behind the cloud and asked what happened.

Having learned about the cat's bold intention, the Moon gave her the ability to see in the dark, illuminating the path with the light of her own eyes. The animal found the magic berries and soon returned to the sick boy. The human friend recovered, but cats have retained this ability ever since. The eyes of cats glow at night with a magical, fairy-tale light.”

You can come up with another fairy tale using your favorite little toys, hobbies, and cartoons in the story.

So is there mysticism in glowing cat eyes? You decide. The fluffy purr will not lose human love and care. Mysterious and independent, the cat will always be an adored pet.