Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark?

The eyes of many predators of the animal kingdom glow in the dark , and your cat is no exception.Yes, your cute furry friend, the one with the pillows on the legs, has also inherited this ability from his feline ancestors of greater size.

Finding a cat with eyes shining in the middle of the night can be scary, and this quality has been the subject of myths and legends since the times of Ancient Egypt. Do you want to discover why the eyes of cats do they glow in the dark? Don't miss this article!

Where does the brightness come from?

The eye of cats is very similar to that of humans, so to understand where the brightness comes from, it is necessary to review a bit how the vision process occurs in cats:

The light is the most important element, since it bounces off the objects that are around, and this information crosses the cornea of the eye.Once there, it passes through the iris and then the pupil , which increases or reduces its own size according to the amount of light in the environment (the higher the light, the smaller the pupil requires, while in low light it increases its dimensions).

Subsequently, The light reflection continues its course to the lens, which is in charge of focusing the object, and then to the retina, responsible for sending information about what the eye has perceived to the brain.When this information reaches the brain, the subject He is aware of what he sees.The whole process, of course, happens in a fraction of a second.

This happens exactly In the same way in both humans and cats, with the difference that the cat's eye has an additional structure, called tapetum lucidum , and that it is responsible for the mysterious glow they radiate.

What is tapetum lucidum?

It is a membrane located in the back of the eye, responsible for re-reflecting the light (and with it, the perceived image) towards the retina, providing greater opportunity of capturing even the smallest ray of light in the environment.In this way, the ability to vision is enhanced.In the dark, the cat needs to catch as much light as possible, so that his pupils, which remain as slits in very bright areas, dilate to almost the external size of his eye, in order to trap any remaining light present in the environment.

Upon returning to reflect the light, the tapetum lucidum causes the cat's eyes to shine , understanding that this brightness is nothing more than the product of the light itself that the cat's eye was able of perceiving from outside.This membrane multiplies that amount of light up to fifty times.

This is why felines are able to see in the darkness much better than humans, and that most of the animals that become their prey.Thanks to this, cats and their larger relatives have become great night hunters.

Even so, it is important to clarify that cats cannot see in absolute darkness, because the process explained above only occurs when there is some reflection of light, so it is very scarce.On occasions when this condition does not is fulfilled, the felines use their other senses, also acute, to orient themselves and know what is happening around them.

Brightness of different colors?

That's right, not all cats glow their eyes in the same tone, and this has to do with the composition of tapetum lucidum itself, which contains riboflavin and zinc .According to the lesser or greater quantity of these elements, the color will be one or the other.

In addition, the breed and the physical characteristics of the feline They also influence this, that is, it is linked to the phenotype .Thus, although in many cats the greenish reflex predominates, it may happen that in felines with very light fur and bluish eyes, the brightness tends more towards reddish, for example, or that in others it is yellowish.

What happens to the flash of the photos?

Now that you know all this, you understand why your cat comes out with that terrifying glow in his eyes when you take a picture! The truth is that we recommend that you avoid taking photos with flash of your cat, as this sudden brightness can be very annoying for the animal, apart from the fact that it is complicated that the result does not involve bright eyes.ExpertAnimal tricks and tips for photographing cats.

However, if you can not resist and want a photograph in which your cat goes well, we recommend you focus the cat from below, or try the burst mode, with what which flash will point only once and the rest will be illuminated photographs, but without direct flash.

If you want to read more articles similar to Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark? , we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.

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