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Our cats often come alive at night, hurtling down the landing at 4AM and climbing the curtain. This begs the question, can cats see in the dark?
Can cats see in the dark?
Well as it stands, cats have incredible night vision. Just one of their many super senses, no wonder they seem so above everyone. Though they aren’t superheroes and would struggle in the complete pitch black, as long as there’s a little moonlight, their vision is still tip-top. They have more receptors or rods in their eyes than us humans. These are super light sensitive and help to distinguish shapes in the dark and see up to eight times better than us once the sun goes down. You must have seen their puss-in-boots eyes? Well, their pupils can dilate larger than ours, letting in more light meaning better vision in the darkness.
So yes, our cats can see in the dark! They are super sensitive to movement and will detect objects moving at speeds of 4 millimetres per second, making them excellent hunters – even at night! Maybe all that snoozing in the day is just energy saving for their night time adventures? But this isn’t down to just night vision, cats are crepuscular animals, which means they’re generally more active at dawn and dusk.
Interesting fact – cats actually don’t see as well as humans in bright light but definitely are superior when it comes to the dark!
