How can cats see in the dark when we can't?

Question

I just don't understand
Their eyes look JUST LIKE ours.
Why can't we manage to see in the dark?

Answer 1

The truth is that cats cannot see in absolute darkness any more than we can. However, they are much better adapted than humans for seeing in low levels of light.

They use three clever evolutionary adaptations to allow them to do this.

First, as compared to a human eye, the cat eye can let in several times more light.

Second, the cat eye is very richly endowed with rods. They are two types of cells in the eye that turn the incoming light into electrical signals - cones and rods. Cones are less sensitive, and work better when there's lots of light around. Rods are more sensitive and work better in low light situations. In daytime, the rods just switch off. Cats have lots of rods.

Third, cats have an extra "mirror" layer at the back of the eye behind the retina, which means that the incoming light has two chances to hit the rods. This mirror layer is called the "tapetum lucidum". It's made from 15 types of cells, and is very reflective. It glows a silvery-greeny-golden colour in most cats, but can be ruby-red in Siamese cats. The incoming light enters the front of the eye, passes through the transparent innards of the eye, and enters the retina. At this stage, the light will register if it hits a rod. In the human eye, if it misses, the light is absorbed in a black layer behind the retina, and is gone forever.

But in the cat eye, if the light has not hit a rod, it will reflect off the mirror layer and be bounced. The light now has a second chance to hit a rod, and to be put to work.

Answer 2

Cats can see better in the dark because they have a lot or rods in their eyes, which are built for seeing contrast and motion. We have a lot more cones (for color vision) than they do. Cats can actually sometimes see better in the dark than they can in the light. The Webpage below shows how they can see the same object better in the dark.

Answer 3

Well if you have looked at a cats eyes in the day, they are small slits, in darkness, they use all the light around them and their iris's look larger so absorb all the light rays possible. Also natural selection has caused this, many wild cats are night hunters and therefor it is vital to have to vision in darkness. We humans can see in the dark, but through eveloution, we just didn't need to see in the dark as well as other animals.

Answer 4

It has to do with the number of rods and cones in the retina of the eye. Cats evolved to be night hunters and needed better night vision than humans (who would go to safe places at night to stay away from big predatory cats).

I don't know which is which but either the rod or the cone allows people to see more colors at the expense of superior night vision which they didn't need. Humans also used fire to give them better vision at night and ward off predatory cats.

Answer 5

I'm not 100% sure on this but their eyes filter out the lights and such differently than ours do which makes it easier for them to see in the dark.

Answer 6

They use there whiskers to see in the dark.

Answer 7

Read here...

http://www.cat-olholics.com/see-in-the-dark.html

Answer 8

Ask a Vet

Answer 9

fIRSTLY THEY DONT USE THERE WISKERS TO SEE IN THE DARK THEY USE THERE WISKERS TO MEASURE THERE BODY WIDTH IT GUIDES THEN WHEN RUNNING IF THEY WILL FIT THROUGH HOLES I KNOW THIS ISENT THE ANSWER BUT SOME ONE SAID IT WAS.