do cats and dogs see in colour?

Answer 1

Well i have heard and read about how cats and dogs are color blind

Answer 2

There is debate over that, and I honestly don't know the REAL answer one way or the other. But I am led to believe that dogs can see tones of color, just not as vibrantly as other mammals. Something to do with the ratio of rod and cone cells in their retina's. From what I have seen with dogs in flyball, it appears as if dogs can distinguish colors vaguely. For example, I know some dogs will refuse to run to take an orange, pink or red ball from the flyball box, but when a yellow ball is loaded they are all over it. I don't know if the other colors appear too much like the backdrop of the box, so the contrast is not high enough to let them know if a ball is there (this supports the theory that dogs see in black and grey) or if they can actually see the color and don't believe that the off-color ball is really part of the game, only yellow. No idea. There are some people out there that have claimed to be able to train their dogs to distinguish colors, but I'm not convinced that it isn't a scent issue (ie. the blue card smells slightly different than the red card, or whatever).

Answer 3

Here is an excerpt from a report I had to write for my advanced behavior class (going for my BAS in Veterinary Technology)....


Humans have the ability to see all the colors of the electromagnetic spectrum, while the dog does not. It is thought that humans rely on color to find and identify food. Dogs have prey which are usually camouflaged, so they do not have to rely much on visual cues to find food. Because dogs have more rods in their retinas than humans, their ability to see in dim light is much greater. They are also better able to detect motion. Dogs see in colors of yellows, blues, and grays. The color red would appear yellow to a dog, and a green object would look white. Dogs have better lateral vision than humans.

Cats also have more rods than cones in the retina. Like dogs, they can see better in dim light and are far superior at detecting motion than that of humans. These are important traits for hunting. The pupil in the cat is elliptical rather than round, which allows more light to enter the eye. The tapetum is located in the back of the eye, and reflects light a second time—this is how cats are able to see well in almost complete darkness. Cats can see in the purple, blue, green, and yellow range and can see more shades of gray than humans can.

Answer 4

Well this is kinda long but if u read it and understand it it will help, also when ur done clik on the link, its intresting

cats are generally considered colorblind.

The retina – the nerve center at the back of the eye – contains cells called cones (responsible for converting light into color) and rods (responsible for black and white). In cats, rods greatly outnumber cones.

Theoretically, color perception is possible since the eye contains some cones, but distinguishing color isn't necessary for cats. Brightness is far more important. He can see in the dimmest of lights; his eyes can open about three times as wide as the human pupil and let in as much light as possible at the normal “hunting” times of dawn and dusk.

Dogs-

Human vision is trichromatic -- we have three types of cones that recognize different portions of the color spectrum. These cones allow us to see a range of colors that are a mix of red, blue, and green pigments. Dogs have only two types of cones -- their dichromatic color vision is similar to that of a human with red-green color-blindness. In addition, a dog's retina contains a much smaller ratio of cones to rods than ours does.

Dogs are red-green color blind. They see a brighter and less detailed world when compared to humans. Peripheral vision is better than humans (dogs see more of the world), but distance is not judged quite as well. Dogs excel at night vision and the detection of moving objects.

http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/LA/DrP4.htm

Answer 5

I don't know about dogs, but I know cats CAN see color, especially greens and blues. Though they can't see red as well.

Answer 6

Not sure about cats, but most mammals are red-green color blind.

Dogs can see Blue and Yellow, they can't distinguish green or red. They can see more shades of grey than people. And their vision is not as acute for details, but they can see motion much better than we can.

Answer 7

I am not positive. But I have heard or read that they see black and white. If so, it must be awful. My dog does know the difference between his colored tennis balls. Makes you wonder.

Answer 8

No, I believe that they do not. However they may see a few colors.

Answer 9

dogs are color blind, but cat's can see some color, they usually prefer red or blue

Answer 10

the answer is debatable but It doesn't matter, cause they don't need to distinguish in colors, they can recognize anything by smell.