have you ever notice that when in a different light or something your cats eyes glow? how does it do that why do there eyes do that. its kinda creepy if you ask me XD
2007-11-25 13:48:12 · 5 answers · asked by risaru@sbcglobal.net 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
They have a layer behind their retina called tapetum lucidum.
Here's an explanation:
The tapetum lucidum (Latin: "bright carpet") is a reflecting layer immediately behind, and sometimes within, the retina of the eye of many vertebrates that serves to reflect light back to the retina, increasing the quantity of light caught by the retina. This improves vision in low light conditions, but can cause the perceived image to be blurry from the interference of the reflected light. It is therefore primarily found in nocturnal animals with good night vision, such as cats, bottlenose dolphins, dogs, and deer.
The reflective effect of the tapetum lucidum is often called eyeshine.
The tapetum lucidum is not present in the human eye, which is why humans have poor night vision. The red-eye effect in humans is due to the light from the camera flash reflecting off of the back of the eye in an instant (the retina, not a tapetum lucidum layer). In animals flash photographs, the eyes frequently appear to be glowing in one of a wide variety of colors including blue, green, yellow and pink.
2007-11-25 14:01:05 · answer #1 · answered by Serena d 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's because of a special reflective layer at the back of their eyes called the tapetum. It's there to help increase the amount of available light so they can get around in the dark. A cat actually sees the same objects twice. First the image goes into the eyes and bounces off of that layer onto the retina. Then it's reflected back and so the cat sees it again. This helps magnify the light and that's why cats can see much better in the dark than we can. They can't see in total darkness, though. They always need at least some light to be able to see. Here's a bit of trivia. The man who invented the reflective dots that are put on roads got the idea for them when he was driving and saw a cat's eyes being reflected in his headlights. It was a good thing he saw that cat's eyes because they prevented him from driving over a 2000 foot cliff.
2007-11-25 14:01:58 · answer #2 · answered by RoVale 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
omg i learned this in science class when i had to disect a cow eye..! the reason that cat's eyes glow in the dark is because in their eye, there is a part in the back of it that makes their eye glow. I totally forgot what it was called, but that's what it is. and the reason human eyes dont glow in the dark is becuase humans dont have this part in the back of their eye, but most animals, such as cats, do. I hope my answer helps!
-Jay
2007-11-25 13:53:03 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
it is light reflecting off the back of the retina...
cats have different eyes than humans, with far more rods than humans that can interpret light.
like humans, they cannot see in NO light, but they can see quite well in low light because of this eye adaptation.. which is one reason why they have adapted to become nocturnal animals.
not spooky at all. actually a beautiful adaptation... just like our opposing thumb makes us somewhat unique.
2007-11-25 13:55:36 · answer #4 · answered by cany 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
idk..
2007-11-25 13:53:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋