The eyes of many predators in the animal kingdom glow in the dark, and your cat is no exception. Yes, your cuddly furry friend, the one with the cushions on his paws, has also inherited this ability from his larger feline ancestors.
Encountering a cat with glowing eyes in the middle of the night can be terrifying, and this quality has been the subject of myths and legends since the days of Ancient Egypt. Do you want to discover why cats' eyes glow in the dark? Don't miss this article!
Where does the glow come from?
The eye of cats is very similar to that of human beings, so to understand where the brightness comes from, it is necessary to review a little how the vision process occurs in cats:
The light is the most important element, as it bounces off surrounding objects, and this information passes through 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 greater the light, the smaller the size the pupil requires, while in low light it increases its dimensions).
Subsequently, the light reflection continues its course to the lens, which is responsible for 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 is aware of what he sees. The entire process, of course, happens in a fraction of a second.
This happens exactly the same way in both humans and cats, with the difference that the feline eye has an additional structure, called tapetum lucidum, and which is responsible for the mysterious glow they radiate.
What is the tapetum lucidum?
This is a membrane located at the back of the eye, responsible for reflecting light again (and with it, the perceived image) towards the retina, providing a greater opportunity to capture even the smallest ray of light in the environment. In this way, it enhances the ability to seeIn the dark, the cat needs to catch as much light as possible, so its pupils, which remain like slits in very bright areas, dilate to almost the external size of its eye, in order to catch any rest. of luminosity present in the environment.
By reflecting light again, the tapetum lucidum causes the cat's eyes to glow, understanding that this glow is nothing more than the product of the light itself that the cat's eye was able to perceive from the outside. This membrane multiplies that amount of light up to fifty times.
This is why felines are able to see in the dark much better than humans, and than most animals who become their prey. Thanks to this, cats and their larger relatives have become great nocturnal hunters.
Even so, it is important to clarify that cats cannot see in absolute darkness, since the process explained above only occurs when there is some reflection of light, even if it is very scarce. On occasions when this condition is not met, felines use their other senses, also acute, to orient themselves and know what is happening around them.
Glitter of different colors?
That's right, not all cats have the same shimmer in their eyes, and this has to do with the composition of the tapetum lucidum itself, which contains riboflavin and zinc According to the greater or lesser quantity of these elements, the color will be one or the other.
In addition, the breed and physical characteristics of the feline also influence this, that is, it is linked to the phenotype In this way, Although in many cats the greenish reflection 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 in the photos?
Now that you know all this, you understand why your cat comes out with that terrifying twinkle in his eye when you take a picture of him! The truth is that we recommend that you avoid taking flash photos of your cat, as this sudden brightness can be very annoying for the animal, apart from the fact that it is difficult for the result does not involve bright eyes. Discover tips and tricks for photographing cats on our site.
However, if you just can't resist and want a photo that looks good on your cat, we recommend focusing on the cat from below, or try burst mode, where the flash will flash once and the rest will be illuminated photographs, but without direct flash.
