Why do cats eyes glow in the dark?

if you own Gatos You know that, especially at night or in dark places, their eyes shine when some kind of light hits them.

For this reason, they tend to appear with evil eyes in flash photos.

So common, we rarely think about the reason behind such a curious glow cat eyes; But science has an explanation for this characteristic of cats, which has a function beyond making them look scary.

cats look

curious cats look It has been the subject of various interpretations throughout history. Not for nothing, in various cultures they are considered guardians of the underworld because of those glowing, curious eyes.

But the rare sparkle in a cat’s eyes has nothing supernatural, and if one has a scientific explanation documented by a veterinarian J Coles.

Cats’ eyes contain a group of cells behind their photoreceptors, the area of ​​the eyes that specializes in converting light into nerve impulses that the brain converts into images. This group of cells is called texture of light.

texture of light

The texture of light Of the cats it acts as a kind of concave mirror inside the eye, causing the light that enters the cat’s pupil to pass through the retina when it enters the eye and when it bounces off the rug.

to up, cat eye reflects more light than the human eye; So much so that it can be seen with the naked eye.

Thus, cats’ eyes actually do not shine, but rather reflect more external light.

How does it help you?

The texture of light It allows cats to take full advantage of the ambient light, and thus they can see in the dark (as long as it’s not completely out).

It also gives them increased visual acuity (the ability to see in a range of up to 200 degrees), plus it serves to scare away potential predators.

Finally, the texture of light It prevents loss of visual information, because the eye does not reflect all the light. However, some visual information is lost, so cats cannot see some colours, such as red, orange or brown.