Animal's night vision?!

@zouna5 (564)
Greece
March 12, 2009 2:14pm CST
Do dogs and cats see in the night without lights?I have a kitten and the night i turn on the light in the hall for him not to be afraid.Should i turn it off?
4 people like this
5 responses
12 Mar 09
I wouldn't worry about the light Cats have a special layer of cells at the back of their retinas, called the tapetum lucidum (Latin for "bright carpet"). This shiny layer of cells, acting like a mirror, reflects light back to the retina's cells. So in near darkness, a cat's eyes collect what light there is and give the retina a second chance to absorb every photon. And domestic cats aren't the only ones with this light-enhancing device. Big cats like tigers and lions, woodland deer, ocean-dwelling whales and even your family dog all come equipped with the "bright carpet" feature. Cats can't see in absolute darkness, however. Shut up in a windowless, pitch-black room, a cat finds its cautious way by sniffing everything around it and listening carefully. Most importantly, a cat makes use of its two dozen or so long whiskers to get a feel for the room, as they brush against unseen objects in the dark. Because a cat's eyes are well-suited to dimness, you might guess that in bright sunlight, a cat might find it difficult to see--like a person emerging into sunlight, eyes dilated from an eye exam. When our human eyes are behaving normally, the pupils react to bright light by shrinking down to two tiny holes. Then, if we also begin to close our eyelids against the glare, we soon cut off all light from entering the shrunk-down pupils. But cat-eye pupils are vertical slits, which simply get narrower in bright light. The neat trick: Cats can lower or raise their eyelids to hide more or less of the slit, just like a window shade. This gives a cat more precise control than nearly any other animal over the amount of light entering his eyes. Scientists estimate that cats can see clearly in one-sixth the amount of light we humans would need.
2 people like this
• United States
12 Mar 09
Cats can see very well at night. The shape of the pupil allows a much wider opening, and they also have a tapetum lucidum which allows the light to reflect twice inside the eye for better absorbtion by the rods in the eye. The cat doesn't need a night light.
2 people like this
• United States
16 Mar 09
Cats can see far better inthe dark than people can. Also, they do not have fear of the dark like humans have; no one tells them ghost stories to frighten them. :-) Your kitten will be fine without a night light.
@youless (112100)
• Guangzhou, China
26 Mar 09
Dogs and cats can see things clearly at night without any lights. It is their talent. It doesn't matter whether you turn off the light or not for your kitten. I love China
1 person likes this
@Chay428 (65)
• United States
26 Mar 09
Hi. Cats can still see at night but they are not cconsidered as norturnal animal. They can see very well at night but can't see in total darkness.