Choose Blue or Yellow for Cat Toys... The Reason They Can't See Objects Right in Front of Their Nose

You may have seen a cat wandering around because it cannot find a treat placed right in front of its nose, or catching the movement of a tiny insect with uncanny precision while distant objects appear blurry. This is because a cat's visual system is designed in a completely different way from humans. According to a video from 'Yoon's My Pet Counseling Center-Pet Clinic', cats do not have black-and-white vision that cannot distinguish colors, but rather a vision specialized for specific colors.

Red looks dull, while blue and yellow are vivid

It is a common misconception that cats see the world in black and white, but this is not true. While human eyes have three types of cone cells that detect red, green, and blue to distinguish various colors, cats only have two types of cone cells responsible for the blue spectrum and the yellow/green spectrum. According to research by American veterinary specialist Dr. Carrie Kattering, cats primarily see the world in combinations of blue, yellow, and grayish tones.

Because of this, red tones do not appear as bright colors to cats, but look blurry like dull grayish-browns. Therefore, when choosing toys for cats, it is better to select blue or yellow tones, which cats can distinguish most clearly from the background. However, a factor more important than color for cats is 'movement.' As innate ambush hunters, cats respond much more strongly to rapidly moving objects, like wand toys, than to stationary objects that are simply pretty in color.

They can't see objects right in front of them, but they are masters of distance measurement

A cat's visual acuity is significantly lower than that of a human. Something a human can see clearly from a distance of 60m, a cat must approach within 6m to see similarly. In particular, objects at a distance of 25–30cm right in front of their nose are out of focus and appear blurry, which is exactly why cats wander around unable to find treats right before their eyes. Cats compensate for this near-range visual limitation using their sensitive whiskers, with the whiskers performing the role of a 'second eye.'

However, they overwhelm humans in terms of distance measurement ability. A cat's field of vision reaches about 200 degrees, which is wider than a human's (about 180 degrees), and they have excellent depth perception due to a wide overlapping field of view between the two eyes. Thanks to this stereoscopic vision, cats can land accurately from high places onto narrow shelves or perfectly calculate the distance to prey to pounce in one go. Additionally, their kinetic vision for capturing moving objects is very sensitive, so they do not miss even tiny movements, but conversely, they have a characteristic where they do not easily notice objects moving very slowly.

The secret of night vision that shines in the dark

Cats have excellent night vision. They can identify objects with only one-sixth to one-eighth of the light required by humans. This ability stems from three structural features. First, they have far more light-sensing cells than humans. Second, there is a mirror-like membrane inside the eye called the 'tapetum lucidum' that reflects incoming light again, utilizing the light twice. The reason a cat's eyes flash in dark places is due to this reflective action.

The third is the vertically elongated pupil. These pupils open wide in dark places to take in as much light as possible, and in bright places, they narrow instantly to precisely regulate the amount of light. This is a result reflecting the characteristics of cat ancestors who mainly hunted at dusk and dawn. Ultimately, instead of sacrificing color detail or long-distance vision, a cat's eyes are designed to gain distance perception, movement detection, and powerful night vision optimized for hunting.