Cat Eyes Secrets and Functions – Johnny’s Anatomy #2

Cat eyes are so large. Those eyes never fail to attract humans. But do they have other functions other than catching humans’ hearts? Absolutely, yes! Cats live at night. And they are hunters at heart. Those are the hints. Let’s dig into getting to know the function of cat eyes and see the world through their eyes.

POINT BREEZE KINGDOM – NIGHT

It’s time to go to bed, Your Majesty.

Servant H is making the bed for Johnny.

Huh? Right. I’ll come over there now.

Johnny climbed off of the desk and walks to his bed.

Have a good night’s sleep, Your Majesty.

Yes. You will, too H.

After a midnight…

Cat Eyes at Night

The full moon sits high in the sky. Johnny slips outside of the bed and leaves the room. He enters the office and jumps on to the desk. He sits in front of the window looking out the window. He patiently watches something.
Servant H notices the noise and wakes up. H enters the office, too.

What are you doing up this late, Your Majesty? It’s past midnight, you should go back to your bed.

Johnny doesn’t react to H’s remark. He doesn’t even look back to see H.

Your Majesty…?

Johnny turns back slowly and looks at Servant H.

Servant H gasps at the sight of Johnny. His eyes are glowing under the moonlight.

…!

Johnny is back with his normal self and talks to Servant H.

Did I surprise you? Sorry, H.

H is still speechless.

I was on a night watch.

Servant H nods.

Don’t tell Y I’m on a secret mission. Our ancestors used to be great hunters. Some of our outdoor fellows still are. Here I am in my kingdom where I don’t have to run after rodents, I become a watcher. A great watcher.

A great watcher?

Yes. I keep my sharp sense by watching at night. To make sure there aren’t any intruders. Night is my friend. You can go back to sleep. I’ll keep watching.

H nods and goes back to the bedroom.

AT THE LAB IN POINT BREEZE KINGDOM – MORNING

Cat Eyes’ Anatomy

Servant H is at the bookshelves, looking for something.
Servant Y enters the lab.

Morning, H. You up early.

H doesn’t look up from a book she’s reading.

Hey.

She responds absent-mindedly.

What’s you are up to?

On those eyes.

Those eyes?

Yeah. Those cat eyes. Hmm… I see…

Servant H turns over pages.

Gigantic Eyes to its Propotion

The first thing we notice about cats’ eyes, its size. Cats’ eyes are significantly large when compared to the size of their head.[1]

Their body and its function are specialized for hunts. Therefore, their eyes are keen to subtle movements rather than its colors.

That’s interesting. Does our king see colors?

Let’s see… Yeah. Not like as we do see colors, but cats can tell the difference of colors. Some say they can recognize purple, blue and green. Other say they can tell difference only between blue and yellow. Opinions are divided over this topic. Red seems to be hard to perceive. It probably looks grayish to cats. Overall, color doesn’t play a big role in a case of hunting.

H rubs her chin.

Now I remember why Andy, his big brother, looked up at the corner of the room. He was so intent I wonder what he was seeing. It should have been something so small, like a spider web clinging in the air or a tiny bug.

H turns over pages and reads important lines out.

Cats can easily see in low light like moonlight, and even in dark environments, the human eyes cannot see in. They have a unique layer which makes them able to see in the dark. The light that falls on the back of the eye is reflected back to the retina. Some of the reflected light turns back from the lens and causes the eyes to shine at night…[2] Ah! This is it. This is what I saw last night!

What you saw?

Glowing Eyes

Our king’s eyes were glowing at night, I was amazed and stunned.

What was he doing?

That’s what I don’t know of…

H turns her eyes from Y and looks away.

Hmm.

Oh, and other characteristic feature of cat eyes, they have a third eyelid.

A third eyelid?

Yes. You cannot see their third eyelid in a usual occasion. You may be able to see them when a cat suddenly wakes up from her sleep. It prevents the cat’s eye from being harmed and keeps eyes moist. Hence, they don’t have to blink their eyes all the time as we humans do.

We rarely see our king blink his eyes as I recall.

Right. It’s all for hunting cause. I saw the eyes of a hunter last night…

While H is recalling Johnny’s eyes last night, Servant Y takes the book out of H’s hands.

What else we didn’t know about his eyes…

Y turns pages.

Anything nearer than about a foot away, cats can’t focus due to their huge eyes. Hmm. Indoor cats tend to be shortsighted.

Y strokes his chin and goes on.

They can keep track of rapidly moving prey. However, their large size eyes do not move smoothly. It moves in a series of jerks so that the cat’s brain can process each separate image clearly. This is to avoid image blurring[3].

That’s why! Somehow, cats’ eyes look like its robots’. It gives me a sense that they see something different.

Servant Y and H hear Johnny climbs down from upstairs.

You two up early today. Good for you.

Johnny sits in front of them and starts to scratch his ear.

Good morning, Your Majesty.

Morning. I heard you talking. What’s about it?

It’s about your eyes, Your Majesty.

Johnny’s eyes are half-open.

What have you found about my eyes?

We’ve learned how functional and beautiful your eyes are.

No doubt about it.

References

[1] The Anatomy of a Cat’s Eye (Hubpages)

[2]Cats’ eyes with sharp night vision (HARUN YAHYA)

[3]How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Cat (CATSENSEBOOK)

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Also published on Medium.