{"id":8658,"date":"2020-02-04T10:00:55","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T16:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/?p=8658"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:08:09","slug":"why-do-cats-eyes-glow-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/health\/conditions\/why-do-cats-eyes-glow-in-the-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"20\/20 Vision: Why Do Cats’ Eyes Glow in the Dark?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The eerie glowing orbs peering at you from a dimly lit room can be a bit unsettling \u2014 and even downright scary to a toddler \u2014 until you realize your cat is behind them. No, your kitty doesn\u2019t transform into a monster at twilight, but instead is making the most of an extraordinary vision enhancement.<\/p>\n

What causes cats\u2019 eyes to glow in the dark? We\u2019ll explain.<\/p>\n

Eyes geared for low-light vision<\/h3>\n

Cats\u2019 eyes are similar to our own, but there are noteworthy differences \u2014 starting with modifications in key anatomical structures of the feline eye that enable superior vision in low-light conditions.<\/p>\n

The tapetum lucidum<\/em><\/strong>, also called the tapetum cellulosum in cats (and dogs), is a layer of highly reflective cells located behind the retina, which is the light-sensitive layer lining the back of the eye. The tapetum lucidum works like a mirror to reflect light back to the retina, which gives rods and cones of the retina another chance to pick up the limited amount of light available at dawn, dusk and night. In fact, the feline tapetum lucidum reflects about 130 times more light<\/a> than the human fundus<\/a>. The glow you see in a cat\u2019s eyes in the dark is a result of this reflective layer and how it interacts with incoming light.<\/p>\n

Another key factor that contributes to feline vision, especially in low-light conditions, is the concentration of rod photoreceptor cells<\/em><\/strong> in the feline retina. Their retinas have six to eight times more rods, which are much more sensitive to low light and motion, than human retinas. However, human retinas have about 10 times more cone photoreceptors, the light receptor cells that work best in bright light, than feline retinas. Cones are also responsible for color vision<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finally, because they have large corneas<\/em><\/strong> and pupils<\/em><\/strong> in relation to the size of the eye \u2014 about 50 percent larger than those of humans \u2014 more light can enter feline eyes. That definitely works in your cat\u2019s favor in dimly lit environments.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Curious as a cat?<\/h3>\n

Cats are fascinatingly unique creatures that have captured the imaginations of cat owners and scientists for centuries. If you\u2019d like to learn more about how cats \u201csee\u201d the world, check out this article from Tufts Catnip<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RELATED POST: Debarking Pet Myths: Cats Are Nocturnal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The eerie glowing orbs peering at you from a dimly lit room can be a bit unsettling \u2014 and even downright scary to a toddler \u2014 until you realize your cat is behind them. No, your kitty doesn\u2019t transform into a monster at twilight, but instead is making the most of an extraordinary vision enhancement. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"20\/20 Vision: Why Do Cats\u2019 Eyes Glow in the Dark?","_seopress_titles_desc":"Have you ever wondered why cats' eyes glow in the dark? Learn about the anatomical structure of your cat's eyes & the science behind this unique feline trait.","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[291,28],"tags":[100],"class_list":["post-8658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conditions","category-health","tag-cat"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}