Well, let’s say that not all cats like to watch TV, and not always. I also cannot guarantee that there are no cats who do not like to watch TV, considering this activity useless and stealing precious hours of their life. However, it also happens that cats suddenly stare at the screen and stare at it, clearly watching what is happening. And those who are younger, in moments of chases, shots and other action, reacting to color, sound and frame changes, raise their paw and wag it, as if they are trying to help the main character who is in trouble.

My first cat didn't like to watch TV. He was of domestic origin, very lively, and always tried to sneak out of the house on some business of his own. If this failed, Chernysh preferred to look out the window rather than at the TV screen. Even when he reached old age, he did not change his habits, and when death approached him and he felt it, he went to die in the attic in order to face the inevitable in splendid isolation. But the second cat, a Persian named Kate, loved to watch TV. He sat down not far from the screen and looked melancholy at what was happening, clearly with the goal of killing time.

The current cat loves to watch TV. If two or more people gather in the living room, where there is a large TV, Kotya comes too. He lies down on the carpet or sits in his chair, and watches the entire program or movie with everyone else. He seems to especially like it when animals appear on screen. His interest is noticeable by his ears, which either stand up straight or press against his head, depending on what is happening on the screen. The impression that he is interested in what is happening and understands what the film or program is about is complete. Then, when the viewing ends and everyone leaves, Kotya sits for some time, impressed by what he saw and, obviously, continuing to worry, and then jumps off his chair and thoughtfully goes to have a snack.

And yet, why do cats love to watch TV?

Curiosity. It plays an important role here, since cats are naturally curious. When a kitten sees TV for the first time, he reacts to what is happening differently than adult cat or a cat: comes close to the screen, touches the characters with its paws, looks behind the TV, hoping to at least see something alive there. Having matured, the cat understands that the mouse shown on the screen cannot be grabbed. Therefore, she does not try to do this, but only watches her movements. What does she think about this - ask her about it yourself.

It is possible that some young cats mistake the screen for an indoor window. And all cats love to look out the window onto the street. That's why they sit close to the screen. With age comes the understanding that the screen is not a window at all, but sometimes something interesting and curious happens there too. Which can be observed from afar. Therefore, when they come into the living room to watch a series or program about animals - and cats have an increased interest in such programs - they sit on the floor or in a chair at a distance of one to five meters from the TV screen. It is at this distance from the object of visibility that a cat sees it most clearly.

Cats also love to watch TV because everyone watches it. A cat watching TV programs alone does happen, but much less often. And when the whole family gathers in the room watching TV, the cat also comes to watch it. And he sits with everyone, watching what is happening on the screen. Where everyone is, there she is. After all, family is family...

From time immemorial, the bewitching look of a cat has been surrounded by numerous beliefs and mystical speculations. Cats are even credited with the ability to see other world and its inhabitants. Today not all features cat vision studied by scientists. But some information about how cats see has already been received and confirmed by experts.

Features of cat vision

The cat's organ of vision differs sharply from the human one in structure and ability to perceive space. They have large, round eyes with a convex lens. The viewing angle of space is 270 degrees.

A special feature of cats is stereoscopic vision. Each eye receives its own image of an object, which is then combined by the brain into one three-dimensional picture. As a result, the predator receives accurate information about the location of the prey and the distance to it.

Everything that the left eye sees goes into right side brain and, conversely, the right eye transmits the image to the left half

The genetic memory of a predator makes animals react to moving objects. Stationary animals are practically of no interest to them. Watching a moving object, the animal begins to actively move its head up and down: this is how the cat changes its viewing angle and focuses on the prey.

This natural ability helps the predator calculate the distance to the prey down to the millimeter, which is why the cat’s jump is so accurate.

The special sensitivity of a cat's eyes is directly related to the structure of the pupil. It is located vertically and has increased elasticity. In bright light, it narrows, limiting rays from reaching the retina. Lack of lighting causes the pupil to dilate greatly, allowing more light to enter.

The sensitivity of a cat's eye is 6–8 times greater than that of a human. The reason for this is a special layer behind the retina called tapetum. It is a shell of vessels that look like mother of pearl.

How many colors can cats distinguish? Until recently, there was an opinion that cats do not distinguish colors. It was assumed that all objects looked gray to them, similar in shades to mice. The main reason for this was that color vision

the cat simply doesn’t need it, because they hunt at night. Recent research by scientists has refuted this claim. It has been proven that cats cannot distinguish only a few shades: orange, brown, red, green. Their eyes see blue, violet, gray,. yellow colors This perception is based on an increased number of cones in the eye, which decipher blue and green colors

Basically, the world from a cat's point of view looks bluish-gray, since they perceive purple and yellow colors worse.

There is no bright picture before the cat’s eyes, but her world is by no means gray

How far can he see

The maximum distance at which a cat can clearly see objects is 60 meters, but to him an image at such a distance looks like a solid blur. The range of vision is limited to a distance of 20 meters. Scientists explain this feature by the fact that the predator hunts from an ambush, and there is no need to distinguish distant objects.

At too close a distance, cats also do not perceive what is in front of their eyes. An object brought closer to the muzzle than 50 cm is recognized by the animal’s senses of touch. This feature should be kept in mind when playing with your pet.

Domestic predators most clearly see objects located at a distance of 75 cm to 6 m. They need this value to calculate the height and length of the jump for prey.

How they see in the dark

The idea that cats navigate in pitch darkness is a myth. The animal sees in minimal light. A cat only needs 10% of the lighting that a human needs. People cannot see anything in such illumination. But this animal is a predator, so its eyes are equipped with additional receptors that have increased sensitivity to light. The tapetum on the back wall of the retina, like a mirror, reflects light twice, which is why cats' eyes glow so much in the dark. In fact, the eyes do not glow, but reflect the rays that hit them.

Cats look at us with multi-colored eyes. The colors are like yellow amber, blue sea, blue sky, green grass or bright gold

Good orientation in the space of a dark room is explained by the fact that vision is not the only organ with which cats perceive the world. The secret of the animal is in the especially sensitive organs of touch - vibrissae.

Vibrissae (whiskers) are unique sensors that send information about surrounding objects to the cat’s brain.

What is the connection with the other world?

Cats often watch visible to humans objects. They suddenly jump up and start running around the room, knocking them over. At such moments, the animal’s pupils are dilated and its fur stands up. This behavior makes one believe that the cat sees the other world and its inhabitants. His gaze is accessible to what a person is unable to see.

When an animal looks into emptiness or, turning its head, examines an empty wall, there is no reason to worry. This is explained by the fact that even the quietest sounds that are alarming are accessible to a cat’s hearing. They do not come from the other world, but, quite possibly, from under the baseboard. The grandmothers’ assertion that at such moments the domestic predator communicates with the brownie is also from the realm of half-fairy tales.

Over the centuries, cats, thanks to their ability to see in the dark, have become the source of scary stories.

But the cat’s connection with a world unknown to man still exists. If pet begins to behave restlessly, for no apparent reason, it is advisable to consecrate the home. Esotericists claim that a cat, having noticed an otherworldly body on its territory, tries to protect its owner from it. First, the animal freezes, trying to assess the “alien”’s intentions. If the cat thinks that the uninvited guest is dangerous for the owner, she tries to force him out with her own energy. When the danger is too strong and the cat cannot cope with it, it may even leave the house. It is not uncommon for cats to return as unexpectedly as they left. This is how a pet is taken out of the home evil spirits

, and having gotten rid of it outside the walls of the house, he returns. Scientists do not see anything mystical in this behavior of cats and claim that any behavior of a cat is explained by its hypersensitivity

to sounds and smells.

But no evidence has been presented to refute the ability of cats to see the inhabitants of the other world, so you can still believe in the supernatural power of a cat’s vision.

How they see our world To see our world through the eyes of a cat, you need to look at a faded, blurry photograph. Nature has provided for the ability of predators to clearly see moving prey without paying attention to small details.

A cat's eyes do not provide a complete picture of the world, so their vision is supplemented by other senses.

Cats see immediately with their eyes, nose and whiskers - sensitive organs located on the face and tail. It is much more important for them to touch and smell an object than to just see it.

Do they see the image on TV and their reflection in the mirror?

Scientists are divided on the perception of images on a TV screen. Some argue that animals see flickering and movement of objects. To confirm this, many owners testify that their pets love watching animals on the screen, and after switching the channel they immediately lose interest in the TV.

Others are sure that TV programs in the eyes of animals look like static pictures replacing each other. They explain this fact by the fact that cat's eyes perceive images at a speed of 40 frames per second. In this case, the TV is configured for human perception, that is, 24 frames. For an animal to see movement on the screen, the frame must be updated 50 times per second.

In the mirror, the cat sees itself normally, but begins to hiss and flatten its ears. This behavior indicates fear. The image without odor and auditory vibrations is incomprehensible and causes fear.

How cats see humans

Pets see people as they are. They adequately assess height, recognize movements and voice. But animals see a clear picture only at a distance of 0.5 to 5 meters. At a distance of 7–10 meters, the pet sees only a silhouette and can recognize the owner by smell and voice.

There is an opinion that, in addition to a person’s physical body, cats can see his biofield. This ability can explain different attitudes towards strangers. The animal approaches some without fear, allows itself to be petted, and even goes into your arms. He doesn't let some strangers come close to him. The animal evaluates a person's aura and accurately determines who may pose a danger to him.

The ability to see aura is reflected in the cat's ability to determine sore spot on the owner's body. The pet draws out the negative energy of the owner, thereby having a beneficial effect on his health.

If a cat living in a house is constantly sick and no treatment helps, the owners should think about their own health.

By the way a domestic predator looks at a person, you can understand what kind of personality he has. this moment mood and guess his desires:

• peace and tranquility is expressed by squinting eyes and constricted pupils;
• fear is reflected in wide open eyes and maximally dilated pupils;
• when the pet intends to beg the owner for a treat, the gaze becomes intent, straight into the person’s eyes;
• if an animal, without looking away, looks at a person, periodically slowly closing its eyes, it expresses its love.

Vision problems: how to spot them

Cats suffer from various vision disorders quite often. The owner should be wary if the animal hides its eyes from bright light or often rubs its face with its paws. Signs of inflammation - frequent blinking of the pet, pus in the corners of the eyes, clouding of the whites, swelling of the eyelids. Any of these signs is a reason to immediately consult a veterinarian.

In those who are blind early age kittens' whiskers are much longer than those of their brothers. This is how nature compensates for the lack visual perception peace

Some eye diseases can cause complete blindness pet. It is difficult to notice vision problems in cats in order to take timely measures, since they are able to navigate in space even with complete blindness.

• The following signs indicate that vision problems have begun and should be checked:
• the animal does not jump to its favorite places located at a height or, when jumping, misses and falls;
• when moving around the house, he comes across moved or new furniture, objects standing in unusual places;
• your pet’s pupils do not constrict in bright light;
• stops responding to favorite toys;

when the pet looks at the owner, his gaze does not focus on him.

All these signs indicate a deterioration in the cat’s vision or the onset of blindness.

What to do if your cat begins to see poorly Unfortunately, it is not always possible to restore a pet’s vision, but this is not a reason to abandon a sick animal. The owner should organize the space of the home in such a way that the animal feels comfortable.

• Your pet can live a full life if you do the following:
• do not change the location of bowls with food and water;
• do not let the animal out into the street unattended, take it for a walk on a leash;
• in a new room, accustom the cat to the location of objects, without frightening them and allowing them to find their own way;

do not block the path with boxes, scattered toys and other objects.

Video: why cats' eyes glow in the dark

Cat vision is an area in which there are more mysteries than answers. Scientists continue to study the characteristics of these cute creatures, and every day we learn more about them. A person, first of all, must take care of the pet’s health, including its vision. At least once in our lives, each of us was interested in? The surrounding objects seem to them black and white

or colored? Or do PURS see pictures from the other world? You will find answers to these and other questions in our article today.

How cats see Cats are excellent at navigating in the dark. There is nothing surprising in this, it’s just that animals have special anatomical structure

pupil. At night, pets see our world as clearly as during the day.

If MURLYKA is hunting, her pupils dilate, if she is interested in something, they narrow.

Each cat's eye sees a separate picture, but it comes together. Moreover, the viewing radius of tailed animals is 200 degrees (for humans it is only 180).

Can cats see colors?

Perhaps one of the most interesting questions for every owner! Not long ago it was believed that PURS see our world in black and white, but this is not entirely true.

For cats there are no such bright colors as for humans, but they distinguish shades of blue, green and gray colors. All colors in eyes pets appear more faded, as if shrouded in a foggy haze.

Cats cannot distinguish between orange, yellow and red colors!

Photo source pinterest.com

Do cats see the other world?

There are rumors that our mustachioed friends can see things that are beyond the reach of human vision. Many cat owners believe that their Purr can see the other world. Why would a calm cat suddenly start rushing around the room or hissing, staring at the corner?

Whether this is true or not, we cannot say. But the cat perceives our world much wider, because she clearly hears ultrasound, even the slightest rustle and even sees light waves.

It is possible that it is precisely these features that are responsible for the fact that cats are credited with the ability to see other world.

Photo source

Cat vision is shrouded in secrets and riddles. Cats are credited with the unique ability to see in pitch darkness. Is it so? Let's try to figure it out.

Cats' vision is not quite the same as that of humans. Cats are predators by nature and need good vision to track and catch prey in any light level.

How does a cat's vision work?

The structure of a cat's eye is not very different from ours.

Although, a cat's pupil has a special structure and abilities. In the dark, it expands to the entire space of the iris, letting in the maximum light flux. In the light it narrows into a narrow slit so that the light does not injure the eye.

Retinal photoreceptors are divided into two types: rods and cones. Rods are twilight vision receptors that provide black and white perception. Cones are responsible for daytime vision and color perception. Like all nocturnal animals, the number of rods in cats exceeds the number of cones. In cats, this ratio is 25:1. Therefore, cats see well in the dark and can hunt at night.

Immediately behind the retina is the tapetum (Latin for “luminous wallpaper”) - a layer of the eye that accumulates and reflects light rays to the photoreceptors. Thanks to this, it increases twilight vision animal, and its eyes begin to glow in the dark.

How cats see day and night

The main distinguishing feature of cats' vision is its stereoscopicity and sharpness.

The visual acuity of cats is 7 times higher than that of humans. Cats' eyes look in one direction, so their field of vision is located in the center, which allows them to well judge the distance to objects and the speed of their movement.

Cats distinguish horizontally moving objects better than static ones. In addition, a cat's vision has a very wide viewing angle, it can reach 200-270 degrees.

Some breeds of cats (Siamese, Abyssinian, Oriental) are able to see a panoramic picture. The central objects of this picture will be clearly visible, while objects in the periphery will be blurry.

Day vision

During the day, cats see the world in blue, green and gray colors. The eyes of these animals are absolutely insensitive to the red spectrum, so even the sun is green-blue. But they capture up to 50 flickers per second - this is twice the speed of changing television frames. This explains the love of some pets for watching TV - they are attracted by the rapid change of static images.

Night vision

At night, the world around cats turns gray. Cats can distinguish up to 26 shades of gray. However, many people are mistaken that cats can see in complete darkness. No, that's not true. Indeed, due to the structural features of the retina of a cat's eye, these animals see well in low light conditions. Cats calmly move around the apartment when everyone is sleeping; in street life - they catch mice in the light of the moon. But when complete absence sources of light, the cat does not see anything, just like a person.

Do cats see colors?

This problem has worried humanity for a long time, for a long time The vision of wild and domestic cats was considered monochrome - black and white.

The exact answer to the question was given only in the middle of the 20th century. It has now been reliably proven that a cat's eye is capable of distinguishing the slightest shades gray– up to 26 shades. The animal perceives “cold” shades best.

Gray is the most important color for our pets. This is the color of rats, mice, and some birds, which this predator feeds on in nature.

In addition, the cat distinguishes colors: blue, green, purple and yellow. The animal may confuse the last two colors with white.

So, the cat distinguishes colors:

• black;
• gray (with all shades);
• white;
• green;
• blue;
• blue.

Red, brown, orange shades are completely inaccessible to the pet's eye. Also, multi-colored combinations are not perceived.

Why do cats' eyes glow?

Why cats' eyes emit a green or yellow glow in the dark is the second question, the answer to which man could not find an answer for a long time.

Because of this amazing ability, cats were attributed magical otherworldly properties. It was believed that they could talk to spirits and play with brownies.

In fact, the answer is simple - the eyes do not glow, but reflect the light entering them. The structure of the cat's eyes contains back wall from crystals - tapetum. Such a mirror wall is present in the structure of the eyes of all predators that hunt in the dark.

She reflects Sun rays on photoreceptors, thereby causing the cat's eyes to glow. No mysticism - a common physical phenomenon called photoluminescence! The reflected light has a wavelength corresponding to the green part of the spectrum. That's why a cat's eyes glow in the dark with green and yellow light. There will be no source of external light - the glow will disappear.

How does a cat's vision differ from a human's?

This article talked a lot about how a cat sees. About the similarities between her vision and human vision and the differences. Let's try to summarize this information.

So, what do cats and humans have in common:

1. Structure of the retina: rods and cones.
2. Binocular vision (stereoscopic) is the ability to look with two eyes and combine the result into a single image.
3. Ability to distinguish colors.

1. The ratio of rods and cones in the retina. In cats it is 25:1, in humans it is 4:1. That's why cats see better in the dark.
2. Viewing angle (perspective) of the eye. In humans it is 160-180, in cats it is 185-270 degrees.
3. A cat's visual acuity is 7 times higher than a human's.
4. In the dark, a cat's eyes glow due to a special layer (tapetum) that accumulates and reflects sunlight.
5. Cats have a slit pupil, which can either expand to cover the entire iris or contract to the size of a narrow slit.
6. A cat's eye can distinguish 6 colors plus 26 shades. The human eye perceives from 100 to 150 shades of color.
7. All cats are nearsighted. They don't see well up close. Animals explore objects in their immediate vicinity using their sense of smell and touch (whiskers).

All distinctive features The cat's vision from people is the result of its predatory origin and nocturnal lifestyle.

Probably everyone already knows that each species of animal sees the world differently. Cats and dogs are no exception. Today we will talk in detail about how our best friends from the animal world see.

Many people believe that cats see in the dark as well as during the day. This is a common misconception. In fact, cats see in the dark a little better than people (they have eyes, not headlights). But! Our cats have been accustomed to hunting in the dark for a long time, and this is what explains their unusual eye structure. Eyeball in “felines” it lies deep in the orbit and in order to better see an object located in the peripheral area, the cat has to constantly turn its head.

It’s not for nothing that they talk about a person who can navigate well in the dark - he sees “like a cat.” A cat's eyes are distinguished by their hypersensitivity and can cover a vision area of ​​270º. And if you also take into account that this animal is very nimble with a constantly rotating head, then it turns out that the cat has a full all-round view.

Cats are farsighted animals! It's connected with characteristic feature the structure of their lens. If cats could read, then they would have to hold the newspaper at a distance 2 times greater than we do, that is, not 30-40 cm, but as much as 80 cm. But cats see poorly beyond 8-10 meters again. A cat's eyes are directed forward and their visual fields overlap - this provides stereoscopic vision.

Due to the peculiarity of the DNA structure in the cells of the retina, the cat sees well even at night. In the eye (including the human eye) there are two types of hypersensitive cells - cones and rods. Cones provide accurate and clear vision, helping to see all the colors of the world, and rods are responsible for twilight vision. In our eye, the rods are scattered throughout the retina and the closer they are to each other, the better a person sees. In the cat's eye, the rods are deployed so that the cells form microlenses. Cats detect even faint light: at dusk, cats see 10 times better than us. The rays do not scatter, but are concentrated in one direction.

In addition, rods help to follow very fast movement, so a cat can easily follow, for example, the movement of a point from laser pointer, although at the same time a person sees slowly moving objects 10 times better.

In addition, a cat's pupil can dilate in low light and increase in diameter up to 1 cm, which allows it to capture the maximum amount of light. And the ability of a cat's pupil to constrict to a narrow vertical slit is a remarkably effective way to reduce light output. When you see that a cat is squinting, know that this is not from bright light, but from pleasure.

IN cat's eye There is a specific mirror layer that is located behind the retina. Even weak rays of light are reflected from it. It is because of this that the cat's eyes glow in the dark! This layer also works as an amplifier for the perception of light: thanks to it, the retinal rods receive a charge of irritation.

And finally, cats see better than us in the dark, as they can distinguish up to 25 shades of gray. But in the light we can see details worse than we can. And they don’t care what color the food is! It is believed that cats do not see the color red at all.

Nikolay Lamm published a series of photographs in which he showed how people see the same picture and how cats see the same picture. To create the project, he consulted with ophthalmologists and veterinarians to highlight the main differences between felines and human vision, and then modeled photographs illustrating these differences.

Look a series of photographs by Lamm, in the creation of which he took into account all these factors. The top image shows the world through the eyes of a person, while the bottom image shows it through the eyes of a cat.

The city panorama is blurry because the cat cannot clearly distinguish objects located at a distance of more than six meters.

The top photo has black rectangles on the sides, showing areas that the human eye cannot see. Cats have a wider field of vision, so there are no black rectangles in the bottom photo.

If a cat flew a plane over San Francisco, she would see it in a fog.

Cats see the world less brightly due to a different set of receptors on the retina.

Times Square through the eyes of a cat.

But at night, cats have an advantage over humans. They see much better in the dark.

While figuring out why cats see in the dark, scientists also determined the role of the vertical pupils of domestic cats. It turned out that this pupil shape better protects light-sensitive eyes during the day. Human eyes are less receptive, and therefore an ordinary round pupil is “enough” for us. But we see better in bright light. And since cats see just fine in the dark, they had to sacrifice daytime vision - on a bright sunny afternoon, the cat sees objects a little blurry and indistinct.

What kind of vision do giant cats have? Night or day? After all, the pupils of a lion, cheetah or tiger do not form vertical slits. It turns out that large cats are not truly nocturnal predators, although they are sometimes active at night. Ethologists believe that leopards, tigers and lions are typical daytime hunters who, if desired, go out to hunt at night, for example, if it is too hot during the day.

In the dark, a cat's pupil becomes huge - a larger surface absorbs more light. Once on the retina, the light is reflected from the “mirror” and returns to the nerve endings. Thanks to the reflective ability of the “mirror,” the cat’s eyes glow in the darkness of the night and in photographs. This flickering has long frightened superstitious people, causing them to wonder whether cats see ghosts, can see into the future and whether they have magical powers.

Do cats see TV, that is, the image on the screen? Most scientists believe that cats see only flickering and only sometimes notice objects if they are moving quickly. It is believed that the cat is unable to understand what is happening. However, many owners note that their cats love watching programs about animals (by the way, there are films made specifically for cats). It’s interesting that mustachioed “movie buffs” continuously watch the flight of birds or a tiger hunt, even if the sound is turned off. As soon as you change the channel, the cat, losing interest, leaves or lies down to take a nap. Therefore, for some scientists, the question of a cat’s perception of the image on the screen remains open.

How dogs see

Color perception of dogs and humans

Dogs, as you know, understand everything - they just don’t speak. Anyone who has ever looked into a dog’s eyes will no longer doubt this truth. But this is how they see it the world? What do we seem to them like? In general, what are the true views of our little brothers? The questions of the editors of the journal "Science and Life" are answered by the head of the department of small domestic and exotic animals of the Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology. K. I. Scriabin doctor veterinary sciences, Professor E. KOPENKIN and veterinary ophthalmologist, Candidate of Medical Sciences A. SHIKIN.

I would like to start with a very trivial question. Do dogs still distinguish colors or not?

A. Sh.: And you know, this is not such a trivial question. The fact is that until recently it was believed that dogs do not distinguish colors and see the world in black and white. However, recent studies conducted in the USA have shown that dogs have color vision - albeit somewhat different from that of humans.

The structure of the eye plays a role here. Cones are responsible for the perception of color, and there are fewer of them in the retina of a dog's eye than in ours. In addition, the human retina contains three types of cones, each of which responds to a different range of color. Some of them are most sensitive to long-wave radiation - red and orange, others - to medium-wave radiation (yellow and green), and others react to blue, indigo and violet.

Dogs do not have red-sensitive cones. Therefore, they do not perceive the difference between yellow-green and orange-red colors - it is similar to how colorblind people see. And what you and I perceive as blue-green may appear white to a dog. But these animals are much better than man distinguish shades of gray. And it’s not just that there are more rods in the retina of a dog’s eye - light-sensitive cells responsible for vision in the twilight. Most likely, their rods themselves are more sensitive than those of humans. This is why dogs have good night vision.

That is, they see better than a person in the dark?

A. Sh.: Much better - three, or even four times. Dogs are so-called transitional animals (something between diurnal and nocturnal). Therefore, it is important for them to see well in any light. The retina of a dog's eye can be roughly divided into two halves: upper and lower. Top provides better vision against the backdrop of dark earth. Behind the photoreceptors of the upper half there is a reflective membrane. Light entering the eye is reflected by the membrane, like the reflector of a car headlight. The reflected rays, in turn, are also captured by rods and cones. It looks like two rays instead of one.

A Bottom part The retina contains a dark pigment that absorbs “extra” light rays. Due to this, the dog's eye works optimally in strong light conditions.

Is daytime vision in dogs the same as in humans?

A. Sh.: No. Firstly, as we have already said, they perceive colors differently. But that's not even the main thing. The fact is that there are fundamental differences in the structure of the eye of a human and a dog. In the human eye there is something called " yellow spot". It contains only cones and is located in the center of the retina, on the optical axis of the eye. Thus, it is the cones that receive straight rays of light, not distorted when passing through the cornea and lens. The rods are located along the rest of the retina.

Dogs do not have a yellow spot. Therefore, their visual acuity is approximately three times lower than that of humans. If we wanted to test a dog’s vision using a regular test chart that hangs in the ophthalmologist’s office, then the dog - theoretically, of course - would only discern the third line. Let me remind you that a person with normal vision reads the tenth.

So dogs are nearsighted?

E.K.: This is a fairly common misconception. We conducted extensive research and found that dogs have low farsightedness (up to +0.5 diopters). This is about the same as most adults. So it's not a matter of myopia. Visual acuity is simply not important for a predator. The ability to see equally well both during the day and at night and to clearly identify the object of hunting is important. Hence their ability to see a moving object better than a stationary one. Due to the fact that there are more rods in the dog's eye, it can see a moving object at a distance of 800-900 meters. The dog can distinguish the same object, but motionless, only from 600 meters. This is why you should not run from a dog. Her instinct kicks in and she immediately perceives you as prey.

Another advantage of a dog is that it is more precise definition distances. It can be assumed that this is achieved due to the fact that the rods are located near the optical axis of the eye (where a person has a macula, in which there are no rods). At close range, a dog's eyes are less focused than ours. A person is able to focus vision on objects located just a few centimeters away. For a dog, anything closer than 35-50 cm looks blurry.

What is their field of view?

E.K.: Also not the same as ours. The human eye has a field of vision in the shape of a circle, while in a dog it is “stretched” to the sides. In addition, our eye axes are parallel, but a dog’s eyes are located so that their optical axes diverge by about 20 degrees. Due to this, the dog's field of view is 240-250 degrees - approximately 60-70 degrees more than that of a person. These are, of course, average numbers. A lot depends on the breed - the structure of the skull, the location of the eyes and even the shape of the nose are important. In dogs with wide muzzles and short noses (for example, Pekingese, Pug, English Bulldog), the eyes diverge at a relatively small angle. Therefore, they have more limited peripheral vision. Narrow-faced hunting breeds with an elongated nose, the axes of the eyes diverge at a large angle, therefore, the field of view will be very wide. Which is understandable: for hunting, such quality is simply necessary.

Probably, in the wild relatives of the dog, who live by hunting, all the features of vision appear even more clearly?

E.K.: Actually, research in this area is still sporadic. But the logic is this: wild animals have better vision. For example, monkeys see three times better than humans. The number of rods in the retina of a wolf's eye is higher than that of a dog, so their vision is most likely sharper. Animals that live at home gradually lose the qualities characteristic of their wild relatives. But color perception in wolves is approximately the same as in dogs. So the red flags that are used when hunting wolves are relative. Wolves do not distinguish the color red.

For a dog, the main thing is not vision, but smell, right?

A. Sh.: Not necessarily the sense of smell. It depends on the breed. If a dog has erect ears (a shepherd, for example), then hearing will be the main thing for it. And if they hang like a spaniel, then the main thing is really the sense of smell.

And vision, of course, fades into the background or third place. This is why dogs don't recognize themselves in the mirror. For you and me, vision is about 90 percent of the information we receive about the world. But in dogs and cats, the image is formed largely from hearing and smell. So a visual object that does not smell or make any sound is pure abstraction for them.

Is that why animals don't watch TV?

A. Sh.: This is a very interesting question. Here the matter is different. The frequency at which the human eye perceives alternating frames as a moving image is 50-60 hertz. In dogs, this frequency is higher - about 80 hertz. Of course, TVs are designed for humans. And the dog sees flashing pictures instead of a movie. However, new generation TVs have a frequency of 100 hertz, so soon dogs will have something to watch. By the way, several films have already been made specifically for animals.

The conversation was conducted by a special correspondent for the magazine "Science and Life" E. Zvyagina.