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2023 Author: Alex Livingston | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 11:39
Why do the cat's pupils dilate or thin depending on particular events? The "causes" are due to the two determining factors: light and above all emotions!
Surely you have noticed how easily your cat switches to having them dilated to thinned pupils. This "phenomenon" is determined by two simple factors, which are light and emotions. Emotions also affect the movement of the eyelids as well.
The light
Let's start by saying that the sight of cats differs particularly from that of humans. It seems that the real difference lies in the retina of the eye. The retina, is that part of the eye, which plays the function of perceiving light and consequently send messages to the brain. It mainly consists of two key elements:
- cones: that allow you to perceive colors. The colors that are perceived by the retina are therefore green and blue, and lately, it has been discovered that they also pick up yellow and violet. The only colors that they cannot perceive are orange, red and brown.
- rods: which capture the 'Intensity of light and are responsible for the speed with which cats are able to pick up moving objects. Unlike humans, they are not very good at capturing the slowness of a movement.
With this premise we can now get to the center of our speech and explain why the cat thins or dilates the pupils in the presence of light.
Behind the retina is the " tapetum lucidum". That is, a layer of cells that perform the important action of intensifying the light perceived by the retina. The "tapetum lucidum", combined with the rods we mentioned earlier, are responsible for the dilation and thinning of the pupils.
With a low or almost no lighting the pupil yes dilates, while, otherwise the pupil will thins to reduce the entry of light that would divert the perception of an object.
In addition, the "tapetum lucidum" allows the cat to have one good night vision, as it amplifies the little light available. And it is also responsible for the "effect" of eyes that shine in the darkness!
The Emotions
We mentioned earlier that the pupils can be thinned or dilated based on the light present. But there is more!
Have you ever noticed the reaction of the pupils of a hungry cat to which his bowl of food was placed before? well, as you may have seen, the pupils are particularly dilated! this is due to one state of strong arousal and appears whenever it comes fulfilled his expectation.
The pupils very dilated we can find them in all those cases, in which the cat really has fear say something! If the pupils they are thinned, this is synonymous with what the cat is angry or is, at a given moment, dominant.
Even the eyelids are a bit like the mirror of a cat's soul! We can distinguish three ways in which the eyelids are used and which can be a clear signal for us humans:
- closed eyes: characterize, in addition to the sleep, also there surrender. They engage in this type of behavior when they feel their backs to the wall, almost as if to reduce the tension created.
- narrowed eyes: in this case it means that it has confidence of whoever has next to him or who is next to him ease in a particular environment or situation!
- eyes open or wide open: they testify to the discomfort that the cat is feeling at that moment and therefore its being particularly alert. This is because, perhaps, the cat perceives some situation hostile to him.
But, beware, cats are unpredictable and can easily go from one state to another, without us having the opportunity to realize it many times!
A dilated pupil can also be a health problem. You can learn more here: dilated pupil: the causes.
The eyes tell the cat and make us grasp the fundamental aspects of its existence. Discover also how we can understand their non-verbal language, but that they still manage to communicate all their intentions to us!
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