Portrait of a Cat’s Eyes
In awe of beauty and design
Photographing Strays
During the first lockdown in Cyprus last year, I carried my camera with me on daily walks. As I began to photograph the ubiquitous stray cats, I noticed the intrinsic beauty of their eyes. Photographing them was never easy, however, due to their friendly, social nature. More often than not they would rub up against me or begin to roll about, begging to be cuddled!
One morning, I spotted my striped friend staring out from the shade of a bush. Quickly, I zoomed in with my automatic camera and produced the shot at the top of this article. The cat remained oblivious to my presence and continued to focus intently on a fellow feline.
Complex Design
The resulting photograph left me in awe of the striking colour and design of the cat’s eyes. I had never paid attention to the fact that the pupils are vertically elongated in the daylight. Intrigued, I began to do some research online about the structure of cats’ eyes.
I learned that the narrow pupil controls how much light enters the eye by working like the aperture of a camera¹. It can adapt much more quickly than a human eye, facilitating both day and night hunting. Overall a cat’s pupils can expand by 135-fold and can perform like built-in night vision goggles. By contrast human pupils expand by a factor of 15.²
According to a study by Martin Banks from the University of California, the unique design of the eye found in cats and other small predators also enables them to judge distance. To do this, the slit-shaped pupil enables both binocular vision and blur vision. Binocular vision helps judge vertical contours at a distance and blur vision focuses on closer objects with horizontal contours.³
‘Cat’s Eyes’
If you own a cat in your home, you may be accustomed to seeing its eyes glowing in the dark. Cats, along with other nocturnal animals, have tapetum lucidum (shining layer) at the back of their eyes. This is a ‘tiny mirror’ which reflects light to help them see at night.⁴
Light reflection in cats’ eyes on a dark night was the inspiration for Percy Shaw’s cat’s eyes on our roads. I have driven in countries where there are no cat’s eyes, only to have their value reinforced, especially on precarious foggy nights. How many lives have been saved by this wonderful invention!
The remarkable beauty and design of cats’ eyes is truly inspirational. My awe continues to grow as I photograph and study these charming creatures.
References
- “Here’s Why Cats Have Such Strange, Haunting Eyes, Explained” By Science by Julia Calderone, Business Insider
- “Why Do Cats Have Slit-Shaped Eyes?” by Belinda Smith, Cosmos
- “Pupil Shape Linked To Animal’s Place In Ecological Web” by Sarah Yang, Berkley News
- https://carnegiemnh.org/meowfest-why-do-cat-eyes-glow-in-the-dark/