Do cats really see in black and white?

I am curious to know if this is a myth or if it is actually true that cats see in black and white? Aren't they supposed to be known for really good vision and to be able to see really good in the dark? If so, how can they see that good if they do not see any color at all? I wonder what we look like to them. Have you ever wanted to see what it looks like from a cats point of view?

 

No, they don't see in black and white. They can make out other colors like blues, yellows, etc. They're not going to have an easy time distinguishing some browns, reds, etc, though. It would be more similar to someone being somewhat colorblind, I think, rather than only seeing in black and white.

And they see really well because it's about being about to detect movement. It doesn't matter what color something is in the distance if they are able to see it moving across a dark field, for example.

 

Oh!

Here:

http://www.kittyshow.com/cat_color_vision.html

Click through the page tabs at the top of the page and it will show you examples of what it looks like for a cat compared to a human. It also has a bunch of informaton about how their eyes work.

 

From what I know, it's dogs that see things in shades of gray. This is something that happens when everything is stationary. When something moves, it shows up in full color to the dog. I think this is how dogs can identify prey faster. I am not too sure about cats. All I know is that they hunt using their acute sense of smell and hearing.

 

Wow! I am so glad I read this, I had always heard that they see in black and white and it made me sad. I sort of refused to believe it. I found another article about it http://www.weetzies.com/cat-questions/do-cats-see-in-color-or-black-and-white/ and in it, it says that cats are missing one of the three cones that humans have. They do not have a cone for red. Well, this just made my day!

 

I also felt a little sad thinking that cats could only see in black and white. So it's a bit of a relief to learn it isn't true and only a myth.

 

Now that raises an interesting question, doesn't it? Considering that cats do not quite see colors the way that we do, how about the toys that we buy for our cats? We tend to buy colorful toys, right? So how colorful do those toys look to our cats?

 

Well here's an example:



So the brighter the toy, the more color they can actually pick up on, I think. They're not going to look anything like what they look like to us, though....especially if the toy has any red in it.

 

I think there may be a natural reason for this. Cats are basically nocturnal hunters. So, in the dark, color is not an important factor. The sense of smell and hearing is more critical. So probably over time, the successful cats that propagated became equipped with less color-sensing capability.

 

Exactly. Their sight sense is much more focused on being able to see slight movements in pitch black. Color doesn't matter when it's dark, ya know? To be able to pick up on small moves, though, would be crucial for hunting and defense even.

 

I think it was James Bond who said that all cats are gray in the dark. Apparently, everything looks like shades to gray to a cat in the dark, too. For navigation in the absence of sufficient lighting, cats use their whiskers, too.