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Name: Eliot
Status: Student
Age: 14
Date: 2/15/2004
Question:
Do cats see better with the light on or in the dark?


Replies:
Hi Eliot!

To see one needs light, any one even the cats. But the felines have generally nocturnal habits, so the commom belief that they see better at night. The retina of the cat´s eye is made extra sensitive to light by a layer of the purine base guanine, that causes the eyes to shine at night when reached by a strong light. The eyes are quite large and have pupils that expand or contract (as slits) according to the density of light and do not distinguish colours clearly.

Thanks for asking NEWTON!

Mabel (Dr. Mabel Rodrigues)
Better in the light... but they do see much better than we do in the dark.

Phillip Raclyn, DVM CVA


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