How Dogs and Cats See the World

Humans perceive the environment primarily through their eyes. But how do our dogs and cats actually see the world? Various parameters play an important role here, which we will briefly discuss below.

Less Colorful
Which colors a living being can recognize depends on the type of photoreceptor cells present on the retina in the eye. In the human retina, the so-called cones dominate. There are various types of these, each responding only to specific wavelengths of light and thus important for distinguishing colors. Humans have three different types of cones, whereas dogs and cats only have two types. Therefore, they do not see the same color spectrum, but essentially have red-green color blindness. The world is therefore likely to appear blue-grey-yellow to them.

This is how humans see it:	This is how dogs and cats see it:

Much Better in the Dark
Another type of photoreceptor cells, the so-called rods, are much more light-sensitive than cones. They are responsible for seeing something even in low light. However, colors cannot be distinguished with them. These light-sensitive rods dominate in the retina of dogs and cats. Additionally, a reflective layer at the back of the eye ensures that incoming light is optimally utilized. Cats and dogs therefore see almost as well at dusk and at night as they do during the day.

Blurry
Visual acuity refers to the ability to distinguish individual objects from one another. It depends on various anatomical conditions in the eye, such as the number of photoreceptor and optic nerve cells, or the shape and mobility of the lens. In general, it can be said that dogs and cats have a much lower ability to see sharply than humans. Anything further than approx. six meters away, they can no longer focus on particularly well. Dogs also have an extremely limited ability to focus up close: objects that are closer than 30 to 50 cm cannot therefore be seen sharply by them.

From a Different Perspective
It is often forgotten that the perception of the environment is very strongly determined by perspective. This means: The distance of the observer's eyes from the ground is very crucial for what they see.

This is what a cat sees:	This is what a medium-sized dog sees:	This is what a human sees:

Compared to human vision, the eyesight of dogs and cats is therefore significantly reduced in terms of color vision and visual acuity. However, they see much better in poor light conditions. In addition, other senses – such as smell and hearing – play a major role in their perception of the environment and are accordingly much more highly developed.