Why Do Cats Pupils Get Big – The Unique Answer

Cats’ eyes are beautiful and fascinating to look at, especially their slit-shaped pupils. Their eyes help them see in darkness—they are nocturnal—and serve as an organ of communication. Hence, you can determine a cat’s emotion and mood by the size of its pupil. Why do cats pupils get big?

Extreme excitement or fear could be the reason for the large size of a cat’s pupils.

Now that you know about the emotion and mood that a cat with big pupils communicates, you may have other unanswered questions. Let’s dive in to learn more about what the size of a cat’s pupils depict and many more.

Do All Cats Have Slitted Pupils?

Yes! They all have slitted pupils for vision regulation.

All cats have slitted pupils, which may also be called vertical pupils. The slitted pupils feature found in cat eyes is primarily due to their lifestyle. Cats are active during the day and night; hence, they will need specific features to achieve this lifestyle; they need a set of perfect eyes for the various intensity of light and darkness.

Their eyes—with slitted pupils—are an essential feature that makes cats live up to being active animals during the day and night. This is because the pupils fluctuate and adjust to light and darkness by constricting and dilating. The pupils constrict during the day to protect the cat’s retina by regulating the amount of light reaching the retina.

On the contrary, the cat’s pupil dilates to ensure more light gets to the retina for clear vision. Therefore, since all cats (except big cats like tigers) are known to be active animals (day and night), they all have vertical or slitted pupils.

Why Do Domestic Cats Have Slit Pupils And Big Cats Don’t

This is because of their unique lifestyle. The lifestyle of a cat (domestic and wild cat) determines the shape of its pupils.

Studies and research have been carried out to find out the answer to this question. Varieties of answers were discovered, all of which depend on the cat’s lifestyle. Ambush predators, like domestic cats, are the type of animals that often have slit-shaped pupils. On the contrary, active foragers, like tigers, lions, and other big cats known for chasing their prey down often have round pupils.

Lastly, the other significant reason domestic cats have slitted pupils is that cats are usually active during the day and night. The slit pupils help them regulate the amount of light that enters their eyes to improve their visibility, irrespective of how dark their surroundings may be.

What Does A Cat’s Pupil Size Mean?

The size of a cat’s pupils, together with its shape, portrays the cat’s emotion and sensitivity to light.

The pupils of cats are vertical and have a slit shape. The vertical and slit-shaped pupils of cats show that they are relaxed. Meanwhile, this shape often fluctuates in sizes and shapes at intervals. As said earlier, the various shapes and sizes define a cat’s mood and emotion.

A cat can have round or narrow pupils. Cats with big round pupils are extremely excited or scared. Cats with narrow pupils are aroused either by anger or pleasure. Narrow pupils with squinted eyes depict aggression. On the contrary, a cat relaxing and purring with narrow pupils is showing a sign of great pleasure.

Why Do Cats’ Eyes Dilate Before Attacking?

Cats’ pupils often dilate, ensuring light enters their eyes to get a clear view of their prey before attacking and hunting them by leaping.

If you pay attention to your cat’s eyes when it is about to attack a catnip mouse, you will find that they have dilated pupils. The dilation of a cat’s pupils ensures their eyes have the maximum light they need to see before attacking their prey. Hence, cat pupils are often dilated anytime they are hunting. You will notice this change in their pupils when they are about to leap on another cat, a toy, insect, or anything that appears as prey to them at that time.

If the cat’s pupil dilates when it looks at a human, it signifies that the cat is about to defend itself by attacking. Hence, it would help if you backed off when seeing a cat staring at you with dilated pupils.

Why Do Cats Pupils Get Big At Night?

The pupils of cats usually get bigger at night to improve their vision.

Generally, the eyes of a cat feature pupils that have vertical or slit shapes. However, this pupils feature is a feature found in nocturnal animals, like bats. The primary purpose of these slit-shaped pupils is to control or regulate the amount of light that enters the cat’s retina, especially at night, for clarity in vision.

Cats usually dilate and constrict their pupils for sight clarity or good vision. The dilation and constriction of the cat’s pupils are often due to the availability of light around them. Since their eyes are highly sensitive to light, their pupils often constrict on brighter days; hence, protecting the cat’s retinal during the day.

On the contrary, the cat’s eyes respond differently to darkness. Their pupils adjust in dim or dark areas to ensure maximum light reaches their retina to see better in the dark; hence, cats are known as nocturnal animals. Therefore, for cats to see clearly at night, their pupils will dilate, which usually makes their eyes look bigger at night.

Why Are My Old Cats’ Eyes Always Dilated?

It can be due to various reasons that include blindness, overstimulation, chronic pains, age-related atrophy, and other health problems.

Generally, cats’ pupils usually dilate in response to the availability of light with the primary purpose of improving their vision. Cats’ pupils also fluctuate in round and narrow shapes to depict the cat’s emotion or mood. Meanwhile, irrespective of the reason behind the cat’s pupils dilation, the dilation should not last longer than a few hours before changing to its normal shape.

If the dilation of a cat’s slit-shaped pupils appears to be constant, you should visit a vet. This is because the constant dilation of your cat’s pupil means it is experiencing various health problems. These health conditions may include blindness, age-related atrophy, ocular tumors, and hypertension.

Conclusion

Cats pupils control the light that enters the retina for clarity in vision in the day and night (nocturnal animal). Meanwhile, the cat’s slitted pupils do more than control the lights that reach the retina. The pupils also portray the mood and emotion of the cat. Lastly, the dilation of the cat’s pupils should be periodic. It would be best to visit your veterinarian when your cat’s pupils do not contract because it signifies various health issues.

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