do cats see things that aren’t there

This is an elegant way of finding out about how amodal completion works in cats — and, by extension, how they perceive the world. In some very real sense, cats do see things that are not there. This is yet another way in which they are very much like humans.

What they know that we do not is that there are patterns on flowers that indicate the presence of nectar and a landscape that has been tainted by urine. Those sights would be useful: for example, the urine trails could indicate the presence of prey. Regarding predators, Douglas notes that because snow reflects UV rays and white fur does not, reindeer can see polar bears against the snow when humans might not be able to. Thus, include rodents, hedgehogs, bats, ferrets, and okapis on the list in addition to reindeer.

More animal stories can be found on Newser, a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the Web. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

The researchers came to a new conclusion by reviewing the eyes of dead mammals, then measuring how much light passed through the lens to the retina. LiveScience reports some animals lenses permitted some UV light to pass through, indicating they can detect UV.

While weve known for a century that many invertebrates (Discovery News gives bees as an example) see UV, it has long been assumed that the majority of mammals had lenses like our own, which block UV from reaching the retina, says study co-author Ronald Douglas.

(NEWSER) – You would probably be seeing a lot more than you do now if you could see the world through your pet’s eyes. According to recent research, certain animals, including cats and dogs, may be able to see things that are invisible to the human eye. According to a paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, that’s because they can see UV light.

Cats See What We Can’t

There actually is something scientific to the kind of horror movie scenario mentioned above. According to an article by Live Science, cats and other sensitive animals, like dogs or deer, can see certain kinds of light, such as ultraviolet (UV) light that we humans simply can’t see.

That may explain some unusual behavior in our cats. Your cat friend may be seeing something you’re not able to see if they start gazing off into a corner of the room.

It’s difficult to say, but it’s probably not a ghost. In the end, neither they nor we can see what they are seeing.

This means that more sensitive animals are seeing a lot of things in the world that we aren’t, like patterns on flowers and in the fur of other animals. These patterns, visible through UV light are completely invisible to the human eye, which does not see ultraviolet rays.

FAQ

Why does my cat seem to see things that aren’t there?

That according to new research that has found that cats, dogs, and select other animals may be able to see things that are invisible to the human eye. That’s because they’re able to see UV light, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Why does my cat keep staring at something that isn’t there?

There are several reasons that might help explain why your cat is staring at the wall — from spotting something we haven’t, to being in hunting mode, to simply being a bit, well, mysterious. But, on some occasions, staring at the wall for long periods can also be a sign something serious is going on.

Why does my cat act like she sees something?

They will chase, or are chased by, things that people can’t see. This is perfectly normal. The period of frenzied imaginary chases is sometimes called crazytime or kitten crazies. This is most often true of kittens who live alone; if there is another cat they will usually chase their buddy instead.

Why is my cat looking at something I can’t see?

Why does my cat keep staring at something that isn’t there? In fact, your cat’s vision can span 200^o while ours is only 180^o. This means your cat has much wider peripheral vision than humans. You may think your cat is staring at nothing, but they may actually be watching a bug or a shadow on the wall.