Can cats see in the dark?

Cats aren’t nocturnal – but that doesn’t stop them playing in the middle of the night. So how well can cats see in the dark? Discover everything you need to know below.

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When the sun goes down, many cats still love to play late into the night. Rather than being nocturnal, cats are crepuscular – meaning they’re most active at dawn and dusk. But how well can cats see in the dark?

Can domestic cats see in the dark?

While domestic cats can’t technically see in complete darkness, their eyes are far better adapted than ours for low-light conditions. Here’s why.

Cats’ eyes have large corneas

The cornea – or transparent outer layer at the front of the eye – allows light to enter. In relative terms, a cat's cornea is 50% larger than ours. That means that more light can enter a cat’s eyeballs compared to humans. So when we think it’s pitch black, a cat’s eyes can still detect what little light there is.

Large corneas also mean cats have a wider field of vision than humans. While humans have a field of vision spanning 180 degrees, a cat’s field of vision extends to 200 degrees, helping them detect movement to the side of their bodies. 

Cats’ pupils are slit-shaped

Many animals, including humans, have circular pupils. But a cat’s pupils are shaped like an oval or slit. This means they can adjust to both low-light and bright daylight conditions. Oval-shaped pupils are more common in predators that ambush their prey at dawn or dusk – like cats. Their vision is clearest when looking at objects around six metres away – the perfect distance to pounce on that toy or prey.

Cats’ pupils can also dilate more than ours, allowing their eyes to detect far more light. While a human pupil can expand up to 15 times greater than when it is smallest, a cat’s pupil can expand by 135 times from its smallest size.

Cats’ eyes have a reflective surface

How can cats see in the dark? One very distinctive feature of a cat’s eyes is the tapetum lucidum, a layer of reflective tissue that sits behind the retina. This reflects light back into the eye, maximising the amount of light available to the photoreceptors in the retina. The tapetum lucidum is the reason why a cat’s eyes shine brightly at night. Even when our eyes perceive complete darkness, cats can see shapes and objects.

Cats’ eyes contain more light-detecting photoreceptors

Within the retina, human and cat eyes both contain a blend of photoreceptors known as rods and cones. Rods are used for peripheral vision, night vision and detecting motion. Cones detect colours.

Human eyes have roughly 120 million rod cells, but cats’ eyes have up to eight times more than this. So it’s no surprise they’re far better at seeing in the dark than we are. But like dogs, since cats have relatively fewer cones, they can’t distinguish colours as well as we can.

Other senses cats use in the dark

Cats’ eyes might be perfectly adapted for low-light conditions, but they also use a few other tricks to navigate when the sun goes down.

Cats’ whiskers act as touch receptors, helping them sense the environment around them – even in low-light and complete darkness. That’s why your cat may effortlessly side-step that new piece of furniture, while you might walk right into it.

Cats have a more acute sense of hearing than we do, so they can detect low volume sounds that they use to orient themselves. If your cat bumps into things or seems disoriented at night, ask your vet to check their eyes and ears for issues such as infections or deafness.

Keeping your cat entertained at night

Cats are often awake and ready to play at the very start and end of the day – typically when we’re usually in bed.

In the wild, these are the times of day their prey would be most active. Even though your domestic cat doesn’t need to hunt anymore, it’s still a good idea to give them plenty of opportunities to keep their mind and body active once the sun goes down. Choose a range of toys so your cat can practise their stalking and pouncing skills, offer them a puzzle toy to stretch out meal times, and make sure they have plenty of places to climb, scratch and hide.