Talk:Cat senses

Vision
Footnote #3 has completely incorrect reference; refers to cesarean sections instead of cat color vision. Also, sense of sight section has little info. on vision, and much on cat eye color, which is not related to vision. Finally, "vision" is the appropriate term, not "sight." --75.5.241.37 (talk) 01:46, 1 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I fixed footnote #3, which linked to the correct article unless you used the PUBMED link. Merenta (talk) 20:24, 18 May 2008 (UTC)


 * bob —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.173.153.173 (talk) 03:06, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Cats and infrared/ultraviolet vision
Is there enough information to say how well cats can see infrared/ultraviolet light? I've seen a few places online that says that they don't, but they aren't authoritative. Many other places don't address the question. What do researchers know about this? It seems like useful information that should be included in a discussion of cat vision. Even if their infrared vision isn't great, even a little would be a benefit if there's not any other light around. Bill Smith (talk) 13:38, 10 April 2013 (UTC)


 * Hi, Bill. A study published after you asked this question suggested that they do in fact see in the UVA part of the spectrum. --Hillbillyholiday talk 07:17, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

Able to see red at all?
More common knowelge seems to be bet that cats have dichromatic vision and cannot see the colour red and perceive it as green, can we have some confirmation on validity of this source that states otherwise? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.211.72.7 (talk) 15:33, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Eye size
Cats have unusually large eyes, relative to most mammals. What is the size of a cat's eye? I cannot find a good source, although mediocre sources suggest that cat corneas are larger than human corneas. Acwilson9 (talk) 07:54, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

Tail as a sense of touch
A cat uses its tail, among other things, as a sense of touch. The tail is used to help keep track of the cat's surroundings behind it, in the opposite direction of its vision. The tail usually has the tip bent at an angle, often a right angle. When the tail is sticking straight up, this is referred to as a "flagpole". Whether the tail is raised or lowered, the cat usually moves the tip in various angles and directions to provide a better chance of detecting something behind the cat. In certain defensive postures, the whole tail is wagged back and forth to detect something going on behind the cat. When a cat walks past an object or person, the cat will usually move its tail in that direction and brush that object or person with its tail as it walks by. If the cat stops just after passing the object or person, the cat may conform the shape of its tail to that object or person and hold it there while looking in the opposite direction. The brushing and wrapping has another purpose in addition to detecting its surroundings. The cat has scent glands at the base of its tail, and the brushing and conforming to shape is a way of leaving its personal scent behind for ownership and other purposes. Touching the tail of a cat usually evokes a response of the cat turning its head to look at its tail or turning its whole body in order to withdraw the tail from the touch. Obankston (talk) 23:44, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Dead links
The citation "Cat Traits" at floridaconservation.org redirects to, and this page does not contain the information that was cited (e.g. whiskers used for locating prey). Attys (talk) 20:30, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Book on the subject
Akif Pirincci, Author of the "Felidea" Cat Crime series, has written a book on the subject, called "Cat Sense". It has a chapter on each individual sense which is comically commented on by his cat hero Francis. http://www.amazon.de/Cat-Sense-ebook/dp/B004Y0V3G2

194.95.230.82 (talk) 07:24, 9 May 2011 (UTC)Rolf Degen194.95.230.82 (talk) 07:24, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Footnote #4: the URL link has changed to: http://www.kittyshow.com/cat_color_vision.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by COflutist (talk • contribs) 20:47, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

About.com source on cat/human olfactory comparison
The cat sense section says "a domestic cat's olfaction is about fourteen times as strong as humans" but the cited source is a freelance writer on About.com and I have been unable to find a scholarly biology or medical text directly supporting the 14x figure. Several other "cat experts" have mentioned the same figure in other books, but none of the ones I've checked have cited any scientific evidence to support the assertion and none of the authors had veterinarian or other scientific/biomedical backgrounds beyond experience and history working with or breeding cats. According to Purves, et al. in Neuroscience. 2nd ed. cats have double the surface area of olfactory receptors than humans. Therefore I think the 14x figure seems dubious without a primary or secondary source supporting the About.com (and other tertiary) writer's claims. Kajisav (talk) 01:51, 25 December 2016 (UTC)

Editing on the article
I have made a few copy edits to this article and have realized there are a few deeper issues with it. Over the next few weeks I will be working on this article section by section. I would appreciate any feedback and notes on what I am doing. Jisbell2 (talk) 17:04, 29 August 2018 (UTC)