Senses

Cats have excellent night vision and can see at only one sixth the light level required for human vision.[54 ]


 * This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum, which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye, thereby increasing the eye's sensitivity to dim light.[73 ] Another adaptation to dim light is the large pupils of cats' eyes. Unlike some big cats, such as tigers, domestic cats have slit pupils.[74 ] These slit pupils can focus bright light without chromatic aberration, and are needed since the domestic cat's pupils are much larger, relative to their eyes, than the pupils of the big cats.[74 ] Indeed, at low light levels a cat's pupils will expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes.[75 ] However, domestic cats have rather poor color vision and (like most non-primate mammals) have only two types of cones, optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green; they have limited ability to distinguish between red and green.[76 ] A 1993 paper found a response to mid-wavelengths from a system other than the rods which might be due to a third type of cone. However, this appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true trichromatic vision.[77]

Cats have excellent hearing and can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies. They can hear higher-pitched sounds than either dogs or humans, detecting frequencies from 55Hzup to 79kHz, a range of 10.5 octaves; while humans can only hear from 31 Hz up to 18 kHz, and dogs hear from 67 Hz to 44 kHz, which are both ranges of about 9 octaves.[78][79]Cats do not use this ability to hearultrasoundfor communication but it is probably important in hunting,[80]since many species of rodents make ultrasonic calls.[81]Cat hearing is also extremely sensitive and is among the best of any mammal,[78]being most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz.[82]This sensitivity is further enhanced by the cat's large movable outer ears (their pinnae), which both amplify sounds and help a cat sense the direction from which a noise is coming.[80] Cats have an acute sense of smell, which is due in part to their well-developedolfactory bulband also to a large surface ofolfactory mucosa, in cats this mucosa is about 5.8 square centimetres (0.90 sq in) in area, which is about twice that of humans and only 1.7-fold less than the average dog.[83]Cats are very sensitive topheromonessuch as3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol,[84]which they use to communicate throughurine sprayingand marking withscent glands.[85]Cats also respond strongly to plants that containnepetalactone, especiallycatnip, as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion.[86]This response is also produced by other plants, such as silver vine (Actinidia polygama) and the herbvalerian; it may be caused by the smell of these plants mimicking a pheromone and stimulating cats' social or sexual behaviors.[87]

Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans. Domestic and wild cats share a gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules like carbohydrates, leaving them with no ability to tastesweetness.[88]Theirtaste budsinstead respond to amino acids, bitter tastes and acids.[89]

To aid with navigation and sensation, cats have dozens of movablevibrissae(whiskers) over their body, especially their face. These provide information on the width of gaps and on the location of objects in the dark, both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents; they also trigger protectiveblink reflexesto protect the eyes from damage.[54]:47 undefinedCats' whiskers are highly sensitive to touch.