Community Chat

[Wild Cherry]

Now I know why my dog and cat appear to be possessed at times.

If you saw the world through the eyes of your pet, you'd very likely be seeing a lot more than you currently do. 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. While we've 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.

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. As for what they're privy to that we're not, it's both appetizing and not: patterns on flowers that reveal the presence of nectar, and a urine-marked landscape. Those sights would be put to good use: The urine trails could signal the presence of prey, for instance. As far as predators go, reindeer are able to see polar bears against snow when a human might not, as snow reflects UV, and white fur doesn't, explains Douglas. So add reindeer to the list, along with rodents, hedgehogs, bats, ferrets, and okapis.

[ive been framed]

Fascinating! Makes sense when you think about it!

I think our cats can see through solid objects. That's why they want to get through doors that are shut Oh, maybe that's also why dogs stare at walls!

[faeriemoon]

Reindeer are not predators.

[ive been framed]

On 2/19/2014 faeriemoon said: Reindeer are not predators.

I read it as reindeer can see the predators.

[Yardlie]

Very interesting! Thanks for posting this.

[Linders Back]

Yes, it states that they can see the Polar Bears, not vice versa.

I always thought they needed a Red Nose to see that well.

I did always think my dog was aware of things in my old house that I wasn't. He would run head long into a room (one in particular), stop short, stare into space and growl very low.

[hckynut]

Not only that sense they also have it for smell/taste/touch and hearing. Ever try to sneak something around a feline when they are even in another room sound asleep? I have and I know that I almost instantly feel something brushing against my leg and ""Walllah!!"" It's a cat.

[Melania]

Don't they also sense storms, earthquakes etc.?

[MikafromTopeka]

My old dog can sniff out a package delivered to the back porch within minutes even if the truck or delivery person pulls in or walks right past the window she's sleeping nearest to and doesn't hear.

[FlowershopGirl]

My mom had a cat that would howl about 5 minutes before an earthquake, we always knew that particular howl, which was totally different than her regular play howl.