Cats Have Super, Psychedelic Vision

http://news.discovery.com/animals/pets/cats-have-super-psychedelic-vision-140218.htm

Feb 18, 2014 07:00 PM ET // by Jennifer Viegas

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new research that finds common house cats see things that are invisible to us.

Everything from psychedelic stripes on flowers to flashy patterned feathers on birds are likely detectable by cats and certain other animals, while humans remain oblivious to such things. We are also -- perhaps luckily -- missing out on seeing a whole world of urine markers blanketing the landscape.

The secret behind the feline vision "superpower" is ultraviolet light (UV) detection. A new paper, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that cats, dogs and certain other animals see this form of light that is usually invisible to humans.

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Douglas, a professor of biology at City University London specializing in the visual system, and co-author Glen Jeffery, a professor of neuroscience at University College London, determined that cats, dogs, rodents, hedgehogs, bats, ferrets and okapis all detect substantial levels of UV.

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The skill might also help to explain why cats become obsessed with unusual objects, like sheets of paper.

Man-made optical brighteners are sometimes added to paper, fabrics, laundry detergents, cosmetics and shampoos to make them appear brighter. Since optical brighteners absorb light in the UV spectrum, they might appear different, or stand out more, to UV-sensitive animals.

Certain people, such as those who have had their lenses replaced during cataract surgery, can see at least some UV, but most humans cannot.

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