Most cat owners are fascinated by the differences between the senses of their pets, and their own human senses. These differences include a cat’s sight, its sense of smell, and its sense of hearing, as well as its sense of touch.

Cat owners often find it astonishing that cats seem to see so well in the dark. Because they often roam at night, we assume that their vision is more highly developed than ours. This is not completely true, however. A cat has very little color perception. Most colors appear, to it, to be some variation of the shade of gray. Although cats seem to see better than humans in dim light, they do not fare as well in complete darkness. They are able to denote even slight movement which may be the reason we think they see so well.

A cat’s sense of hearing is better than his eye sight. He has the ability to hear a broad range of sounds, many more than people can detect. Only white cats seem to have inherited a genetic deafness, especially if their eyes are blue. Other cats don’t appear to suffer from hearing disorders.

Finally, a cat has a unique sense of touch. The whiskers growing on the cat face, as well as those on its chin and above its eyes, transmit signals to the brain. This ability to feel the slightest touch protects the cat’s face as it hunts in the dark. Cats are also able to recognize any change in the wind immediately. This is probably the reason they are often reported to have predicted bad weather before it occurred. 

These special abilities always make cat lovers smile. We know that our pets are special because we watch them daily as they demonstrate their amazing senses.