Quickie

Just a quick note today.

Tuffy - a long time ago

IT was another workout for me this morning, but not quite the workout as I had yesterday.  I still had to plow through at least four locations where the shelters are in the back of fields, vacant lots and houses.  The path I cleared yesterday was not great.  I still came home with my legs and boots soaked.  Kitties were out, or in the shelters, waiting.  There is a sweet tabby that was skin and bone weeks ago that I mentioned that was crying yesterday morning at the spot on Parsells that the owner or whoever came and took all the shelters from.  I placed a new shelter on the other porch of this duplex, and it still has not been taken, and placed paper plates and bowl for water there.  The food was touched, but not the shelter.  Thank God.  But I am not sure if the cat is smart enough to use it.  The four other cats (Parsley I rescued) I have not seen since the shelters were taken.  The day of the storm I believe that was.  Disgusting human beings.

Nothing else was happening today.  I leave you with some very cool information on cat senses.  I love reading this stuff - the little things you learn!  :)

Cats, like dogs and many other animals, have a tapetum lucidum, which is a reflective layer behind the retina that sends light that passes through the retina back into the eye. While this improves the ability to see in darkness, it appears to reduce netvisual acuity, thus detracting when light is abundant. In very bright light, the slit-like pupil closes very narrowly over the eye, reducing the amount of light on the sensitive retina, and improving depth of field. Big cats have pupils that contract to a round point. The tapetum and other mechanisms give the cat a minimum light detection threshold up to seven times lower than that of humans. Variation in color of cats' eyes in flash photographs is largely due to the reflection of the flash by the tapetum.

A closeup of a cat's eye

Cats have a visual field of view of about 200°, compared to 180° in humans, but a binocular field (overlap in the images from each eye) narrower than that of humans. As with most predators, their eyes face forward, affording depth perception at the expense of field of view. Field of view is largely dependent upon the placement of the eyes, but may also be related to the eye's construction. Instead of the fovea, which gives humans sharp central vision, cats have a central band known as the visual streak. Cats can see some colors, and can tell the difference between red, blue and yellow lights, as well as between red and green lights. Cats are able to distinguish between blues and violets better than between colors near the red end of the spectrum.  A 2014 study found that, along with several other mammals, cats lenses transmit significant amounts of ultraviolet (UVA 315–400 nm) light, which suggests that they possess sensitivity to this part of the spectrum.

Cats have a second eyelid, the nictitating membrane, which is a thin cover that closes from the side and appears when the cat's eyelid opens. This membrane partially closes if the cat is sick, although in a sleepy state this membrane is often visible.

Cats often sleep during the day so they can "hunt" at night. Unlike humans, cats do not need to blink their eyes on a regular basis to keep their eyes lubricated (with tears). Unblinking eyes are probably an advantage when hunting. Cats will, however, "squint" their eyes, usually as a form of communication expressing affection and ease around another cat or human.

Have a great day!~

"Its better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."