Introduction

Many people wonder: are cats colorblind? The answer is partly yes, but not completely.Let’s be honest: if you’ve ever bought your cat toys in bright fluorescent hues because “it’ll stimulate their little brain,” you fell for it. Cats don’t see color the same way you do. People aren’t here to admire your stylish coral couch or the forest green wall that you saw in a Tiny Home YouTube video. They generally want to know why the food bowl is still empty. So, do cats see colors? A little bit. But not in a sad “black and white movie” sense; more like in a “meh, everything looks like bad lighting at 7-Eleven” way. Let’s talk about how cats see the world differently than we do and how they might be judging us without saying a word because they can’t see all the colors. Get your coffee. Get your eye-roll muscles ready. This is going to be both scientific and rather rude about the way you decorate your home. If you’ve ever asked, are cats colorblind, you’ll be glad to know they see blues and yellows.
Note: Pet cameras with color filters show are cats colorblind isn’t the full story their vision is unique.

The Myth: Cats Live in Sadness in Black and White

You might have heard that cats only perceive black and white, like in a detective movie from the 1940s. Not true. Noir movies aren’t real life for cats (although they would fit the mood moody, secretive, and emotionally unavailable). There is a lot of agreement that cats can perceive color, but not very much of it. When you walk into the kitchen at 3 a.m. with one eye half-open, their eyesight is fuzzy, dim, and tinged in strange tones of yellow and blue. Red? No. Green? Sort of. Orange? No way. When you give them a blazing red laser pointer or your kid’s hot-pink hair ribbon, they see hues of brownish-gray. In short, you’re keeping them busy with the strong colors of burnt oats. By the way, if they still chase it, that’s dedication. Or being bored. It’s probably boredom.The reason people ask are cats colorblind is because cats don’t react to bright toys like dogs do.

The Science: Rods, Cones, and Other Words You Pretended to Know in Biology Class Okay, let’s be nerdy for a minute. There are three kinds of cones in our eyes. These are tiny color-sensitive receptors that allow us view all the beautiful things, including sunsets and discounts at Target. What about cats? They only have two. This renders them “dichromatic,” which sounds like a new iPhone filter but really just means
that science says, “Sorry, their vision is bad.”

People: Blue, red, and green cones make a full HD color party. Blue and green cones in cats are like a diet version of color. Your cat can perceive blue and yellow tones, but not red or pink. A toy cherry? Looks like dirt. A red dot from a laser? That’s a delusion from cat physics; they see the light moving, not the color. Picture your pal saying, “Bro, trust me, it’s glowing,” but you can’t see anything. That’s what your cat does every day. But somehow, they still manage to jump ten feet onto your Ikea desk, which is very breakable. Maybe their special power isn’t seeing; it’s causing trouble.

The Vibe: Cats Can See Colors. They’re just not interested. This is where it gets funny: cats don’t need to see in full color. You, as a probably functional adult, buy items in a panic based on how “Calming Sage” appears in your apartment’s lighting. But your cat only cares if the stuff makes noise or tastes like pain. Have you ever bought your cat a really costly toy that looks like a rainbow threw up on it, only for them to play with a cardboard box instead? That’s not a lack of thanks; it’s visual nihilism. Cats don’t care about how things look. They don’t see beauty; they see problems and hunger. A red velvet chaise lounge? Meh, it’s comfortable enough to hate. That purple cat tower you saw on Etsy that was only made in a few copies? It looks like beige. It feels like betrayal. As a side note, cats have a simple rule: “If it fits, I sit.” I attack anything that moves. What color? Not important. And maybe that’s why cats are so calm about life. They don’t spent time sorting through every Pantone color like we do; they just take naps during existential crises in low saturation.We could learn a lesson from that. (But we won’t.). Yes, are cats colorblind is a real question but their vision is tuned for motion and light, not rainbows.

The Evolutionary Scam: Nature Gave Them Night Vision Instead

Here’s the interesting part: cats didn’t “lose” their full color vision; they swapped it for night vision that is better than a human’s. In the dark, you trip over furniture while looking for your phone charger. Your cat, on the other hand, can sense shadows, contours, and subtle hints of movement like a silent ninja assassin. Daytime is basically an annoying bright time between their sleeps for them. The real fun starts at 2 a.m., when your plant that is half-dead suddenly becomes a stalking opportunity and your toes turn into easy prey. Their eyes have a lot more rods, which are the sensors for motion and low light. So while you’re fixing the colors in your Instagram photos, your cat is out there expertly mapping the geography of your dim corridor like it’s The Matrix. So, yes, they can’t discern the difference between red and green. But they can see a beetle blink from six feet distant in the darkness. Evolution clearly declared, “No vibes, only violence.”
Note: Scientists use behavioral tests to study are cats colorblind, and cats consistently pick blue/yellow.

Who is really winning: humans or cats?

For a moment, let’s compare.
Trait: Humans and Cats Seeing Colors With sophisticated LED saturation, you can see anything up to ultraviolet. Live in a 2003 Instagram filter that makes things look dull. Vision at Night Can’t see past the fridge at 9 p.m. Like ninjas, you can move around your whole residence in the dark. Colors that interest you Put up decorations on the walls, match your clothes, and scream over socks that don’t match. Knock over water cups no matter what color they are. Important things Order dishware that matches. Want dinner at 3:57 a.m. So, yes, cats are colorblind in a way. But in practice, they don’t take part in our capitalist fixation with color. They’re living examples of minimalism: they have gray-scale eyesight, little fashion concern, and no emotional baggage regarding pastels. To be honest, it’s motivating. People are painting their nurseries “Mood-Enhancing Basil” in the meantime, thinking it will help their depression. Maybe we’re the ones who are really losing the struggle of evolution.
Note : The simple truth about are cats colorblind is: they see the world in soft pastels, not vivid tones.

The Existential Question: Do Cats Even Care About How Things Look?

Here’s a question that no one actually asks: Do cats care what the world looks like, or are they too busy running it? If you gave a cat complete color vision, they would use it to discover more expensive things to break. Think about how they might easily tell the difference between your old Target blanket and your new designer throw and then tear up the new one just to be mean. Cats do well when people don’t care. They love that they don’t care. Their cosmos works well, is efficient, and doesn’t have any silly human things like “color coordination.” They don’t require aesthetic pleasure; they are the aesthetic. If my cat had Pinterest, all it would have would be pictures of empty dishes with the word “starvation” on them. The question are cats colorblind helps us understand how cats experience the world differently.

Final Thoughts on Are cats colorblind?

If your cat loves a yellow ball but ignores orange ones, it’s not odd are cats colorblind explains why. So, indeed, cats can’t see colors very well. But let’s be honest: it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to see rainbows to take over your house, keep you from sleeping, and win your love with that one slow blink. Your cat is sitting there saying, “Buddy, it’s all gray to me, and your taste sucks anyway,” while you’re trying to decide if your kitchen backsplash is “warm white” or “cool white.” If you’ve read all the way to the end of this article, congrats! You now know more about cat biology than 90% of cat owners and about 0% more about why your cat thinks you’re not as good as them. Now, hold up two toys and ask your cat which one they enjoy most. Look at them walk away. That’s science at work. Kittens develop color vision early, so are cats colorblind isn’t true at any life stage. Understanding are cats colorblind helps us design better environments