Bad vision?

[Paul B]

Wow, that was a lot of great information. Per, what you said makes sense. That explains a lot even if there is something wrong with his vision. But he seems to be just fine as long as we're playing with something that moves enough. Sorte does the same thing with a laser too Pam. I can get him to chase it 1/10 times....maybe. Even then, it's only for a minute or so. Nor will he chase a toy that rolls past him. Only if its hits a wall and makes noise or it makes a "thud" hitting the ground. I did tie together two pieces of fabric together, one darker than the other, and he went crazy for that! The only "toy" he didn't want to let go of. I'm teaching him "out" though and after about 5-6 times he started letting go.

 

[J.B.]

Contrary to popular opinion, cats do not see well, but have very sharp eyesight: any change of profile or any movement gets them at once, but they generally struggle to recognise a face that is kept still. Also, they do not see well what is in front of their mouths, they depend on smell or pheromone recognition (using the vomeronasal organ in the frontal palate) to "find" edibles there.
Their sight physiology is dedicated to hunting and quick reactions.
They may still have eye problems though, so if in doubt, get it checked.

P

Isn't that why they say dont move when youre cornered by a wild animal... you kinda blend in until you start moving. Then they eat you

 

[admin]

Hmmm...that's a good point...not the eating part

 

[DChap]

Contrary to popular opinion, cats do not see well, but have very sharp eyesight: any change of profile or any movement gets them at once, but they generally struggle to recognise a face that is kept still. Also, they do not see well what is in front of their mouths, they depend on smell or pheromone recognition (using the vomeronasal organ in the frontal palate) to "find" edibles there.
Their sight physiology is dedicated to hunting and quick reactions.
They may still have eye problems though, so if in doubt, get it checked.

P

Very interesting, thanks Per! I have noticed Matojo doesn't seem to "see" his water in his bowl and usually jumps back a little when his nose/mouth touches it. It made me wonder about his sight.

 

[admin]

Same here DChap...I always wondered about that.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Isnt that a general cat thing? I was just reading on a website that the reason some cats paw at their water bowl is to get the water moving so they can see it...

 

[admin]

Yes, B, I do not think it is savannah-specific at all.

 

[Paul B]

Hell, I paw at his bowl sometimes because I cant tell how full it is! I don't blame them! LOL

 

[Wyldthingz]

Sometimes my F1 doesn't recognize me when I come in the door and round the corner. I can tell that she is sizing me up as friend or foe so I always say "Hey, Daisy!" or she may hiss and give me a good swat! Well, she usually hisses anyway when she is hungry. I have cat fencing around my yard and when the puppy ate a gaping whole in it, they didn't even notice thankfully. I think they may be naturally far sited as well- that would be a reason for why they test the water level prior to drinking.

 

[Paul B]

Yeah, Sorte has done that to me too. If I come from outside and he didn't hear me come in, sometimes he will be peaking around the corner wide-eyed wondering if it's me looking at him or someone that shouldn't be there. I'm not sure if I told this story already, but I was playing "hide and seek" with him about a week ago (before he was fully comfortable in the house) and I thought he would have fun with it. Well, I guess I was wrong, LOL! I was laying on the ground and I would slowly peak my head around the corner to see if he would stalk closer to me every time I popped my head out. He just sat there the first couple of times, then after a few peeks around the corner his eyes got bigger and his whole tail started fluffing up. I was thinking, "oh boy, he's gonna burst and come running at me any time now". I did it a couple more times and he ended up with a fully arched back, raccoon tailed and all his hackles standing straight up! Not even saying his name helped until I went over to him and pet him. He didn't know what to think! Haha, needless to say, we have not played hide and seek again yet, I felt bad for him.