Stalking and pouncing on prey from a distance requires accurate depth perception. The eyes of the cat face forward, allowing both eyes to work together. The overlapping fields of vision between the right and left eyes greatly improve the cat's ability to judge distances and the sizes of objects.

Humans also need to be able to accurately judge distances and sizes in order to grasp and handle objects. As a result, humans have extremely well-developed binocular vision. Although humans cannot see in the dark as well as cats, humans can better judge distances and sizes!

This page was made possible by a grant from Friskies PetCare Company and the National Science Foundation.

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Sketches of human and cat vision fields by Matt Morse and Jim Angus © Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Foundation

Page design by Jim Angus