How well do cats see at close range?

[parsleysage]

All of my cats seem to be horrible at finding things that are right in front of them.  On several occasions I've offered a treat or some tuna on my finger and they sniff all around my hand, everywhere except where the item is.  When I treat them I sprinkle the treats in a line (so everyone has room to eat) and while they vacuum up the general "population" of treats, when it gets down to one or two treats left they seem to have to smell where it is rather than seeing what seems to be obvious - hey, it's two inches from your face on the left.  

I was thinking maybe they are far-sighted due to their hunting instincts?  All three of my cats can't be blind, can they?

 

[susies1955]

I just read in a book that a cat can't see things 4" or closer hardly at all.

Susie

 

[parsleysage]

Found an answer on cathealth.com for anyone who reads this:

The Lens

After passing through the pupil, light is collected and focused by the lens. The cat’s lens is much larger than the human lens, which enables the lens to gather more light. But again, there’s a trade-off: while the small human lens can change shape to focus light over a great range of distances, the big cat lens can hardly change its shape at all. As a result, cats have difficulty focusing on objects very close to them, very much like an older person who needs reading glasses.

 

[rad65]

You learn something new every day... I always assumed my cats just liked sniffing at things. It does explain why my younger cat will always pick something up i his mouth to see if it's food or not.

 

[kirkyj]

Hi I have a 7 week old kitten called NuShu and I was looking for the answer to your question today. I am replying just to let you know that it is a cat thing and not that they are blind, because once i had put the food in a line in front of her she found it. 

Good luck with your cats

janet.

 

[ritz]

I read somewhere that cats have better peripheral vision than central vision.  In other words, when I'm playing DaMouse with Ritz, I drag the mouse on a diagonal, not right in front of her.

And thanks Parsleysage, I'll try to position te DaMouse further away from Ritz when I play with her.  I usually drag it under a plastic bag (handles cut off), so she definitely hears the 'mouse'.