There is no evidence that cats hate any specific colors.
They cannot see the full range of colors as we do, cats only see green and blue hues. To determine your cat’s color preference, watch its behavior with:
- Toys
- Favorite room
- Clothing
Cats Perceive Color Differently From Humans
Cats cannot hate a particular color because they perceive colors differently from humans.
Colors don’t appear vibrant to cats as they do to humans. Red, orange, and brown appear washed out.
If an object is blue or green, your cat sees a muted version of those colors. Perhaps your cat may not like the colors red or orange because they see them as dull shades of gray.
Your cat lives in a muted world. They cannot perceive the full range of colors as you do. Your cat cannot differentiate green from red.
Every cat is different. Your cat may prefer dull colors while another cat may like bright-colored objects.
Color is Not Important to Cats
As hunters, cats need sharp vision to spot slight movements. This helps it survive outdoors, even in dim light. The ability to see colors will not help a cat to catch prey.
Seeing colors in muted form is essential in helping your cat to survive in the wild. It increases their hunting and hiding ability.
Cats are more attracted to movement than color. Their strength lies in motion detection. You might want to choose yellow or blue toys for your kitty, but it will make a small difference.
Even though colors may not matter that much to a cat, they are equipped with far more useful tools such as a strong sense of smell, wide field of view, and sensitive whiskers.
Cats Do Not See only in Black and White
Do you sometimes get curious about what your cat’s favorite color is?
As a ‘cat parent,’ you probably have a cute collection of colored toys for your cat, such as blue and red balls, purple food puzzles, and pink feathers for it to chase around.
It has always been assumed that cats only see in black and white. You might be surprised to realize that your cat does not see the world in awhitewash lens, as you may think.
Just like in humans, cats have retinas that detect color. Within their retinas, there are rods and cones. Your cat has more up to 8 times more rod cells than you do.
Rod cells are responsible for vision in dim light. This explains why cats have excellent night vision. They can sense any slight movement at night. The rod cells also refresh quickly, enabling your cat to capture rapid movements.
Let us consider these six factors to help you better understand if cats can see color:
1. Cats Only See Shades of Blue and Green
Cones in the retinas of eyes are responsible for color vision. Humans have three types of cones, while cats have two. Therefore, humans can differentiate all colors of the rainbow. The few cones cats have, allow them to see only shades of blue and green.
Green and blue colors don’t appear the same to cats as for humans. They are muted.
However, these are not the only colors your cat can see. A new study discovered that cats can see colors at the ultraviolet end of the spectrum. These are colors that we humans can only see under a black light.
Birds and flowers also have ultraviolet coloration, so your cat’s world is not as dull as you think.
A green object appears as a muted shade of blue. Green is a combination of yellow, which is a color cats can’t see and blue, which they can see.
Purple is a combination of blue and red. Soyour cat will see this as muted blue hues since it cannot see red. The color red appears as muted green to your cat.
Bright colors such as red or pink appear gray to your cat. A yellow object will appear to your cat as a combination of blue and green.
While humans can see vibrant colors during the day, cats perceive colors in dull tones.
2. Cats Have Better Vision at Night
Your furry friend is most active at dawn and dusk. This is because the extra rod cells they have give them better night vision than humans. A cat has a wider field of view of about 200 degrees.
With such a view, it can spot prey or that toy in the corner of the house even when there is very dim light.
3. Cats are Nearsighted
Your eyes have many cones, and that is why you can see objects at a distance. But your kitty needs to be at least 6m away to detect the same object.
Kerry Ketring, a veterinary with the All Animal Eye Clinic, points out that cats don’t have the muscles to change the shape of the lenses in their eyes as humans can. They need to be far away from an object to see clearly.
An object that is near to you may appear crisp and clear, but will appear blurry to your cat.
4. Cats are Colorblind
A colorblind human cannot differentiate the different shades and hues of a color spectrum. According to the National Eye Institute, the most common form of color blindness in humans is the inability to differentiate green from red.
The same applies to cats. Their cones are more sensitive to blue and green. They cannot see colors like orange and red as you do.
Purple looks like another shade of blue. A red object or surface will appear in shades of grey to your cat. Generally, your feline friend is not interested in the color of an object but the movement. Just a slight movement will not escape his attention.
Your kitty will get excited at an insect crossing the room. It will pounce on the string toy you are playing with it. It is not interested in the color but the movement.
5. Blue, Green, and Purple are Calming Cat Colors
There is a reason why Fluffy gets paranoid
at the vet’s‘ office. It has a lot to do with what
it sees. The vet’s‘ coat is often
white, but that is not what the cat sees.
According to Heather Lewis, principal of Animal Arts, cats see white objects as if under a black light. So the coat will appear as if it is glowing. This could be frightening to a cat.
With this in mind, you can think of calming colors when choosing a toy for your cat. While it is true that their color vision is limited, certain colors have a calming effect on cats.
Dr. Marty Becker suggests “pastel blue, pastel green, and pastel purple” when choosing toys for your cat. These are excellent choices of color for a veterinarian to wear. You can also cover up your stressed cat in blankets of these colors to calm it.
6. Cats perceive color differently from humans
Your cat’s eyes are set more on the sides of its head. This is an advantage cats have over humans, in that they have a broader range of peripheral vision than humans.
Felines are not so sensitive to changes in brightness. This explains why it may not enjoy the vibrant richness of colors as you do.
The pupils’ of a cat’s eye can dilate to the maximum, and this helps them to capture much a lot of light. Your cat’s ability to detect movement in dim light helps it to escape from danger. This also helps him to hunt prey.
Conclusion
Now that you have a better understanding of what colors cats see, you can see why there are not any colors that cat hate.
Cats cannot see that many colors and they don’t hate the colors they can see.
Now you can choose more appealing toys for them. Since they cannot distinguish a lot of colors, your cat will not mind having a blue or green toy.
However, don’t be too focused on the color of a toy. Instead, look at your cats’ great ability to perceive movement. You can then gift your kitty a toy that wiggles for its entertainment.
The HEXBUG nano Robotic Cat Toy is a great exercising toy for your kitty. It is made of cool blue color, which will automatically move for your cat to chase it around, perfect for stimulating your cats’ hunting instincts.
Sources
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2520861/which-colors-do-cats-like
https://www.1800petmeds.com/education/what-colors-can-cats-see.htm
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100702090243AA5N3zF
https://www.livescience.com/40459-what-do-cats-see.html
https://www.petfinder.com/cats/cat-behavior-and-training/how-cats-see-human-faces/
