

If you are not sure which of these two feline emotions you are seeing in your cat, then you have to consider its body language. It could be that the feline is feeling the excitement in the air or it is scared. Hence, a wide-open pupil in cats can mean two things. As such, while it is searching for its next meal, the feline will also be on the alert for any sign of an approaching predator. However, one has to recognize that the cat also has to contend with prowling predators. Scanning helps the cat look for prey in a shorter amount of time. This enlarges the diameter of its pupils so that it can scan its environment a lot better. When it is on the hunt and still searching for prey, the prospect of having a sumptuous meal afterwards is enough to stimulate its sympathetic nervous system.

This allows the cat to take in more visual information from its surroundings. One of the effects of adrenaline or epinephrine is to increase the size or diameter of the pupils. It is this hormone that keeps you all pumped up. You may have heard of the substance we call epinephrine or adrenaline. In case you’re wondering what this part of the nervous system does, it plays a role in stress responses. Pupillary dilation is always associated with the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. These are very powerful feline emotions that can spell either good or bad for the pet parent. The diametrical opposite of a narrow-shaped feline pupil, wide-open pupils often indicate excitement or fear. This will help the animal dispense of its “edginess” and make it more amenable to petting afterwards. The best activity for you and your pet is to engage it in a hunting game. For example, letting out a loud hiss or showing its teeth often means that the animal is not in the mood for some cuddle time. You will have to take it in the light of other manifestations that the cat may display. Hence, it is often not a good idea to approach a cat with narrow pupils. For some, it can be a sign that the feline is in a bad mood. For instance, it can mean agitation or restlessness. The term “arousal” here can mean a lot of things. This allows the cat to zero-in on an object of interest.īy the same token, seeing a cat with narrow pupils or squinted pupils often signify a high state of arousal. It tries to minimize the amount of light entering the eyes by contracting the sphincter pupillae. In real-world situation, a narrow pupil allows the cat to focus on a particular object – a prey, for instance. Regardless of how people call it, a narrow pupil allows less light to enter the eyes. Most individuals describe it as a squint. Hence, when the muscles of the iris contract, the feline pupils take the shape of a narrow slit. Whereas the human pupil takes on a rounded, near-perfect circular shape, the cat’s pupil has an elliptical form. One of the most striking differences between the pupils of humans and that of a cat is its shape. Here’s what your cat’s pupils are telling you, including changes in the shape of its eyes. Aside from the fact that pupils allow the entry of light into the cat’s retina, the different shapes that it undergoes can also convey a message. And while we can argue about whether cats and dogs have a soul in the way we define the term, their pupils can tell us a lot of things that’s going on in their feline brains. The pupils are the literal “windows” to a living organism’s soul.
