Observing the cat pupils you can easily understand what are they feeling and what is their intention. The eyes of the cat are means of non-verbal communication. Often cats want to let us know that they are angry or scared and they do this through their tail movements or the eyes. As you may have noticed they are different in many situations and even help them see in the night.
Let’s see what cats are trying to show us with their eyes.
What Kind of Mood Is Expressed Through The Cat Pupils?
Sometimes cat pupils respond to light and they help them see in the dark and detect motion in order to hunt. When they are outside at night their pupils get dilated and this helps them become better predators. However, cat pupils get dilated in other situations as well and in this way, they express their mood.
Narrow cat pupils indicate that the cat is aroused
If you’ve noticed that the pupils of your cat’s eyes become narrow slits it means that they are experiencing some sort of arousal. This can be fear, anger, but mostly pleasure. For example, if your cat is in your lap and purring her eye pupils are probably narrow which shows great pleasure.
On the other hand, if the cat is eyeing their toy or a bird outside then it shows anger and hunting. The narrow slit pupils appear also when your cat is sensing catnip which causes arousal that stems from pleasure.
Finally, if your cat is aggressive she can have narrow pupils and her eyes are usually squinted. This is their way of protecting their eyes from the opponent.
Wide pupils indicate fear and excitement
These moods are opposite but they are expressed in the same way. Therefore it can cause confusion and you may misunderstand your cat’s mood if you don’t pay enough attention. For instance, observe your cat’s entire body language to understand whether her pupils are wide of fear or out of excitement.
If you are giving your cat her favorite food or treats her eyes show excitement and happiness.
But if your cat is sitting or standing in one place and stares in one direction her dilated pupils indicate fear and anxiety. Maybe there is another cat nearby or a dog that threatens her safety, so she is anxious about it. Or she simply got scared of some object in the room.
Cat Eyes Can Show You Their Health Condition
Be mindful of the fact that sometimes cat eyes can show you if your cat has a certain health condition. Did you know that it can happen that one pupil is larger than the other one? This is not a symptom to be ignored, but it’s called anisocoria and it means that you have to take your cat to the vet.
This symptom can be a sign of glaucoma, injury of the eye, or feline leukemia virus.
To sum up, cat eyes and pupils can tell us a lot about our fur companions. As cats can’t speak, their eyes and body are the only means of communication with us so we need to be able to read them the right way.