Siamese cats: The scoop on cross-eyes!
Well, as all cat lovers know, Siamese cats are sometimes cross-eyed. Siamese cats are not all the same, and that's why some of them are cross-eyed and some are not. There are many types of Siamese cats, and some breeds of Siamese cats are seal point, chocolate point, and blue point. A Siamese cat's eyes are crossed because that's the only way that they can see straight... Crazy huh? Well here's the scoop.
Why are a Siamese cat's eyes crossed?
That is the question that we need to have answered, and this is the answer that we need!
Well according to Indiana Public Media,
"Unlike the eyes of some animals such as rabbits, a cat’s eyes both point
forward–just like ours–so most of what it sees it sees with both eyes. In order
to see clearly, however, the brain has to coordinate the signals it gets from a
group of nerve-endings called the “retina” on the back of each eye.
For every spot on the retina of one eye, there’s a spot on the retina of the other eye that has to see the same thing. Let’s say,
for example, that those spots are focused on a mouse. For the brain to interpret what it sees as one mouse instead of two, the
nerves that detect the mouse in one eye have to go to the same part of the brain
as the nerves in the other eye that detect the same mouse. If the eyes send the
mouse-images to two different parts of the brain, the cat sees two mice instead
of one, and that’s what’s wrong with the eyes of a Siamese cat. Instead of being
lined up in the back of the eye, the center of the left retina is shifted to the
right and the center of the right retina is shifted to the left. So if a Siamese
cat’s eyes were pointed straight ahead, it’s retinas would be looking in
different directions, sending a very confused message to the brain.
By turning its eyes in, a Siamese cat looks cross-eyed, but its retinas are
now lined up like a normal cat’s, sending the brain a clearer picture."
Why are a Siamese cat's eyes crossed?
That is the question that we need to have answered, and this is the answer that we need!
Well according to Indiana Public Media,
"Unlike the eyes of some animals such as rabbits, a cat’s eyes both point
forward–just like ours–so most of what it sees it sees with both eyes. In order
to see clearly, however, the brain has to coordinate the signals it gets from a
group of nerve-endings called the “retina” on the back of each eye.
For every spot on the retina of one eye, there’s a spot on the retina of the other eye that has to see the same thing. Let’s say,
for example, that those spots are focused on a mouse. For the brain to interpret what it sees as one mouse instead of two, the
nerves that detect the mouse in one eye have to go to the same part of the brain
as the nerves in the other eye that detect the same mouse. If the eyes send the
mouse-images to two different parts of the brain, the cat sees two mice instead
of one, and that’s what’s wrong with the eyes of a Siamese cat. Instead of being
lined up in the back of the eye, the center of the left retina is shifted to the
right and the center of the right retina is shifted to the left. So if a Siamese
cat’s eyes were pointed straight ahead, it’s retinas would be looking in
different directions, sending a very confused message to the brain.
By turning its eyes in, a Siamese cat looks cross-eyed, but its retinas are
now lined up like a normal cat’s, sending the brain a clearer picture."