In the recent development of digital television, it is believed that pets have better reception of it.
How Do Pets See Television?
Compared to humans, cats and dogs have very different vision.
To pets, the old television was just showing a series of images flashing on the screen. For human eyes, the reception looked continuous.
This is because dogs and cats have a faster flicker rate than humans. Their brains are able to pick up more images from their retina per second. This meant TV appear as a series of flashing images.
That has now changed with digital television.
How Do Pets See?
Dogs and cats don’t see vibrant colours, but see movement more accurately than we do.
Dogs can see some colours but more on the blue spectrum. But they are red-green colour-blind.
Cats see more colours in the blue, yellow and green spectrums than dogs. These felines are adapted to low light situations. The anatomy of their eye allows them to hunt in near darkness areas.
Cats are less optimised for the red colour spectrum, but can know the difference between green and red.
So the bright colours of your favourite TV shows are most probably lost on them.
Dogs and cats are also far-sighted. This means close-up images appear somewhat fuzzy. In fact even with distant things they are easier to see if moving.
Cats rely mostly on their sensitive whiskers when viewing up close.
Your pets don’t see TV the same way that humans do. And these domesticated animals might find certain shows uncomfortable to their sensitive ears.
However, there are pet owners who can attest that their cats and dogs have favorite shows. In any case, you can always turn the brightness down in your TV. Or subscribe to pet channels to indulge your furry kid to couch potato time.
Give the best care for your pet at Makati Dog and Cat Hospital
Sources:
https://www.lovethatpet.com/dogs/questions/do-dogs-and-cats-enjoy-tv/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/four-legs-good/2604288/What-your-pets-really-see-on-TV
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/26/what-tv-looks-like-to-dogs-and-cats/20952699/