Research overview: do cats see in the ultraviolet range?

Recent research suggests some mammals, possibly including cats, transmit ultraviolet light to the retina, and this overview reviews the evidence and its uncertainty for felids. Studies of ocular media across species found that cat lenses transmit some shorter wavelengths than the human lens, raising the possibility of limited ultraviolet sensitivity that could reveal urine marks, trails, or patterns invisible to us. The behavioural significance for cats remains unproven and is a topic survey rather than a settled finding. Researchers measure lens transmission and infer possible sensitivity. Why it matters: if cats perceive even faint ultraviolet, their sensory world differs from ours in ways relevant to communication and hunting, and the question illustrates how assumptions about animal vision are being revised as researchers examine the optics of the eye more closely.