Why shouldn’t one look into the cat’s eyes: mysticism and science

Everyone knows: you’d better not look into a cat’s eyes. But why? Many people consider this to be just superstition, but there are also logical explanations.

What is unusual about a cat’s look?

Cats are creatures with amazing eyesight, which has given rise to many myths and superstitions. The visual apparatus of these animals is unique.

Their gaze seems to pass through us and examine everything around. It is alarming that the eyes of these animals glow in the dark. The pupil, which shines in red, looks especially frightening. However, there is nothing mystical about it.

What makes cat eyes intimidating?

• The size. They are large in relation to their body.

• Lack of eyelashes.

• Large viewing angle. It is about 200 degrees. She sees almost everything around her and behaves accordingly.

• The ability of the pupils to expand and contract as much as possible.

• Ability to see in the dark and the glowing eyes. Cats’ vision is tuned to the needs of hunting in the dark. However, it is incorrect to say that cats can see in complete darkness. It’s a delusion. Their eyes are capable of picking up faint light, but without it they cannot see. Cats have a tapetum in their eyes – a thin layer of special cells. It is located behind the retinal photoreceptors. When light reaches it, it reflects it and redirects it to the receptors. The narrow beam of reflected light creates a glowing effect. They do not emit their own light.

The statement that cats see otherworldly phenomena, inaccessible to human vision, arose due to the behavior of these animals and the special structure of the visual apparatus. Cats seem to be looking at what is invisible to us, suddenly jumping up and running somewhere. Their pupils are incredibly dilated, their fur stands on end.

Goddess Bast

Why shouldn’t one look into the cat’s eyes: mysticism and science

Bast or Bastet is the ancient Egyptian Goddess of beauty, joy, love, fertility and home. She was portrayed as a cat or a girl with a cat’s head. It was believed that Bast could transmit messages through cats.

Her father is the God of the Sun. Bast was elevated to the rank of a nationwide deity. She was prayed to by women who could not get pregnant. She was painted in the sick person’s house. When a cat died, the owners even shaved off their eyebrows in memory of her.

You can find two of her incarnations: with a cat and a lion’s head. In the first case, she personifies a good essence, in the second, an aggressive one.

Mystical prohibition

Cats have long been associated with magic in the minds of people. Their eyes were endowed with mystical properties. And they promise no good.

Why is prolonged eye contact with a cat dangerous?

• It is believed that these animals know the future and, if you will be looking into their eyes for a long time, future events may change, but no one knows, for the better or for the worse. Parapsychologists say that after “gazing” a person feels a breakdown. The eyes of a black cat are especially dangerous, since they can contain demons that will cause trouble or even move into a person.

• The next myth says that cats are able to see boggarts and play with them.

• It is also said that the cat, in response to the discomfort caused to it, will attract trouble to you.

• In the Middle Ages, it was believed that one can lose vitality through eye contact and kissing with an animal. The latter can be easily attributed to problems with hygiene and disease transmission.

By the way, seeing a cat’s eyes in a dream usually does not bode well. Muller’s dream book predicts failures and troubles, Vangi’s – quarrels up to a break, but  Freud’s one on the contrary – a love date and emotional excitement.

How does science relate to eye contact with cats?

Scientists agree that it is not necessary to look cats in the eyes, but this is not related to the mystical aspects. The fact is that the animal is exposed to stress. For any predator, gaze is threat and aggression, and battle must follow. Street cats-rivals, before engaging in a fight, look into each other’s eyes for a long time, emit a uterine sound. The cat will look directly either if there is an opponent in front of him, or if it is hunting.

Cats see differently than humans. The differences relate to the ability to see the central and peripheral areas. A human has central vision. We do not have peripheral vision, so we have to move their eyes to the object we want to see. It becomes the center, and the rest goes to the periphery. It’s different with cats. They have both central and peripheral vision, due to which they see where a person is looking without looking into his eyes. Therefore, there is no need to establish eye contact with the pet, it can see you perfectly anyway. When one gets the impression that the animal is looking into the distance and does not notice anything, this is not so. It notices everything that is happening in a radius of about 200 degrees and can react, including unexpectedly starting to behave aggressively.

What is the right way to behave if you looked into the eyes of a cat and saw aggression? 

You do not need to immediately look away, this can be regarded as weakness and surrender. Smile, blink, and then start looking somewhere else.

And if the cat itself looks into your eyes?

As mentioned earlier, a gaze gives a cat discomfort, but there are situations when the pet itself looks into the eyes. This happens for very simple reasons:

• It just likes to watch. As they say, you can endlessly look at water, fire and a working person. The owner washing the floors is a great sight, why not watch?

• It wants to attract attention and get a treat.

• Some cats behave this way when something bothers them, for example, they feel unwell when the door they want to enter is closed.

• There may be a desire to dominate. To find out who the owner is, animals usually play peepers with unfamiliar people. If you don’t look away, you can feel the sharpness of the animal’s claws.

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