[thedoc (OP)]

Why do cats have vertical pupils? Do clouds defy gravity? What is the brain basis of road rage? The Naked Scientists team tackle these and many more science questions, with help from an all-star guest panel.
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[AndroidNeox]

I've been thinking about this... I'm pretty sure that using a vertical slit to regulate light, they will get different sort of optics for vertical versus horizontal imaging. If my intuition is correct, cats would get enhanced sensitivity to horizontal movement but highest visual resolution for distinguishing differences along the vertical axis.

Octopuses use chromatic aberration in combination with their oddly shaped pupils to extract color information. Cats could do the same thing, when their eyes are slits in bright light.

Goats have rectangular pupils, which I've read improves their peripheral vision.