Phyllis’ cats love the night life

Phyllis' cats love the night life By:Bob Karolevitz
Writer at Large Phyllisâ�?�? two indoor cats â�?�? Baxter and Bailey â�?�? are as black as the ace of spades â�?�? to coin a clich�?©. She puts them to bed at night downstairs in the furnace room which is pitch black if she doesnâ�?�?t leave a light on. She doesnâ�?�?t believe in cats running willy-nilly through the house when weâ�?�?re asleep, mostly because theyâ�?�?ll hop up on my bed. And I donâ�?�?t like it. When she forgets to turn the lights on, I hear noises in the night likeâ�?¦ KERPLUNK! â�?�?Thatâ�?�?s Bailey,â�? I say, â�?�?stumbling over the food dish.â�? Occasionally I hear Baxter screaming, â�?�?MEEOOWW!â�? Thatâ�?�?s when he runs into Bailey changing positions in their sleeping quarters. This brought up an argument between me and the catâ�?�?s owner. I said, â�?�?Cats can see in the dark.â�? Phyllis countered by arguing: â�?�?Cats canâ�?�?t see in total blackness. They need a little bit of light.â�? Then she supported her argument with facts, and I hate an opponent like that. It takes all the fun out of debate! She told me: â�?�?A cat has different sort of eyes. It can adjust them to a variety of light by changing the pupils. They are narrow slits in bright light; in darkness they become almost as wide as the entire eye. Because of that, they can see in dim light more than most other animals, including humans. As if that wasnâ�?�?t enough, she sprung something on me that she had Googled on the computer: â�?�?The catâ�?�?s eyeball is formed by several layers of tissue (one of them) called the â�?�?scleraâ�?�? is made of tough fibrous tissue which transport oxygen to the contents of the eye. â�?�?The clear outer portion that covers the eye is the cornea. This is made up of extremely thin layers of cells arranged in a unique fashion so the cornea is transparent. The cornea allows light to enter unaffected into the eye. â�?�?The animalâ�?�?s eye is composed of two major types of light-sensitive cells called â�?�?rodsâ�?�? and â�?�?cones.â�?�? Rods are responsible for magnifying light impulses. The cat has an increased number of rods.â�? Cats have 25; humans have four. I even found out that felines have a highly developed reflective area in the back of their eyes â�?�? like raccoons, deer and other animals â�?�? and thatâ�?�?s what makes them glow when automobile headlights shine in their faces. See! Computers are worth something after all! I lost the argument, but I learned something. Baxter and Bailey donâ�?�?t see anything in the furnace room if Phyllis doesnâ�?�?t remember to turn the lights on. �?© 2008 Robert F. Karolevitz