It's actually both
this post was submitted on 19 May 2026
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Depends on the lighting conditions
I dislike cats, have never had one, but this seems obvious.
Ain't nobody prowling around on the savanna in the day time with huge pupils like that.
Cats are crepuscular, which means they are most active at dawn and dusk. They aren't doing a whole lot of hunting in the middle of the day regardless of their pupil size.
This is also why they have a reputation for being really fucking annoying when you’re trying to sleep. They’ll keep you awake when you’re trying to fall asleep, because that’s when they are most awake. And then after you finally fall asleep, they’ll come snuggle up because they’re tired again. And then they’ll wake you up at 5:30 in the fucking morning, because they’re awake and energetic again as dawn approaches.
Our cat likes to "hunt" at around 3AM. Every morning there is a collection of his prey (toys) that he brings upstairs and leaves on and around the bed. At some point he will also loudly announce his arrival with his kills. It would be cute if it wasn't 3 AM on a Monday night!
While that may be the case case for house cats, I know that other cats are geared towards hunting nocturnally, like that little tiny African cat the smallest cat in the world that has one of the highest hunting success rates on the planet for a mammal.
But what else, I think a bunch of them they're not really nocturnal usually they take cat naps and wake up and prowl around and will hunt if they find something but obviously in the warm climates avoid the hottest temperatures.
I know I had a mountain lion follow me and show itself to me in the middle of the night.
Amazing.
You just don't understand.
Humans are the most genocidal predators of all history, we are far more similar to a cat than we would like to admit.
Think about it, we slaughtered animals for millions of years including each other, to say you hate cats is to say you hate yourself.
Sorry who hates cats because theyre genocidal?
You seem to have misfired there chief.
Pupil size is actually not only due to light but affected by your body's endogenous drugs or outside drugs you may take, as we all know opiates will make your pupils small as a pin even at night, or whatever, while cocaine or psychedelics will make your pupils wide as a dinner plate even during the day. To say nothing of atropine and the like.
Those play off your body's natural drugs, the endogenous ones aforementioned.
Also how could you not like cats? That's weird.
I suspect that there's more people in the world that just wouldn't live with an animal in their house than there are people who would.
I have to ruin the joke but this is not really accurate.
Cat's are not thinking about "killing" when they have this look. It's the "play & snack mode" a very positive feeling for the cat. They don't have the idea that they might hurt or kill another living being in the process.
The real "kill mode" is when having a dispute with other cats (or cat like animals) that they identity not as a snack but as a cat like thing. And this look is much closer to the left picture.
The second move is for target acquisition and often precedes a pounce. The wide pupils let in more light, enabling a more precise pounce.
Why the cat's body is preparing to pounce is entirely situational. Maybe it's a hunt, maybe it's play, maybe it's just because the cat is being a little overenergetic derp. When you spend time living with a cat you usually learn to identify them pretty reliably. Especially the last one.
Exactly my stand is, that cat's don't differentiate much between play and hunt.
It's a joyful experience for them (most times), not a stress situation.
Fight mode is usually ears back, low to the ground, fur on end, tense muscles and accompanied by hissing/bapping. Tail tucked in or fully raised dependent on cat and whether they feel cornered or aggressive.
Eyes half squinted, ears generally relaxed/lightly twitching with occasional tail swish is chill mode.
Whiskers will be more horizontal as well. Drooping whiskers = relaxed.
If anyone needs reference material, watch cat groomers on YT xD
The left picture is also very close to a cat smile, a little more squinty-ness and that's a smile.
The first is the judgement and planning phase.
The second is when demonic behavior might leak out.
..."might"? A decision has already been made behind those eyes.
In the first photo it looks like it just smoked a joint.
In the second photo it looks like it just snorted five lines and is ready to go scarface.
So yeah, it tracks.
I recently learned that when Ted Bundy got into that violent mood, his pupils would dilate as wide as they could go. His cousin said his eyes went dark.
Learned that in elementary school
The cat will open its pupils when gunting, since closed eyes hinder its sight
"gunting" made me feel a certain way
It sounds like a place where you put things or the sound you make when you put things in the gunt.
My cat can be a complete gunt at times. I've not noticed if her pupils differ at these times
Way back I gave one of my cats one of those toys that's basically a torus with a ball that rolls around the inside with openings on top to allow the cat to hit the ball around. The openings were just a hint too small for the ball to come out without any force. Anyway, I gave my girl this toy and I swear she spent over half an hour just knocking that ball around. I walked up and pulled the ball out and showed it to her and in an instant her eyes went from slits to fully dilated. She didn't attack me though, she just yelled at me instead.
Don't worry she probably not thought about killing you, but was just happy you signalized to play "kill this thing" with her.
There is a whole horror short story in those 2 faces if you are a creature that is smaller than them.
"yawn, that little creature is so boring an unimpressive....I should go break its leg and bite it to see if that makes it do anything interesting."
It's not "kill mode", it's attentive.
Attending to the thing they intend to kill
Offense or defense, both come with claws.
Nothing strange about it.