Spooky - where did I go wrong ?

Cat's pupils are at maximum dilation in the dark... the small amount of light available is maximized by the cat's retina... imagine what the flash must have felt like to the cat? blinding!!

Oh Lori - I didn't know that. I'm so glad you told me. I shall try to avoid taking photos of them in the dark from now on.

I didn't mean to imply that it was painful.. did you notice that they often look directly at the source of light? (like car headlights) have you ever heard the simile " frozen like a deer caught in the headlights"? sudden bright light seems to cause them to stand quite still.