Did you know Geralt doesn't have Cat eyes?

[Dysbro]

So I am reading the books currently and realised that Geralt actually doesn't have Cat eyes. Yes he can see in the dark better then the average human but only because he can increase and decrease his pupils more than a human can. At one passage it says that when the sun shines his pupils turn into tiny dot's. For me it sounds like he has round pupils just more flexible. I thought it was interesting fact to share :D

By the way that could mean that Geralt will have normal looking eyes in the upcoming Netflix adaptation, since they use the books as a template and not the game.

[Nubadak]

Hmm I'm reading the books too I must have missed the pupil bit. Although I still imagine he has cats eye just not from a cat.

[every1hasnames]

Yes in the books Geralt doesnt actually have cat looking eyes persistantly. However his eyes do look like cats when they take the cat potion or whatever its called.

Its an effect of the cat potion. It turns their eyes to look like a cats eye. When not under the influence of the cat potion their eyes look normal.

Also even without the use of the cat potion witchers eyes are generally sufficient in seeing in almost pitch black darkness aswell as near blinding light.

It would take extreme circumstances for the need of the cat potion.

So generally the use of the cat potion would be rare. Meaning it would be rare for normal humans to ever see a witcher when there eyes are like a cat.


It was likely a decision by cdpr to make the cat eye look permanant to give the witchers a more distinctive look for the player.

[Sjarken]

Originally posted by CursedPanther:

Triss is also supposed to suffer from burn scars on her chest that she can't quite get rid of with magic alone according to the books. Nothing must get in the way of seductive deep V outfits though. At least the devs didn't charge a dollar for it.

The game trilogy literally reinvents half the stuff from the original lore.

According to the books, the magic users also use illusions to cover up imperfections mixed with makeup, and the result suppose to be out it of this world, like extremely attractive.

[every1hasnames]

That is true aswell as mages have prolonged life due to their magic. It is a common held belief that what the mages actually look like is equivalent to lets just say find a picture of any worlds oldest female and you would get an idea of what they actually may look like without the magic.


In the beginning of the game your actually shown this when it talks about mages. You first see a really old femle like really old then your shown an attractive female looks like yennefer probably is suppose to be her.

[Raxo]

cat eyes look cooler

[Sjarken]

In the books, Geralt does not have human eyes either, theres many cases where humans look into his eyes and get really scared, in some cases so much so that they run away. Geralt is part of the Wolf genre of Witchers, that means that his mutations has turned out a certain way and that he fits the Wolf's way of fighting.

[Krampus]

General population doesn't really fit the normal either since every 10th NPC you meet has yellow eyes like they'd just contracted jondice ...

[Eric]

In the books, they are not described as cat eyes--they are the eyes "of a viper". The game depicted them correctly. "Finally, came the seventh day. The male awoke and opened his eyes, and his eyes were as those of a viper…" from Book of Elves at the end of chapter 2.

This change was due to the trial of the grasses. https://witcher.fandom.com/wiki/Trial_of_the_Grasses

[Asanyth]

TLDR: Books say cat eyes:

In Sword of Destiny, chapter 9, page 125, 5th paragraph
"He [Geralt] glanced up at the sun once more, his pupals narrowing into vertical skits. A glorious day, he thought".

This wasn't the first time it was mentioned either. It was also mentioned in the first book.
His eyes are like cat eyes. That being said, it might be possible he simply can control the shape and not just how dilated his pupils are. Either way, the series is great. Can't wait for season 2. It's already confirmed so I'm excited. The shape of his pupil not being 100% accurate isn't a reason for me to not see a show. I'm so surprised at how well Henry plays Geralt.

[Xanax the Wise]

This is a pretty old thread, but I feel like adding my two cents might offer people some insight that I was missing!

Truthfully, there is a lot that's lost in translation between Polish, English, and various other translations. I know they went through a lengthy process or keeping the original meaning and intent when Denusia Stok and David French translated the books to English. With that in mind, here's the gist:

Witchers are officially canonized as having verticle slits, or at least a good number do, which makes it more than likely it's a common mutation. The Cat of Iello, Brehen, is referenced as having yellow eyes with verticle slits. It's worth noting that he (with more information from Season of Storms) canonized the School of the Cat in the official book canon.

Geralt and Coen are also mentioned as having cat-like eyes in Sword of Destiny and Lady of the Lake, respectively. There are various mentions or pupil dilation control and incredible night vision that is supplemented by the Cat potion, but the cat potion is not responsible for the change in eye structure, as Geralts eyes are referenced as cat-like without his imbibing of the cat potion.

Hope this helps anyone who's curious! There are a lot of little nuances that I think were left vague to intentionally keep Witchers shrouded in mystique.