How close are felines to reptiles?

[TransformerRobot]

I just noticed that cats seem to have very close eyes to certain reptiles (mostly snakes and lizards).

 

Were felines and reptiles much close biologically in the past?

[pwagen]

Felines were no closer to reptiles than other mammals, and belong on the branch that split from the reptile line a little over 300 million years ago. While some reptilian eyes are very similar to a cat's eyes, I would think the similarity is mostly visual, and the underlying structures are quite different.

 

http://en.wikivet.net/Lizard_Eye

http://www.earthlife.net/mammals/vision.html

[Ringer]

Just to add to pwagen's response, you may want to look up homologous vs. analogous traits.