We measured the information available for orientation discrimination from metric distances for 24 cells in area 17 of cats that were paralyzed and anesthetized with propofol and N₂O. The metric distance information confirms fundamental coding differences for discrimination between fine (<10°) and gross (>10 °) orientation differences. The information for discriminating larger orientation differences is contained mainly in the firing rate, with minor enhancements from coarse (30-70 ms) temporal structure in the firing rate. Both precise spike timing (9.2 ms) and intervals (6.8 ms) sustained over the stimulus presentation provide information for fine discrimination of orientation, where almost no reliable information is provided by the spike count. We compare and confirm the results (using the same dataset) to vector distances based on classification theory (Samonds et al. 2003a). The results support a dynamic spiking mechanism where coordinated activity could provide fast and reliable information about detailed angle and/or direction information in the region of the preferred orientation.