The star is 710 light years away. The colour is caused by an over-supply of carbon.
Carbon stars are in the latter stages of evolution, and are rapidly losing their mass.
The visual magnitude of Y CVn varies from around 7.5 to about 10. Therefore at its dimmest it will be quite difficult to find in binoculars while at its brightest it is a tiny point of brilliant red, an unforgettable sight. The star is classified a semi-regular which means its period isn't consistent. However, while once thought to be around 160 days, its period has been recently updated to 251 days. So if the star eludes your binocular search, keep trying.