Many people have heard the saying “cats always land on their feet”, however that statement is not always accurate. Frame-by-frame photographs have allowed scientists to examine the ways in which a cat falls. According to Animal Planet, more often than not cats will land on their feet. Scientists have found that cats are able to manipulate their body in ways that allow them to land safely on the ground, because of their flexible backbone, 30 vertebrae and vestibular system.
When falling cats are able to “correct its course” so that they land safely, however cats do not always survive a fall. “The height of a cat’s fall determines how well, or how poorly, his legs can absorb the shock of the landing”. It is interesting to note that cats who fall from greater heights often sustain less injuries than those that fall from a second story building, because “the longer drop gives the cats’ body more time to right themselves”.
Cats rely on their eyes in order to locate up from down. After rotating their head in a way that allows them to evaluate the direction in which they need to be facing cats arch their back. Cats are also able to rely on their inner ear, “which houses the vestibular system” to tell them where they are in relation to the ground. According to WedMD, “the vestibular system is stimulated by gravity and rotational movements. It plays an important role in balance and orienting the body in space”. Both the cats eyes and specially designed inner ear allow them to land safely.
According to Animal Planet, “next cats spine so they can arch their back; then the front feet, followed by the hind legs, get positioned under the animal, with the cats front paws placed close to its face it is able to spare its face from the ground’s impact. As the cat lands, the cat’s leg joints bear the impact of his weight”. Even though factors such as age and the height of a cats fall, can affect the animal’s ability to survive, it is interesting to learn that the old saying is somewhat accurate. Cats always land on their feet (for the most part).
Resources:
http://pets.webmd.com/cats/vestibular-disorders-cats
http://petmerightmeow.com/wp-content/uploads/cats-always-land-on-their-feet.jpg
http://thehigherlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/cat-landing.jpg
http://www.animalplanet.com/pets/why-do-cats-land-on-their-feet.htm
Bradley, hmmm, that is a good question. It reminds me of when Andrew was speaking off the fruit flies and how the male fruit fly would break a part of its body off into the female ending her mating season. Remember that? I know a lot of other species don’t do that, like the cats in your blog. They do their own thing.
I was just thinking maybe it’s a natural reaction. Like if you hit your elbow on a table, the first thing you do is go to caress it. Your blog also made me think of Cat Woman too. Don’t worry, I’m not getting off topic. That one scene when she slid through the jail bars made me consider cats are just flexible creatures and when you describe how cats readjust themselves and everything about their flexibility, that really helped me decide that readjustment in cats was definitely one of their cat tendencies.
The inborn skill you call I believe comes from when the mother cat holds the baby inside of its mouth. I’m pretty sure the mother doesn’t throw her child across the land or space, but the babies learn through that fall how to land properly. Do you think that could be it? Or is it still magic?
I’ve always thought this myth was interesting and if it was true, then why? Is there some type of evolutionary benefit for cats that no other animal seems to have?
This is very interesting to me because many people that I know seem to believe this to be true: that they always land on their feet. What do you mean by “most of the time”. Is it a rather high percentage if so many people accept this to be true?