It’s a common phrase, “cats always land on their feet.” It always seems that if a cat falls or is dropped, they perfectly correct themselves midair to land on their feet and be unscathed by the fall. I’ve been very curious since I was younger why this happens and how they’re able to do it. Have they mastered defying physics or are they just magical creatures?
I’ve grown up with multiple cats and have never seen one, no matter when falling or dropped, to correct themselves in the air and land on their feet. Animal Planet says that cats’ bodies reflexively corrects itself so its feet hit the ground first. So how are their bodies able to do this while other species can’t?
Animal Planet attributes this to their body mechanics. Cats’ bodies recognize where their feet are and adjust accordingly, using their heads as the anchor that starts the adjustment. The amazing thing about cats that allow their body to adjust midair are their spines. Without their spines being able to do what they do, cats would not be able to adjust in the air and land on their feet.
The backbones of cats are very flexible, allowing them to create extra movement when correcting midair. They also have 30 vertebrae, which allows their spines to be more flexible and make their bodies more nimble. Compare that to humans who have just 24 vertebrae in their spines. Their spines physically allow them to correct themselves when falling, but is it a natural inborn skill or is it taught to them? Animal Planet says its an inborn skill with cats being able to correct their falls by the age of 6 weeks old.
Cats are amazing animals and it seems like they are both defying physics and in a way magical.
Sources:
http://www.animalplanet.com/pets/why-do-cats-land-on-their-feet.htm
I’ve always wondered why they would land on their feet. I also believe it would be hard to test this out in an experiment. Does the age of the cat play a role? What I mean by this is would a kitten be able to do the same thing as an older cat? I found some more information on how cats can land on their feet and in some cases they still can be harmed at short distance falls. http://www.petplace.com/cats/why-cats-land-on-their-feet/page1.aspx#.VEkD_sbBRBU
I’ve always wondered how cats do end up landing on their feet. How do scientists test this question? I think it would be unethical to just drop cats from different heights and try to understand the concept of how they land on their feet. Cats have great balance and reflexes and that’s why this is possible for them in comparison to humans. Here’s an article where someone dropped a cat from different heights and I found the results to be interesting because the cat did not land on its feet when dropped from a height of 1 foot. http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume4/v4i4/catfeet.htm
Cats also have what is called an aerial righting reflex which helps them land on their feet in terms of physics. In comparison with humans, cats have an advantage in surviving falls. Their weight in accordance to surface area is smaller than ours, so during falls they reach their main speed slower than humans do!
Here is a link to an article on this subject that also has some videos of cats falling.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/24/why-cats-always-land-on-their-feet-_n_1828748.html