cats always do land on there feet o_o

[cylenrii]

okay today i either had a miracle or just a very true scientific fact

as i was sitting on my computer today my cat slipped between our balcony bards and proceeded to talk on the edge and before i knew anything i hear a loud thump and knew he had fallen off as i rushed downstairs expecting the worst and a horrifying scene....something happend he walked right up to me perfectly fine no scratches no bruises no broken bones...he landed in a pile of rocks with concrete underneath for gods sake AND WE LIVE ON THE 3RD FRIGGIN FLOOR ._.

so maybe its a miracle or cats have iron legs i really dont now i just really wanted to share this amazing experience

 

[Squigma]

What floor did he fall from?

I believe I once heard that they're strong enough to not be injured if they fall from below the 3rd floor. But if they fall from much above that they have enough time to spread out their legs and reduce their terminal velocity enough to be relatively unharmed. So almost all cat deaths due to falling occur from the 3rd or 4th floor.

Of course, that may be complete rubbish, it sounds like the sort of thing that would be an urban myth.

EDIT: The internet is never a completly reliable source, but it sounds true:

http://tafkac.org/animals/falling_cats.html

http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/070912_llm_righting_reflex.html

 

[cylenrii]

What floor did he fall from?

I believe I once heard that they're strong enough to not be injured if they fall from below the 3rd floor. But if they fall from much above that they have enough time to spread out their legs and reduce their terminal velocity enough to be relatively unharmed. So almost all cat deaths due to falling occur from the 3rd or 4th floor.

Of course, that may be complete rubbish, it sounds like the sort of thing that would be an urban myth.

EDIT: The internet is never a completly reliable source, but it sounds true:

Animals/falling cats

LiveScience.com: Life's Little Mysteries - Why Do Cats Land on Their Feet?

oh i did forget to say he fell from the3rd floor

 

[Verscha]

They'll land on their feet so long as they have enough time to twist their bodies around to right themselves. My kitty has fallen flat on her face before. XD

 

[Pojo]

They'll land on their feet so long as they have enough time to twist their bodies around to right themselves.

He's right...Cats are able to twist their bodies in a short period of time, so their feet will be downwards...Even from a height of 4 feet is enough...At least for mine, not that I would know >.>

 

[2low]

They dont always land on there feet , when there really young ...
well when i was really young and my lil bro decided to do that and he did not land on his feet and the kitty died ;(

 

[Darkfinn]

Well... your cat is now down another life.

 

[Dave]

Also it depends on the weight and type of cat. I had a Bengal I think that is the spelling and he would regularly escape to the outside by jumping from out second story window and the most recent time I caught him he jumped out of a tree about twice as tall as my house chasing a squirrel and he caught the squirrel in the air, it was actually pretty darn impressive.

 

[Chillhouse]

You should strap a piece of buttered toast to the back of your cat, buttered side out, and drop them off your balcony. According to the Buttered Cat Theory, this would create an anti-gravity effect, with both the buttered side of the toast and the cat's feet trying to land on the ground.

 

[mizzycub]

If you want to hurt a cat the best floor to throw it from is the 6th. Higher then that and it's body acts almost like a parachute and it less likely to get hurt. Lower and it isn't going as fast so less damage. But if you want to hurt a cat, I also want to hurt you, and a I have a sword - so I wouldn't recommend it.

As for landing on its feet it takes a few milliseconds to turn. How it works is the cat can turn its head to look at the floor and the rest of the body just twists round with it until it is facing feet down. You could probably get one not to land on its feet, but it would have to be so close to the floor not to turn in time, that it wouldn't be any threat to the cat if it did.

 

[Figz]

I was at my boyfriend's way back when, and he had a really tall balcony.
His cat was on the ledge; The cat , like, jumped off, and he sure as hell did not land on his feet.

 

[Nam Repaid]

You can hold your cat on their back in your arms asleep two feet off your bed and quickly let him go and he will wake up and land on his feet. Of course he will be pissed! So DON'T DO IT OFTEN!!! A good friend's dad showed me that trick 35 years ago & I never tried it on any of my cats.

cylenri,
I'm glad to hear your cat is OK! I lost one recently to kidney disease and cryed like never before. It is amazing how attached to a crazy cat.

Nam

 

[CarKid]

My friend would throw the cat up in the air while spinning it, and it couldn't right itself in time.

 

[Point]

Einstein apparently threw cats out of buildings to test this

 

[cylenrii]

my freind threw his cat in the air...it stuck on one of the wooden beams in the celing xD

 

[Mysterious]

Apparently one of the keys to their balance is their tail, so if you take that away they may not be able to land on their feet. Could be wrong, just think I remember hearing that somewhere. Not that I advocate taking the tails off of cats to watch them fall. >_> That'd be horrible...

 

[spacemanBEN]

OK, well not to sound nerdy here, but that has everything to do with terminal velocity (physics). An object with a relatively small mass and relatively large surface area (like a cat) falls with a small final velocity and thus can land from reasonably high heights without any damage. In fact, if you through a mouse out of an airplane, it would land totally unharmed (as long as it fell in a good position). [end nerdiness]

Now that I've shared that useless information, my cat has also fallen from some pretty high places only to be completely unharmed. As long as the cat manages to land on its feet (not its neck!), a cat could actually fall from a good 20 floors and still be alright, or so I've been told.

 

[cylenrii]

i remeber one time i heard a dog fell out of anairplane and actually servived (he was pretty bloody though) it was like all over the news and what-not

 

[mizzycub]

SpacemanBEN, don't worry about the nerdiness. It is very interesting.

(well I knew it but it was still very interesting)