The Science Behind Why Cats Land on their Feet

A lot of people seem to wonder why cats would always land on their feet. Well there are some facts to these and actually, it has been scientifically proven by experts who have actually done some experiments. Take note, you would certainly be amazed to how extent the flexibility of a cat's body is. Now to know the truth, here are the things you may need to know to be in the know.

Feline Physics

Keep in mind, the cat's inner ear has a vestibular system that would allow them to regain the right momentum in attaining the right body balance to land on their feet as they fall on the ground. Now, here's the technique cats would do just to help them land on their feet. Read on.

As the "free fall" would happen, the cat's instinct is to bend their body in the middle part to allow their front half (of the body) to easily rotate and prepare for the next move.

Now their next instinctive move here is to let their front body rotate up to 90 degrees while their rear body would also rotate to the opposite direction. While the rear body and feet of the cat is extending, the cat's front body and feet is preparing to move on the right position as it lands on the ground. This kind of reflex movement would continue until the right angle of momentum in landing on the ground is achieved by the cat.

Remember, the flexibility of the cat's body is yet another factor here to why they would land on their feet. Meaning, it is also about their bone structure. Also, it's all about the right reflex of the cat's body whenever they are in a situation wherein they would eventually fall.

Learning the Cat's Body Movement in Falling

Take into account; experiments have been done to learn the behavior of the cat as they would fall. In some experiments done, a cat would likely to have a greater extent of injury as it would fall at a range of a 6 storey high building. However, felines would less likely to have less injuries or nothing at all after falling on a 7 storey high building.

Further, such experiments are documented using videos and some high speed cameras to capture every movement and angle of the cat's body while landing on their feet. Well, you can watch how cats would land on their feet by watching some videos over at YouTube and in some viral video sites.

Cool Ability

Indeed, cats do have this kind of cool ability. Their "moms" need not teach them how to land on their feet since after a few weeks of being born, they would eventually have the flexibility to jump, pounce and even land on their feet as they would wander off in every corner of your house. So if you have your very own pet cat, you can try to watch them as they would land on their feet without any problems at all.