do cats always land on their feet?

Question

I was just wondering if cats always land on their feet. Do they?

Answer 1

Most of the time they do. It really all depends on how high they were or if it was a sudden fall. I saw my cat once kinda miss her step off the shoulder of my couch and she didnt have enough time to land on her feet.
But that rarely happens with cats.....

http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/cat-behavior/catslanding2.cfm

Cats are able to get themselves ready so quickly for several reasons. They have a unique flexible musculoskeletal system. They do not have a collarbone and the bones in their backbone are more mobile than other animals, allowing them to easily bend and rotate their bodies in order to land feet first. They also have exceptional coordination and balance. The vestibular apparatus, which is responsible for their great balance, is a tiny fluid-filled organ located deep in a cat's inner ear and is composed of small chambers and canals lined with millions of sensitive hairs and filled with fluid and tiny floating crystals. As a cat falls, or even moves, the vestibular apparatus becomes active, giving readings on the body's position and helping to register which way is up.

or the safety of your cat, however, it's best not to intentionally try to put this righting reflex to use. You can keep your cat safe by keeping heavy, secured screens on balconies and upstairs windows and porches. While your cat may very well survive a fall, there's always the chance that he will not.

Answer 2

No, that is a myth, I have two cats and they hardly ever land on their feet when they fall off of something. In alot of cases if they fall from a high place they do land on their feet just for the fact that they have enough time to turn over and get positioned right, but no they absoutly do not always land on their feet!

Answer 3

Well it would follow that the cat would land on its feet. Now if you strapped the toast on butterside up, that would be an entirely different scenario. Unless that's what you meant in the first place. And if it is, I'll still guess the cat would land on its feet because it's heavier than the toast.

Answer 4

yes all cats land on there feet all the time

Answer 5

Absolutely not. Had one used watch for hours when he was in trees trying to catch a squirrel. the squirrel would always nail him making him fall out of the tree everytime he got close. And he'd land on his head or his back every time, then back up the tree he'd go after that squirrel. He never did catch that squirrel.

Answer 6

No, they don't always. but they way they are built, with an elastic backbone and all of that, makes it easier for them to land on their feet than, say, people. So if they have the reaction time, generally they do.

Answer 7

from higher heights they will, short distances they won't. Cats have been known to fall from apartment windows in the city and be less hurt than other cats that fell out of less high windows, because they have time to twist around and relax and brace themselves when they fall.

Answer 8

Most of the time yes, but cats fall sometime or another

Answer 9

If cats have enough time to maneuver their body into a position where they can, they do. If they're (hate to think of this) forced down or dropped really quick, I don't think they'd have a chance.

Answer 10

No, cats don't always land on their feet, I threw my cat out once and she landed on her side...horrible... :-(