i thought cats land on their feet?

Question

not fat ones....

Answer 1

During a fall, a cat can reflexively twist its body and right itself using its acute sense of balance and flexibility.This is known as the cat's "righting reflex." It always rights itself in the same way, provided it has the time to do so, during a fall. The height required for this to occur in most cats (safely) is around 3 feet (90cm). To achieve this, cats probably relax their ventral muscles, "flattening" their bodies to some extent and creating more resistance to air. Cats without a tail also have this ability, since a cat mostly moves its hindlegs and relies on conservation of angular momentum to set up for landing, and the tail is in fact little used for this feat.

Answer 2

If cats fall a short distance, they can almost always right themselves and land on their feet. If they fall more than one or two floors, however, they may sustain severe or even fatal injuries. The number of cats who become injured from falling is increasing, partially because of the large number of multi-story apartment buildings. Cats who are injured during falls are often said to have 'high rise syndrome.' If cats fall a larger distance such as two or more floors, even though they can right themselves, their legs and feet can no longer absorb all of the shock. However, there are certainly instances of cats falling only a short distance and acquiring severe injuries.Be careful with your cat! <:)

Answer 3

My fat cat lands on her feet.

I have another cat who isn't fat and he seems to have a coordination problem - maybe an injury that prevents him from landing properly. His hind legs kinda fall out. Poor guy. I have to remember not to drop him - instead to put him down gently.

Answer 4

Not all cats land on their feet. I have heard of so many cats getting hurt because their owners wanted to test this theory. Cats are fairly agile but they can still hurt themselves in a fall.

Answer 5

My fat cat does NOT land on his feet. His tummy is so big that his it hits first and then his feet hit.

Answer 6

Fat cats could land on their feet if they wanted to, they just realize it would be detrimental on their joints! Always thinking, those cats!

Answer 7

Not always, they need time for their "righting reflex" to take over so if they fall from a couple of feet then they won't have time, weight shouldn't matter a whole lot though.

Answer 8

Actually, I heard that if you tied buttered bread to a cat's belly, with the butter side in (non-buttered side out), the cat will spin suspended about a foot off the floor.

Edit addition:
Boo hoo - someone gave me a thumbs down, but come on, isn't it a funny picture? Think about it...a spinning pussycat with a buttered bread tummy!
(BTW - I do love kitties.)

Answer 9

It's a myth. They TEND to have good balance and get on their feet, but there is no guarantee they will. If you tie a piece of toast to their back with the butter side up, and throw them out a window, it is almost guaranteed that they will land on their back. :-P

Answer 10

depending on the height they fall at most cats do land on their feet...its just an instinct.