Dropping cats?

Question

I heard you can drop a cat from any height and it will survive, because its terminal velocity is lower than the speed at which it can hit the ground unhurt. Can anybody confirm or refute this, because it can't be true, or can it?

Answer 1

i can and your right

Answer 2

Halliday and Resnick cite the fact that cats droped from HIGHER elevations actually survive more falls than those droppped from 15 feet or so, as the cat reaches terminal velocity and no longer feels the acceleration due to gravity. They say this causes the cat to be less tense and therefore improve chances for survival. I think that the time required for the cat to right itself in the air is actually a more crucial factor.

Answer 3

you are right about cat have less terminal velocity but to have a terminal velocity, a cat must fall from a really really hight building. But i don't think the cat is gonna survive if it falls from the empire state builing

Usually, when we are talking about a cat falling, we always assume it fall from 9 or 10 ft from the ground. Why it can survive is determine by how it lands. The highly developed inner ears of cats equip them with an unusually keen sense of balance, which is critical to their landing on their feet. This sense of balance allows a cat falling upside down to right himself by rapidly determining his position, repositioning himself, and making any adjustments necessary to ensure that he lands on all fours.

Since cats land on all four paws, the impact from landing on the ground is absorbed by all four. Additionally, cats bend their legs when they land, which cushions the impact by spreading the impact, not only through bones that could easily break, but through the joints and muscles as well.

Answer 4

No, it's not true, and don't you dare go testing that theory with any cats. Cats do have an amazing ability to right themselves in midair and survive falls that would kill other animals, but many of them die every year as a result of falling off windowsills and fire escapes in places like New York City.

I have heard that mice can survive a fall from an airplane, but don't try that one, either.

Answer 5

That's not univerally true. Cats can be killed from falls, and they are. Drop a cat out of an airplane onto a concrete runway and you'll burn all 9 lives in one fell swoop.

Answer 6

A cat will surely die if you drop it from the top of the Empire State Building.

Answer 7

I don't think it's true, but I don't have any evidence one way or the other and I certainly don't want to go gather any.