Why Do Cats Land on All Fours?

“Cats fall on all fours” We always use the cliché, but we don’t know if it’s true or not.

Really, cats really If you don’t know they fall on all foursyou will know now!

There are many physical and biological characteristics that underlie cats’ ability to fall.

It is almost impossible for us to see a cat falling from somewhere. This is due to a feature known as the “cat righting reflex”. This feature allows cats to turn themselves while falling. Pulling their front paws towards their body and extending their hind legs They maintain their momentum.

Like this, turning their bodies as they fall They can control the moment of falling. Isn’t that impressive?

So to what do they owe this flexibility?

These flexibility This is possible because their spines do not have collarbones. This gives cats more freedom of movement.

Of course, another noteworthy point is the acceleration process of cats while falling. At first their speed increases, but after a certain point their speed stabilizes. Physically, this process can be modeled with complex differential equations and the relationship between the cat’s falling speed and the height of the fall can be calculated.

For example A cat falling from a height of 100 metersIt can reach speeds of 30 meters per second.

Studies on this subject say that these reflexes are also connected to survival instincts.

According to emerging reports, 90% of cats that fall from high-rise buildings survive. We call it “They have 9 lives” Although we say, this actually shows cats’ ability to protect themselves and minimize damage when falling. Of course, we cannot say that every cat that falls will survive, these are just possibilities.

As you can see, cats Thanks to the flexibility of the spine, they retain their angular momentum. They are one of the rare creatures that can stand on four legs while falling, protecting themselves. This ability makes them even more impressive.

Our other content that may interest you: