Other contributors have said "Do cats always fall on their feet?" is the same question as "Do cats always land on their feet when they fall?".
Do cats always land on their feet when they fall?
In:
Cat Behavior
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Answer:
Some different opinions are:
It is a reflex action with cats that, when they fall, they automatically twist their body around, mid-flight, so that their feet are downwards. This has been dubbed the "cat righting reflex", and it begins to develop when kitten are as young as 3-4 weeks.
The "cat righting reflex" involves the cat bending in the middle so that the front half of their body rotates about a different axis than the rear half. They then tuck in their front legs which reduces the moment of inertia of the front half of their body while they extend their rear legs to increase the moment of inertia of the rear half of their body. The front half rotates up to 90° and the back half rotates in the opposite direction substantially less, such as 10°. This ability is largely due to their flexible spine and a non-functional collarbone. It is these qualities which enable cats to turn quickly, and balance themselves, thereby landing on their feet.
It is an important point that an average cat needs to drop from 3 feet or higher in order to completely turn itself around to land. In addition, just because it lands on its feet doesn't mean it doesn't get hurt. Every day cats seriously injure themselves or die from falls, and the theory that they always land on their feet should never be deliberately tested.
- Yes they do and if they have tails its their tail that balances them.
- Not always. Some cats have no tails, and they flip over and land on their back A LOT!
- They usually do because they are extremely flexible and land on their feet because they are able to twist in the air when falling and manage to land on their feet. But this does not happen all the time.
It is a reflex action with cats that, when they fall, they automatically twist their body around, mid-flight, so that their feet are downwards. This has been dubbed the "cat righting reflex", and it begins to develop when kitten are as young as 3-4 weeks.
The "cat righting reflex" involves the cat bending in the middle so that the front half of their body rotates about a different axis than the rear half. They then tuck in their front legs which reduces the moment of inertia of the front half of their body while they extend their rear legs to increase the moment of inertia of the rear half of their body. The front half rotates up to 90° and the back half rotates in the opposite direction substantially less, such as 10°. This ability is largely due to their flexible spine and a non-functional collarbone. It is these qualities which enable cats to turn quickly, and balance themselves, thereby landing on their feet.
It is an important point that an average cat needs to drop from 3 feet or higher in order to completely turn itself around to land. In addition, just because it lands on its feet doesn't mean it doesn't get hurt. Every day cats seriously injure themselves or die from falls, and the theory that they always land on their feet should never be deliberately tested.
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