How Do Cats Survive Massive Falls?

Everyone knows that cat-o'-nine-tails can somehow survive come down out of a tree diagram , but last weeka cat survived a 19 - chronicle fall in Boston . So just how the hell did it make out it ?

Science , as common , can serve explain : it ’s mostly anatomy . But sadly , there is a deficiency of empirical grounds — scientists seem loath to shake off cat out of windowpane in pursuit of their studies — but there has been plentifulness of inquiry into mode they return .

In comparability to most mammals , they have a large surface area for their weighting , which means their concluding velocity is low . In fact , grant toa 1987 bailiwick by veterinarians Wayne Whitney and Cheryl Mehlhaff , an middling - sized computed axial tomography with its limb extended achieves a concluding velocity of about 60 mph , while an average - sized humanity reaches a final velocity of about 120 mph . The result ? When a cat hits the ground , it ’s subject to smaller forces and suffer few injury .

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But there ’s more . Cats have also evolved a keen sense for knowing which way is up . Weirdly , given a bountiful enough gloam , that means that they ’re subject of right themselves in mid - air by spin their tails , to ensure they put down groundwork - first . “ Everything that lives in trees has what we call an ethereal right reflex , ” explain Robert Dudley , a biologist at the animal flying testing ground at the University of California , Berkeley , to the BBC .

Finally , when they do hit the ground , they have legs designed to soak up the impact . “ cat have long , compliant ramification , ” explains Jim Usherwood of the complex body part and motion science lab at the Royal Veterinary College , again to the BBC . “ They ’ve catch decent muscles . In that they ’re capable to jump quite well , the same muscle divert energy into decelerating rather than break bones . ” And by stretch out the duration of the wallop , the forces transmitted through their bodies are once again greatly reduced .

Sadly , not all domestic cats can survive a massive declination , and that ’s for one understanding : they ’re often overweight because they get fed kickshaw and snacks all day long . But if your bozo is lean and agile , it should jubilantly survive a small fall . Just please do n’t treat that as an data-based challenge , though . [ BBC ]

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