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It is a bit of a strange phenomenon that cats can fall from distances and actually land on their feet. But don't go throwing your cat out of a window just to witness this behavior because it's not true that all cats land on their feet all the time or that they always walk away unscathed.
In fact, more and more cats are experiencing what's been dubbed as ‘high rise syndrome', sustaining serious injuries from falls out of open windows, balconies and rooftops. Regardless of height, cats can and have been injured in falls, resulting in anything from bruised chins and fractured teeth, to ruptured diaphragms, fractured bones, torn livers and worse.
n general, cats have a better chance of surviving falls from shorter distances, less than one or two floors. The risks increase as the height increases. The main reason for this is that, though cats can usually right themselves at both heights, their feet and legs are able to cushion the impact at shorter heights.
Interestingly, two veterinarians did a study and found that in falls seven stories or less, the chance of survival was indeed greater with the shorter distances. However, with falls greater than seven stories, the number of injuries actually declined when compared to falls at seven stories. Thus, beyond seven stories, the farther the fall, the better the chance of survival. They found that the reason for this was that after five stories or so, cats reach terminal velocity. Before reaching terminal velocity, cats have their muscles tensed and are rigid and flexed and prepared for landing, making them more prone to injury due to the impact. Once they've reached terminal velocity, however, they relax their muscles and spread themselves out much like a flying squirrel, allowing the impact to be absorbed by a larger surface area and thus resulting in fewer injuries.
Cats are able to right themselves so quickly for several reasons. They have a unique flexible musculoskeletal system. They do not have a collarbone and the bones in their backbone are more mobile than other animals, allowing them to easily bend and rotate their bodies in order to land feet first. They also have exceptional coordination and balance. The vestibular apparatus, which is responsible for their great balance, is a tiny fluid-filled organ located deep in a cat's inner ear and is composed of small chambers and canals lined with millions of sensitive hairs and filled with fluid and tiny floating crystals. As a cat falls, or even moves, the vestibular apparatus becomes active, giving readings on the body's position and helping to register which way is up.
or the safety of your cat, however, it's best not to intentionally try to put this righting reflex to use. You can keep your cat safe by keeping heavy, secured screens on balconies and upstairs windows and porches. While your cat may very well survive a fall, there's always the chance that he will not.
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