Why do cats only land on their feet? Do cats always land on all fours? Falls from a great height

In New York in 2007, a cat named Amanda fell from the 29th floor onto the pavement. She remained not only alive, but escaped with only wounds on her chest and one knocked out tooth. If Hollywood actress Amanda Seyfried had been in her place, the fall would have been more painful. So why do cats fall on their paws?

Cats have an extremely efficient vestibular apparatus. It allows the animal to navigate well in the environment when falling. Having bent, the animal already at the very beginning of the fall turns out to be paws down. Impact on the surface, as a result of this, all 4 paws take over.

People, if, of course, they are not acrobats, falling, somersaulting and landing, as God wills, they can fall on their feet and on their heads. As for children, they fall head down, as their heads are large, and this contributes to a shift in the center of gravity. That is why injuries in cats and people who have fallen from a height are completely different. Adults most often break their legs or ribs, and children break their heads. A cat can break all 4 paws.

There is another interesting nuance. A person falling from the 10th floor is less likely to survive than when they fall from the 3rd floor. Cats are the opposite. According to statistics from the New York Veterinary Clinic, 5% of cats who fall from the 7th to 30th floors die, and 10% of those who fall from the 2nd to 6th floors. This phenomenon is explained by the limiting speed of the fall. When a body falls down, its speed does not increase all the time, but is fixed at a certain limit value.

This is easy to understand: first, air resistance increases with speed, and then it is balanced by gravity. After that, the speed of the body stops increasing if the shape of the body remains unchanged. Air resistance is greater if the cross section of the body is larger. And the force of gravity directly depends on the mass of the body. The cross section to mass ratio is greater in cats than in humans. Hence, the maximum fall speed of a cat is 2 times less than that of any person, and therefore the animal is more likely to survive.

It should also be noted that the shape of the cat before reaching the limit speed is one, and after it is reached, it is already different. The cat feels the acceleration of the fall well, and therefore instinctively arches its back and stretches its paws down. In addition, the cat, falling on bent paws, softens the impact on the surface.

When the top speed is reached, the acceleration stops and the cat instinctively relaxes. At this moment, it takes the form of a flying squirrel, spreading its paws horizontally. This position of the body increases the cross section and reduces the ultimate fall velocity. In addition, in this position, the cat has little chance of breaking its paws upon impact, since its strength is distributed over the entire area and is extinguished by soft tissues.

But back to the question, why do cats fall on their paws? If the animal is picked up and then thrown on the floor with its back down, then when falling, the animal turns the front part of the body down, and in accordance with the law of conservation of momentum, the back part of the body turns in the opposite direction. Next, the cat presses the front paws and stretches the hind legs. This reduces the moment of inertia of the front part of the body, and increases the corresponding moment of the rear part.

The angular momentum is equal to the product of the moment of inertia and the angular velocity. Therefore, despite the fact that the angular momentum of the front part of the body is exactly equal to the angular momentum of the back part, the front part will have a greater angular velocity and, therefore, it will turn more than the rear part of the body will turn in the opposite direction.

After that, the cat repeats the same trick, but in the opposite direction. Only this time it presses its hind legs and extends its front legs. As a result, the angle of rotation of the back of the body this time will be greater than the front. As a result, when both stages are completed, the cat restores its shape and turns to the desired angle. This can be characterized as a change in the orientation of the body in space through a change in shape.

Cat acrobatics can be called perfect. But at the same time, the animals receive different damage, falling from a great height. That is, the answer to the question why a cat falls on its paws does not at all exclude the presence of injuries. But there is an assumption that in the process of evolution, furry animals have developed some kind of healing method.

Experts suspect that this method is purring. It is a different frequency vibration. And we can assume that it is these vibrations, which have different frequencies and intensities, that give a certain therapeutic effect.

12.06.2017 11:05 544

Why do cats always land on their feet?

Since ancient times, cats have lived alongside humans. But despite this, they still remain a mystery to us. We still do not know much about our pets.

If you have a cat living at home, then of course you have seen more than once that it always lands on all its four paws. And it does not matter from what height and from what position the cat jumps or even falls. Do you know why your pet does this and how she does it?

The fact is that the vestibular apparatus (a sense organ that is present in all vertebrates and humans, which perceives changes in the position of the head and body in space, as well as the direction of movement), thanks to which cats so deftly change the position of their body in flight, is much better developed. than in other animals.

During the fall, the cat quickly and clearly twists its entire body: first the head, then the neck and torso, aligning them so that they are on the same level with the head, relative to the ground.

In addition, in flight, the animal first accelerates its rotation, pressing its paws and tail to the body, and only then, when it already assumes a position with its paws down, does it sharply move them to the side, stopping rotation.

As a result of such tricks, the fall speed is noticeably reduced, and the cat itself, parrying in the air, successfully lands on all its four paws. Moreover, at the moment of landing, the animal softens the force of impact on the ground as much as possible, putting forward relaxed paws.

And oddly enough, the greater the height of the fall, the easier it is for the cat to group its movements in the air and perform maneuvers with minimal risk of injury. Interestingly, the ability to "competent" landing during the fall begins to develop perfectly at the reflex level in kittens already from 3 to 4 weeks of age.

For a long time, scientists thought that it was the tail that helped the cat to align the position of the body in flight and served as a kind of “steering wheel”. However, after observing the falls of tailless cats, they realized that cats land equally well regardless of whether they have a tail or not. Thus, it turns out that the amazing elasticity of the spine and excellent flexibility help these animals to perform the necessary actions in the air in a matter of seconds.

Since the study of nature and the various reflexes of animals can become an indispensable material in the lives of people themselves, for some time there has even been a special science that studies the capabilities of cats when falling - pasematology. This science, for example, allows scientists to develop various methods of orientation in space for astronauts in zero gravity.

As you can see, friends, man, despite the fact that he is at the highest stage of development, has a lot to learn from animals.

There is such a law - the law of conservation of angular momentum, on the basis of which scientists claim that it is not possible to create rotation from nothing. Simply put, due to internal forces alone, without support, the body cannot roll over in space.

Therefore, at first, the researchers believed that the cat is able to roll over, because it is repelled from the surface from which it falls, thereby setting itself the desired rotation. An animal cannot violate the laws of science! However, experiments have shown that the cat lands on its paws, even without being able to push off. The cat's secret remained undisclosed for a long time, until technology came to the rescue.

In 1894, French explorer Dr. Étienne Jules Marey took a series of photographs of a falling cat that helped unravel the secret of the cat's fall. It turns out that the cat rotates individual parts of the body in different directions; it bends, changes its “shape” and eventually flips over, keeping the total moment of rotation unchanged.

This is how you can describe the technique of turning a cat when falling from a height:

By bending the body to create different axes of rotation for the front and back of the body, the cat exposes its hind legs and draws in its front legs. She then twists the back of her body to one side and the front to the other. Opposite rotations cancel each other out, and the total moment of rotation in the fall remains zero. In this case, the front part turns a little more, due to the pressed paws.

Then the cat tightens its hind legs and exposes its front legs, performs a slight twist in the opposite direction, but still - the back and front parts of the body in different directions. This time, the rear part turns more strongly, thanks to the retracted legs.

Depending on the initial position of the body before the fall and its own flexibility, the cat can turn its paws down in one series of movements, or they need to be repeated several times.

Some sources claim that the cat turns around due to the rotation of the tail. Allegedly, the tail rotates in one direction, and the body in the other (again, keeping the initial moment of rotation unchanged). But observations have shown that tailless cats also
are able to turn in the air, which testifies in favor of the above described technique, where a flexible body and legs are involved, and the tail is not used.

Safely experiencing a fall from a height helps cats not only the ability to land on their paws, but also the special structure of their paws. Paws in cats, as a rule, are long, muscular, springy. They are able to greatly soften the impact on the ground.

Observing cats has helped scientists take a broader view of the laws of mechanics, as well as find useful applications of feline technology to develop techniques for astronauts to move in zero gravity.

Of course, the cat at the time of the fall does not perform any complex mathematical calculations. She does all these actions intuitively. http://www.33cats.ru/ This installation reflex begins to appear in kittens at the age of 3-4 weeks, and is fully developed by 7 weeks.

Why do cats get hurt when they fall?

Sometimes cats do not have enough time to roll over in the right direction. The minimum height required for a cat to turn around is from 30 cm. If the cat does not turn around, it can land on its back or on its side - places that are completely unsuitable for this. Thus, falls from a small height can be even more traumatic than from a height of several meters.

Another reason for accidents is that nature has endowed the cat with such a useful reflex for life in its natural habitat, and in a modern city this does not always save. The metropolis is too big a test for a cat! Apartment buildings are much taller than trees, and you can’t catch on plastic and metal like a branch.

In addition, cats that spend all their time in an apartment usually lead a sedentary lifestyle and are often even overweight, which drastically reduces their natural ability to survive. Ceteris paribus, where a wild muscular taut cat gets off with a slight fright, "Garfield" runs the risk of breaking into a cake!

Therefore, let's not flatter ourselves that the cat ALWAYS lands on its paws, but think about the safety of our furry friends. If you have a cat, then the windows should have nets, and the balcony should be glazed or always closed!

Any person, even one in whose house a cat does not live, knows that these animals see perfectly in the dark. However, not everyone knows that they have another unusual property. Falling from a height, cats are able to fall on all four paws and not get any damage. Neither man nor most other animals can do this.

Scientists have long been interested in why does a cat fall on its paws. Back in the nineteenth century, researchers working at the French Academy and studying the behavior of flying animals conducted experiments with felines. By changing the height from which the animal had to jump while in human hands, they determined why cats are considered excellent jumpers.

At first, the experimenters suggested that the main element in the cat's jump is the tail, since it means a lot to the animal even in ordinary life.

However, when they serially photographed the cat's jump, they were able to understand that the tail had nothing to do with it. Cats, which do not have a tail at all, are also able to land on the ground without harming themselves.

After carefully examining the photo and studying the poses of the animal, the scientists found several interesting facts. Whatever the initial position when the cat falls, in milliseconds its body is able to turn around in flight and acquire an even position relative to the fall surface.

First, she turns her head in order to see where she falls. If the animal is blind or simply has poor vision, most likely it will fall unsuccessfully. If everything is fine, it aligns the body in one line with the head. The forelimbs are pulled up to the head, and the hind limbs spread out and move as far as possible from the body.

All these actions are carried out very quickly and accurately. Before landing, the cat's ability to arch its back also plays an important role.

Soft paw pads and developed limb muscles become shock absorbers, which means that during the fall to the ground, the force of impact becomes much softer.

Spine

In addition to musculature, a successful flight also depends on the flexibility of the joints of the spine. A cat, unlike a person, has a large number of links of the spine (a cat has thirty of them, while a person has 24). This makes the cat's spine elastic, and that is why the animal can arch its back so elegantly and gracefully in a way that a person is not able to do.

A remarkably developed vestibular apparatus allows a cat that falls to the ground to navigate in the surrounding space, intuitively evaluate its own chances and bring the body into the most successful position for landing.

A cat is a fairly small and light animal. Its weight relative to the area of ​​​​the body is much less than that of a person. This also contributes to the ability to correctly group the body.

What is dangerous low altitude

Although cats are able to instantly turn around in flight, it still takes them about eighteen seconds. Falling from a small height, for example, twenty centimeters, it does not have enough time, so the consequences of landing will be sad. Falling from an impressive height, for example, from any floor, the animal will be able to orient itself in the air and relax the body, thereby making the blow softer.

The cat's ability to fall on all four limbs is a behavior given from birth and stored at an instinctive level. Even the tiniest kittens can do this when they are only three weeks old or a month old.

Even if cats have such an unusual property, this does not mean at all that you can make it a way to have fun by deliberately throwing an animal from a great height. Any pet, falling from a height, experiences a lot of negative emotions - he is scared, and if the height is critically high, such a “game” can end in serious and even fatal damage to internal organs.

It happens that after landing on the ground, the cat receives various injuries of the limbs and fractures. That is why you need to watch your pet if he likes to spend time on the balcony, because he can fall out of an open window or window. Remember that a small height can turn into a big disaster for your pet and for you! Glaze an open balcony or tighten all the windows on it with a special mesh. If a window is open in any of the rooms, you should also not leave the cat alone in the room. Don't expect everything to be fine - the animal may notice something moving outside the window, a bird, a leaf from a tree, and jump into danger!

Let your beloved pet never know what it's like to fall from a great height!

Cats, when falling from any height and from any position, always land on all four paws. This phenomenon could not but interest scientists. The first studies were carried out back in 1894, when at one of the regular meetings of the French Academy of Sciences, the famous physiologist Marey presented to the audience pictures of two cats in various phases of their fall. At the same time, it turned out that a cat without a tail falls in the same way as a full-fledged healthy cat.

Thus, the myth that the cat uses the tail as an aerodynamic steering wheel was dispelled, according to the online magazine Know How. Then, to explain it, a hypothesis was put forward that the animal manages to receive an initial impulse at the moment of separation from the hands of the experimenter, approximately in the same way as it happens in divers from a tower and athletes on a trampoline. At the same time, the canons of physics allowed the athletes to manage the initial moment and their body as they pleased in flight. But the photographs showed that the cats controlled their bodies in the same way when they were thrown without any impulse.

Soon, mechanics dealt with this phenomenon, and already at the beginning of the 20th century, the phenomenon was resolved and entered into all textbooks of physics and mechanics. In fact, in the fall, the cat changes the position of its body simply due to the very energetic actions of its own torso and limbs. In the very first phase of its fall, the cat turns the front part of the body to the side, most often to the right. At the same time, she pulls her front paws up to her head, and, on the contrary, takes her hind legs away from her body. This operation is compensated for by slightly turning the rear end in the opposite direction.

Thus, the front part of the body is turned down, and the animal sees where it should land. The hind legs of a cat are splayed, which leads to the fact that its moment of inertia is commensurate with the moment of inertia of the front part, in which the paws are pressed to the head.

In the final phase, the cat puts forward its front paws, stops the rotation of the body. The hind legs are extended in line with the body, then, together with the body, turn to the position of the front and also take a pre-landing pose. At the final turn, the cat arches its back.

Interestingly, a cat thrown by a "soldier" is not able to land on all four paws. In 1960, the American MacDonald used high-speed photography at a speed of 1500 frames per second to determine the behavior of a cat thrown from a height of 15-20 cm, when the flight takes only 0.1 seconds. It turned out that when the researcher threw the cat up, it flew upside down with its paws to the highest point of the flight, only there it made its somersault.

It turned out that even kittens that have just started running, that is, at the age of 3-4 weeks, fall on their paws. Affects the coordination of movements of the cat and the senses. Meticulous scientists have found that in a blindfolded cat, movements in flight are more sluggish.

A deaf cat falls just like a perfectly healthy one. A completely sightless cat falls without the described dexterity. If the animal is rotated on a centrifuge before being thrown in order to deceive its vestibular apparatus, then the cat, thrown with its paws down, lands with its paws up, on its back.

The second issue of the "cat paradox" is that the animal does not break, falling from a height that is certainly fatal to humans. It works here that the ratio of the animal's weight to its surface is the smaller, the smaller the animal. And this is where the aerodynamic drag comes into play, which significantly limits the rate of fall, reduces its kinetic energy at the time of the fall.

So, if a skydiver during a long jump develops a speed of up to 50 m / s, then a cat, flying 20 meters, has a speed of no more than 15-18 m / s. And even a fall from very high heights, fatal to a person, will not bring her mortal harm. In addition, the cat has muscles that are stronger relative to its own weight than humans, which are an excellent shock absorber. For a long time, there were no people among people who wanted to repeat cunning cat tricks. However, the tower jumper Brain Phelps still decided to try.

Experiments began with jumps from a height of 1 meter. Olympic bronze medalist Phelps deftly changed the position of the body in space. Then the altitude gradually reached such that the flight lasted only 0.5 s. And here the athlete was able to turn even 360 degrees. But, if Phelps took 0.3 seconds to turn 180 degrees, then the cat needs only 0.12 seconds. Tried to throw the athlete and "paws up". After flying 3 or 5 meters, Phelps did the same as the cat and landed on his stomach with his arms extended forward and down. It is worth noting that none of the unprepared people will succeed in repeating Phelps' experience - a long training is needed here.