Do cats always land on their feet?

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A cat can always land on their feet; if they have enough height to perform the amazing mid-air flip that gets them upright.

Science has determined that’s about 1 meter, or three feet. In this video, the cat has a bit less than that, and still manages.

This ability is known as the cat righting reflex. They can do it because of their flexible spine and virtual lack of collarbone. We, and cats, have the inner ear abilities which can tell us where we are in space. But only cats can do something about it with such speed and ease.

But even a somewhat greater height might not be enough if, say, they are sleeping on top of something, and slide off. RJ likes to sleep on top of a bookcase, five feet off the ground. We patiently flipped him over during the course of one evening, because if he hangs his paws over the edge, he won’t fall off in his sleep. We kept seeing his back droop further and further over the edge without him being aware of it. Add in the time it would take him to wake up from such a deep sleep, and he probably wouldn’t land on his feet.

Now he sleeps with his paws over the edge, as we taught him. Because we are using that bookcase to sort items at the moment, and some of the boxes stick out past the edges of the shelves. That could interfere with his midair flip, too.

So cats certainly have the reflexes to land on their feet, and can do so with minimum amounts of space and time. They start to do it as early as three weeks of age, with or without a tail. They do it without changing their net angular momentum; they can’t attempt to slow down their fall until they have completed their turn. Their main advantage is in landing on their feet, and letting their legs act as springs to absorb the impact.

But that doesn’t mean they will always walk away. In a 1987 study, seven stories was the cutoff point where most cats started receiving fatal injuries. Which is pretty amazing; we’d reliably be toast at seven stories.

But physics are still physics, even for cats. They can survive, but with broken bones or internal injuries that will still present a problem. It’s especially common for them to injure their jaw and head when they run out of “spring” and their momentum is still going. A cat can survive a high fall, but there’s still factors that make injury more or less likely.

A smaller cat has less mass, and will transfer less force to their body when they land. Upon reaching terminal velocity (believed to be a five story fall) a cat will spread out, flying squirrel style, and actually slow down a bit. A long-haired cat will have more drag than a hairless one. For landing, a grass lawn is better than a wood deck, which is better than a concrete parking lot.

It’s probably more accurate to say that almost all the time, a cat can land on their feet. But they don’t have the superhero power to be unharmed by a drop from any height.

So caring precautions about windows, deck railings, and even bookcases still apply.

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