Why do cats always land on their feet instead of their tails?

Answer 1

Some different opinions are:

• 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.

Answer 2

Not always. But I think it just depends on how high up the cat was when it fell. It has to be at a certain height to fall so that way, it can turn around all the way to land on their feet. If a cat was to jump out of your arms when you were holding it as a baby, it might not land on its feet because of how tall you are. Once that gravity pushes you down, you won't believe how fast you're going, and you won't be able to turn. Cats landing on their feet is a just an old story that some people used to tell. Parts of it is true.

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Note:

A cat will often land on its feet due to its "righting reflex". It can tell up from down and adjust its flexible spine accordingly. First the cat turns its head, followed by its front and then back legs, to land on its feet.

Answer 3

Because cats have this thing where when they are falling, they turn their feet then their middle area then the head. (Or the other way around, depending on the event that happened or whatever reason.) Most all of the time they land on their feet. It is rare when a cat does not. But is is all because of their "turning" thing with their body.

Answer 4

No

No, not always, though most of the time they do. The higher the distance they fall, the more likely it is for them to land on their paws, however the higher the distance they fall also determines the extent of the damage to the bones in their legs, their paws, etc. from the impact. A shorter distance gives the cat less time to react and turn in mid-air; while they might not land on their feet, though, the extent of the damage might be lessened by the shorter distance they fell.

Answer 5

If the cat is too fat then no the cat can't land on it's feet.

Answer 6

They don't land on their feet 100% of the time, but when they do, it's usually because their tails act as rudders in the air, turning them so that they fall on their feet.

Answer 7

they are very fragile so don't dropped they or test them

Answer 8

cause they smart