How many times have you been told or read that the cat always lands on its feet? Many, right? But the reality is that this is not the case. This animal can not only do a lot of damage if it falls from a certain height, but also only has a single life, and not seven as has been said for years.
Although he is very agile and a great tightrope walker, any small distraction can cause him to end up with his bones on the ground. So, It is very important to know what the consequences of cat falls are, since this way the appropriate measures will be taken so as not to have to regret scares.
Although it sounds contradictory, it is known that a cat can hurt itself much more if it falls from a first or second floor than if it falls from a greater height. Why? Because he does not have time to adopt the posture that would allow him to cushion the effect of the impact, which is this:
Therefore, if a furry man has bad luck and falls badly, from a low height, most likely it will end up with a broken bone… At least. In fact, the consequences can be more serious than a fracture. It may end with some internal bleeding that, if not closed in time, is fatal for the animal.
Besides that, the stress and fear he feels will stay with him for days. And that is not to mention that his family will have to take care of him with great care, because it may hurt him so much that he cannot go to relieve himself alone, or that he loses interest in grooming himself or eating.
Really, this topic, like the one about the abuses, it is not to be taken as a joke. It is very hard to see a cat that is having such a bad time, that in an instant it has lost everything: its desire to play, its desire to clean itself, its desire to ... everything. For their own good, and ours, we have to keep the windows always closed so that the furry can continue well.
Cats do not usually survive in intermediate heights
There are cats that survive falls of high and also low, on the other hand, to an intermediate fall they do not always survive. All cats in this world will at some point in their lives fall from a more or less important distance.
They like to be in the heights something that can cause them to fall. But a cat that falls from a third story will be less likely to survive than a cat that falls from a sixth, for example.
As we have commented above, This is so because in intermediate distances they do not have time to adapt their posture to the fall and they can even have a fatal blow. On the other hand, when the height is greater, it does give you time to react and when you fall, you can end up with internal injuries and broken bones, but they could survive.
They know where it is "down"
Cats know where "down" is and therefore with that instinct allows them to walk with a righting reflex that allows them, with enough time to turn the body and position the legs so that they can land on their feet.
For the movement to be correct and the cat to land on its feet, the height needs to be at least one and a half other. If it is less, you will not have time to perform this movement so necessary to save your life (even if a bone is broken).
In addition, when cats fall from higher heights, they can extend their legs in such a way as to create a "parachute effect" that is enhanced by their fur and that can somewhat slow down the impact of the fall.
But there is still more: when they hit the ground, the muscles in their legs act as wonderful shock absorbers capable of absorbing impact, even those impacts that are stronger.
This is undoubtedly a wonder of nature that cats can enjoy, since humans do not have these natural "superpowers" and if we fall from a considerable height, we kill ourselves. And if it is lower ... we break our bones at least.
When the cat falls
When the cat falls, there are two forces at work: gravity and air resistance pushing in the opposite direction of the fall. This residence in the air increases according to the speed that it acquires and is reached at a certain moment, the “limit speed”. At this time, the speed is not increased even if the fall is longer.
The lowest survival rate for cats is around 18 meters. With the parachute effect the falling speed of a cat is about 97Km / h compared to that of humans which is 193km / h.
This difference allows cats to have a high survival rate from falls. But why are these animals less lucky at intermediate distances? It happens because cats, as we have mentioned above, the more time they have, the more time they take advantage of to position their position correctly before the imminent impact.
On the other hand, when the cat does not have time to position its body properly, the impact can end its life, even if it is less meters. What's more, It must be borne in mind that if a cat fell and kept its legs hard on impact, it would break all its bones.
In this sense, it is known that 18 meters is the survival rate of a cat in a fall, but that it survives does not mean that it is not seriously injured. In addition, cats in poor health, old age, with overweight, etc. They may have miscalculations and that this also generates a fatal fall, even if they have sufficient reaction time.
Never neglect the safety of your pet in your home, to avoid having an accident of this type. Because although "Cats always land on their feet", it can also be a fatal fall.
For more information, at this article We explain what to do if the cat suffers a fracture.