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Cat survives 26 story fall!
- Thread starter breellablue
- Start Date
Wow that's incredible!
I've seen a cat survive an 80 foot fall but 26 stories? That's at least 225 feet! I'll never understand how they can fall from these incredible heights and be almost completely unharmed. If that were to happen to a person, every bone in their body would be shattered.
I've seen a cat survive an 80 foot fall but 26 stories? That's at least 225 feet! I'll never understand how they can fall from these incredible heights and be almost completely unharmed. If that were to happen to a person, every bone in their body would be shattered.
Nontheless, I still worry about Alley falling from the third floor balcony where she likes to sun herself every day. But never without my watchful eye. The balcony is gated but she could squeeze through. I keep telling myself a cat would never do that but it scares me just the same. But not enough to not allow her her extreme pleasure in life; sunning on her sun deck.
My father once told me that when a cat falls from any height, they spread themselves out to slow their fall, using their bodies almost like a parachute. And apparently, their body structure of being so supple yet flexible (As my cat demonstrated when we managed to get a harness on her and it was off in seconds), makes landing a lot more easier.
Just shows how amazing and wonderful cats really are!
Just shows how amazing and wonderful cats really are!
Yes they do spread out to try and slow down but with their body structure, it doesn't help too much. The most impressive part of how they land from a fall is all in their front legs. Their front legs are just basically floating in their body. They're not attached at a joint, just a thick layer of muscle which allows them to absorb huge impacts. But still, I never thought that it would be able to withstand a fall like this.
I read somewhere that the higher they fall from the more likely they will be okay, but I'm sure that there's a limit and it's probably below 26 stories!!!!!
All I can say is his name surely fits in the case. Wow! What a lucky boy Lucky is!
Wow... amazing, and kinda cool. Cat power.
My old kitty, Simmony, once fell off a third story balcony onto a concrete slab. She walked away with a dislocated rear toe and some splintered claws. The claws healed on their own, and our vet said that the toe would probably relocate itself in time and that surgery wouldn't really be worth it... sure enough, a year later that particular paw was back to normal.
Nature (the PBS series) did a cat program many years ago, and they showed a cat falling to the ground in a slow motion, high-speed video (it was a trained cat in a controlled situation). The key is that they need to have enough time to get lined up correctly so that the muscles and ligaments in their front legs and shoulders can absorb and dissipate the impact. I'd guess that height (beyond the requisite distance for the cat to right itself) might not matter much if the cat has the right build... maximum falling velocity and all that...
My old kitty, Simmony, once fell off a third story balcony onto a concrete slab. She walked away with a dislocated rear toe and some splintered claws. The claws healed on their own, and our vet said that the toe would probably relocate itself in time and that surgery wouldn't really be worth it... sure enough, a year later that particular paw was back to normal.
