# Do cats always land unharmed on their feet, no matter how far they fall? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 24, 2011, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442 "2011-09-24T08:14:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/21 "2011-09-29T19:42:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And on a related note, chickens don’t really cross roads all that often. They did in the early automobile age. Evolution in action. ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/22 "2011-09-30T01:34:30Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > The hypothesis was that the side down was largely determined by the natural rotation of a slice of bread as slid off a counter at standard kitchen height. That is indeed what the Mythbusters found, which led them to find a more neutral method of dropping the toast so as not to so bias the results. Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/23 "2011-10-08T21:28:18Z")
When I was in Toronto in the late 60’s early 70’s, they had an “experimental” colege called Rochdale. (Ah, the sixties) The whole was a collective where people were supposed to get together and teach themselves, and all this other fluffy peace-love-dove crap. In fact, the 18-story hi-rise in the downtown was taken over by squatters, drug dealers took over entire floors, and the police would raid the place frequently. The druggies put lookouts near the lobby who would pull the fire alarm when the police approached. I remember an interview with one policeman who describe approaching the college; suddenly “wroww!”-Splat! Someone had thrown a cat at him from the top floors and it splattered on the pavement close by. Presumably cats have a terminal velocity that can be lethal on hard landing surfaces. (“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!”) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/24 "2011-10-08T22:39:57Z")
According to [National Geographic’s video](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060928-cats-land-video.html), and my vet, cats falling from a height of several stories survive more often that one falling from, say, 2 stories. ---
**Author:** ![eastcheap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@eastcheap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eastcheap)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/25 "2011-10-09T15:09:13Z")
Obviously, after a couple of storeys, the cat gets bored and falls asleep. Therefore, it’s extremely relaxed on impact. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/26 "2011-10-09T18:38:42Z")
(“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!”) One of the funniest lines in TV history. I think it was said by Carlson in the show \*WKRP in Cincinnati. \* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/27 "2011-10-09T19:08:30Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > When I was in Toronto in the late 60’s early 70’s, they had an “experimental” colege called Rochdale. (Ah, the sixties) The whole was a collective where people were supposed to get together and teach themselves, and all this other fluffy peace-love-dove crap. In fact, the 18-story hi-rise in the downtown was taken over by squatters, drug dealers took over entire floors, and the police would raid the place frequently. The druggies put lookouts near the lobby who would pull the fire alarm when the police approached. > > I remember an interview with one policeman who describe approaching the college; suddenly “wroww!”-Splat! Someone had thrown a cat at him from the top floors and it splattered on the pavement close by. > > Presumably cats have a terminal velocity that can be lethal on hard landing surfaces. > > (“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!”) Lethal, yes. Splatter, no. If you want splatter, drop a horse. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/28 "2011-10-09T19:22:09Z")
> [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > Lethal, yes. Splatter, no. If you want splatter, drop a horse. [A rat is killed, a man is broken, a horse splashes.](http://irl.cs.ucla.edu/papers/right-size.html) ---
**Author:** ![Thrasymachus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Thrasymachus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrasymachus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442/29 "2011-10-10T20:07:03Z")
No, I’ve seen my cat fall and land awkwardly on his back lots of times. I think it embarrasses him when it happens. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cats-always-land-unharmed-on-their-feet-no-matter-how-far-they-fall/597442.md?page=1)