Cats are not unjustly said to have nine lives. Our little house tigers can survive amazing deep falls. But how deep can cats fall without injuring themselves? This and other questions around the special fall resistance of the cat we clarify in this article.
Cats have a special property that prepares them extremely well for falls from great heights. The so-called position reflex of the animals ensures that a cat in the fall almost automatically brings itself into the perfect landing position. Thus, cats can survive even falling from the 2 floors completely unharmed.
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| What happens to a cat in a high fall? |
Due to the so-called positioning reflex of the cat, your cat will almost immediately turn around in the fall so that the belly and legs point down to the ground. The prerequisite for this is that the cat has enough "flight time" to perform this turning maneuver. Therefore, falls from medium heights can be particularly dangerous, because the cat may not have enough time to get into the optimal landing position.
If the cat falls back first, it will require between 21 and 30 meters of fall depth to complete the turn, depending on the animal. Falls of less than 20 meters, while not as deep, are more dangerous because the landing can be worse and harder.
In a 1987 study, cats that survived a fall from a floor below the 6th floor had more severe injuries than cats that survived a fall from a floor above the 6th floor.
The cat can take a higher fall reasonably well, depending on the surface on which it lands. However, landing on concrete, solid sand, or any other hard surface will most certainly result in injury.
That is why a cat can survive even a fall from an airplane
The maximum speed a cat can reach in a fall is around 100 km/h. When exactly this speed is reached, of course, depends on the physical characteristics of the animal in question, especially it's size and weight. Just for comparison, the maximum fall speed of a human being is almost twice as high.
Due to this maximum speed, from a certain point, namely from a height from which the cat reaches this speed when falling, it does not matter how high the fall is. The chances of survival for a cat falling from an airplane are about the same as for a cat falling from a skyscraper.
Of course, these are just thought experiments, because how high the chance of survival actually also depends on many other factors. The ground is only one of them.
Without injuries - how deep can cats fall
Cats are true masters in climbing and also in intercepting smaller falls, but they can't overcome the laws of physics either.
Cats can turn around in a fall and break the fall with their body and are masters in cushioning the impact with their paws and legs, but even our house tigers can't do magic.
A fall within the worst case 100 km/h speed on hard ground will lead to injury with a cat. There is no way around it.
The most common injuries caused by falls from great heights are in cats, compressed or broken paws and legs. Close behind come broken jaws and knocked-out teeth, the cat can't keep its head off the ground on impact. Part of the impact is always absorbed by the jaw or the head.
In principle, therefore, all balconies or other places such as windows, from which your cat can fall from a great height, should also be secured. Because cats are attracted to great heights and jump through various reasons also more often into the depth.
This is what you should do if your cat has had a high fall
A fall from a great height is a shock for any cat. Therefore, it is not uncommon if your cat retreats a bit and has to process the experience.
However, you should make sure that your cat is doing well. As a layman, you cannot directly recognize all the injuries that a cat may have sustained in a fall.
If possible, you should still examine your cat for the following characteristics:
Does your cat have blood on his nose or mouth?
This is a sign of an injury to the mouth or jaw. In the worst case, the lungs may also have been affected, for example, broken ribs.
Does your cat have broken teeth
Broken or completely missing teeth are a sign of a very hard impact to the jaw. With such an injury, other injuries are likely as well.
Does the cat break bones
In addition to injuries to the head, of course, can be injured legs or paws. When falling from a great height, especially the legs can break quickly.
All these injuries should be treated as soon as possible by a veterinarian. Cats also die regularly from falls. In addition to the above injuries, injuries that are not visible, such as injured organs, can also lead to death. Therefore, you'd better go to the vet after every deep fall.
Conclusion
So cats can fall very deep and survive these falls. However, a fall without injury can only be expected if the depth of the fall is low. Cats have special characteristics that make them less susceptible to injury, but even our house tigers are not invulnerable.
Any fall above the third floor should be urgently treated as a medical emergency. Because, besides the obvious injuries such a fall can cause such as broken bones, open wounds, and injured teeth, internal injuries can also lead to death.
Whether your cat is uninjured, should clarify in principle a veterinarian in the case of a fall from a great height. Please do not rely on the truism that all cats have nine lives.
Has your cat ever fallen from a great height? Did he hurt himself? We'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments.
Thanks for reading: What happens to a cat in a high fall?, Sorry, my English is bad:)