Why Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?

[upbeat music] [cats meowing] Cats are amazing little creatures.

They're very unique, and one of the most interesting things about them is this.

[cats meowing] [laughs] If you've ever seen a cat fall from somewhere, even if it was somewhere pretty high, you may have noticed that they usually land on their feet.

I've seen cats fall from pretty high up in the air, and they just land on their feet and keep going like nothing happened.

Now, that doesn't mean that cats can't get hurt when they fall.

They definitely can, but cats have this incredible ability to turn their bodies around while they're falling so that their feet are pointed toward the ground.

I've always been curious how on earth cats can do that, so I decided to find out today.

Wanna learn what I discovered? [upbeat music] [cats meowing] This amazing ability that cats have, it has a name.

It's called the righting reflex.

Can you say righting reflex? A reflex is something your body can do really quickly without you having to stop and think about it, and when a cat starts falling, its righting reflex kicks in.

See, cats have a balance system inside their inner ears.

It's called the vestibular system.

Can you say vestibular system? It helps the cat's brain keep track of how its head is moving and which way its body is positioned.

So almost immediately after the cat starts falling, even if it's upside down, its brain can figure out which way is the ground.

[cat meowing] And then, if the cat is really in a bad position for a safe landing, its body starts to twist.

Yep, in midair.

See, a cat has an extremely flexible spine, which means the front part of its body and the back part of it can move differently from each other.

So while a cat is falling, it can do all these twist moves and move its legs around.

It's a reflex.

The cat doesn't even have to think about it, kinda like when you accidentally touch something really hot.

Do you have to think about moving your hand away, or does your brain just jerk your hand away quickly? Yep, usually your safety reflexes kick in before you really have a chance to think about it.

Cats do something similar when they're falling.

Their bodies and brains know just the right ways to twist and kick to get themselves in the right position for a smooth landing.

Researchers have studied the exact motions of falling cats for a very long time, and well, they've figured out that the whole thing is pretty complicated.

But we do know that the cat's flexible spine and incredibly quick movements are a huge part of how the righting reflex works.