Cats always land on four legs, from whatever position they may have started falling. Why?
Research and observation of falling cats and showed that, falling, animal instantly begins to align his body on earth. In such a quick and clear orientation helps her well-developed vestibular apparatus. First, the cat turns its head, then the neck and torso, so they were in line with the head. Falling cat presses the legs and tail to the body. It speeds up the rotation. As soon as the cat will take the position of the legs down, she throws them aside. As a result of this movement the rotation stops. This reduces the rate of fall - cat as if turning into a little beneath a miniature parachute. In the end, the cat manages to land on four legs.
Landing on the exposed forward and relaxed paws, the cat absorbs impact force.
The greater the height from which it falls, the cat, the more time to manoeuvre in the air when falling from a small height cats often do not have time to regroup. Paradoxically, from such falls cat may suffer even more than the flight from the window of the multi-storey house!
Traffic cats precise and energetic. It coordinates its position relative to the earth in seconds. Contrary to the opinion that the alignment position of the body of the cat helps the tail serves as a rudder, it is not so: tailless cats land as well as caudate. But the phenomenal flexibility and elasticity of the spine cats it is an important tool in flight, potolea quickly and accurately adjust the position of the body.
The ability to fly with "literate" landing occurs in kittens with three-four weeks of age on the level of reflex. The study of the nature of this reflex is engaged in special the science of falling cats - cat pathematology. Based on it, developed, for example, the techniques of orientation in space astronauts in weightlessness.
