Cats always land on their feet. And science has been trying to understand an inexplicable phenomenon for centuries.

Cats are fascinating animals, also for science that, for centuries, has tried to answer the question: How do they always manage to land on their feet? Although studies have been done trying to solve itit is not known with certainty how they achieve it. A recent experiment by Japanese researchers has shed some light on this feline mystery.

In a recent study published in The Anatomical Recordthe researchers took a different approach than had been followed until now. The experiment consisted of two parts, on the one hand to thoroughly analyze the flexibility of the cat’s spine and on the other to observe several cats performing this correction in the air.

For the first part, they performed mechanical tests on the spinal columns of five cat corpses. In this way they measured the maximum resistance and range of motion of the spine before breaking. What they discovered was that the cats’ spine is very flexible in the upper area, where the thoracic vertebrae are, turning 360 degrees. The lumbar part is more rigid and robust.

For the second part, they recorded two live cats being released at a distance of 90cm from the ground. The recordings were analyzed frame by frame and compared with the data obtained from their observations. The difference in spinal flexibility fits with what was observed in the videos: the cat turns its front paws first (your most flexible area), so first look at the ground and then adjust the rest of your body (the least flexible area).

The experiment also observed an interesting detail and that is that in most tests the cats turned to the right. Specifically, the first cat turned this way every time, while the second turned to the right six of the eight times it was dropped.

In case anyone is worried, the bodies were donated and to record the falls they put a cushion underneath so they wouldn’t get hurt.

The falling cat problem

It is a problem that arose in 1894, when French scientist Étienne-Jules Marey showed in a video that cats were able to right themselves in the air without external help. Since then there have been different hypotheses that have tried to explain the exact mechanics of this stunt.

Falling cat, by Étienne-Jules Marey, 1984. Source: Wikipedia

There are two main models to explain this spin in the air. The first is “tuck and turn” which proposes that cats rotate the upper and lower halves of their body executing movements at the same time and in opposite directions.

The second is “legs in, legs out.” This model states that cats adjust their fall trajectory by first stretching their hind legs and then collecting them again, making a successive turn with the front and then with the back part of the trunk, so that They adopt the correct position while still in free fall.

Another less supported hypothesis is the “tail-propeller” hypothesis, according to which the animal can reverse the direction of rotation of its body by moving its tail in the opposite direction, as if it worked as a propeller. However, tailless cats can also do this movement, so although it may help, it is not essential.

The new study supports the “legs in, legs out” model hypothesis, but the researchers caution that the problem still cannot be considered solved and more research will be needed. The plan is to build mathematical and three-dimensional models with more data.

In statements to New York TimesGreg Gbur, physicist who is an expert in falling cats (oh really), states that science has tried to simplify into “a single correct way that cats land on their feet, but nature is not concerned with simplicity.”

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Main image | Gemini, own edition