Ah. No cat parachute, then? Anyway... It makes sense to me. I just hope that this conversation wont inspire anyone to try it out. It sure tempts me!

		ronhartsell wrote:
		Good morning/afternoon, Strat... I watched a show over the weekend on Discovery (I think) called 'In The Womb: Cats'.  What the show implied was that cats have 240 some odd bones in there vertebrae and in their ears they have 3 types of membrane (?) that give them their balance and sense of direction (humans only have one).  When a cat falls their head orients itself with where it's at and 'points' it's head in the right direction.  As the spine follows it's head it one sweeping motion, it lands perfectly on all fours.  The show also noted that the higher up the cat falls, the better the position it will land in. Hope this makes sense.      _strat_ wrote: ? I dont know how does that help.... Even if the spine would stay intact, wouldnt its legs break? IDK, tho, I was never good at biology.      spapad wrote: Bad pet trivia here strat. It's actually because of the way a cat's spinal column is built that makes that impossible feat possible.      _strat_ wrote: Well, not sure if this makes sense, but... Ive heard that a cat has a kind of a shape that allows it to fall more slowly, kinda like a parachute. If you throw (but please dont!) a cat out of the window, it will spread its paws and somehow "float" down to the ground. Actualy, cats that fall from higher floors have a better chance of surviving the fall than those that fall from lower floors.      Soylentgreen4u wrote: A DEFINATE FEEL-GOOD STORY FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR: 2 HORSES TRAPPED IN DEEP SNOW FOR OVER A WEEK IN THE RENSHAW MOUNTAINS IN B.C. CANADA,RESCUED AFTER VOLUNTEERS SHOVELED A 1KM LONG TRENCH IN -30c WEATHER TO FREE THE IMPRISONED ANIMALS.SPCA SAYS THERE IS A VERY GOOD CHANCE THEY WILL BE OK! ......ALSO, AN AUSTRALIAN CAT SURVIVES A 34-STOREY FALL!  FROM AN APARTMENT HIGH RISE...FALL BROKEN BY BUSHES...SUFFERED ONLY DAMAGED PAW AND SOME SCRATCHES....HOW MANY LIVES DOES A 34-STOREY FALL USE UP I WONDER...NAME OF THE CAT WAS VOODOO!...Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....