Scientists have revealed the secret of how cats land on their feet

The ability of cats to almost always land on their feet has long attracted the attention of scientists. This phenomenon was first studied in detail back in the 19th century, yet new research shows that the mechanisms behind this trick have still not been fully uncovered. Japanese scientists have found that the varying flexibility of different sections of the cat's spine plays an important role. The study was published in the journal The Anatomical Record (AR).

The mystery of the "cat fall" is more than a hundred years old, and it continues to baffle scientists. Back in 1894, French physiologist Étienne-Jules Marey first captured on a high-speed camera how a cat flips in midair. The footage showed something astonishing: the animal begins its fall without the slightest rotation, yet within fractions of a second manages to turn and land on its feet. For a long time, this seemed like a direct violation of the law of conservation of angular momentum.

Later, physicists proved that a cat is able to change its body orientation in flight by rotating different parts of its body relative to one another. However, the anatomical features behind this maneuver remained far less studied.

A team of researchers led by physiologist Yasuo Higurashi from Yamaguchi University set out to solve precisely this part of the puzzle — the structure of the cat's spine. The scientists studied in detail the spines of five animals, preserving the intervertebral discs and ligaments.

The spine was divided into two key regions — thoracic and lumbar — and their capacity for twisting, stiffness, and range of motion were carefully measured. The results turned out to be unexpected: the thoracic region demonstrated significantly greater flexibility — its range of rotation is approximately three times that of the lumbar region, and its stiffness is notably lower.

Moreover, the thoracic section of the spine possesses a so-called "neutral zone" — a range within which the spine rotates with almost no effort. In the lumbar section, virtually no such zone was found.

To test how this difference manifests during an actual fall, the researchers filmed the flight of two live cats using a high-speed camera. The animals were gently released eight times from a height of about one meter onto a soft surface.

Frame-by-frame analysis revealed a fascinating detail: the cat does not flip in one seamless motion. First, the front part of the body rotates, and only then, with a slight delay, the rear follows. The time difference was only 70–90 milliseconds.

According to the scientists, the secret lies in the fact that the front part of the body is lighter and connected to the more flexible thoracic section of the spine. The rear — heavier and stiffer — follows it, as if pulling itself along behind.

The researchers believe that this unique spinal feature helps cats not only flip in midair but also perform other impressive maneuvers — for example, changing direction with lightning speed while running or jumping.

The authors of the study emphasize that additional research is needed to draw definitive conclusions. Nevertheless, the results obtained offer a new perspective on how spinal anatomy determines the agility and locomotor capabilities of mammals.