New Delhi: Throw a cat, and they will never fall on their face. Felines can and have always “effectively reoriented themselves in midair to land on their feet”, found a study published in the journal The Anatomical Record.
Scientists and researchers may not have been able to find out how cats do it, but through quantitative research, it can be said that parts of the feline spine are flexible.
The research titled “Torsional flexibility of the thoracic spine is superior to that of the lumbar spine in cats: Implications for the falling cat problem”, studied the “mechanical properties” of the spine and examined cats’ relationship to “air-righting behaviour”.
Magical powers
Scientists from the Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, Yamaguchi, Japan, conducted “destructive failure testing” on five cats. Their aim was to find out the maximum strength, range of motion, neutral zone and stiffness of the thoracic and lumbar spine regions separately. To understand trunk motion during the “air-righting” behaviour, the scientists used two cats.
According to scientists, the New York Times reported that falling cats and their perfect landing have always made people curious. “Their aerobatic abilities remained enigmatic”, said Yasuo Higurashi, a physiologist at Yamaguchi University in Japan and lead author of the study.
The cats were dropped on a thick, soft cushion to prevent any injury.
The research has divided falling cat problems into two “competing models”. In the first model, cats followed a simple rule—“legs in, legs out” method. The feline first extends its hind legs, then retracts them. With their sequential twists of upper and lower trunk, they land in a perfect posture.
“Tuck and turn”, the second one, where cats move their upper and lower bodies in simultaneous juxtaposed movements.
The team of researchers built a device to physically test the flexibility of the spines. They recorded the movements, analysing them frame by frame.
During their experiment, they saw the thoracic area faster than the lumbar region, indicating that cats move their torsos faster while in mid-air.
“Notably, the thoracic region had a neutral zone of 47° (degrees), whereas the lumbar region had no neutral zone. During air-righting, anterior trunk rotation was completed earlier than posterior trunk rotation”, the study highlighted.
Felines naturally first rotate their trunk, followed by the anterior trunk and posterior trunk.
“Their flexible thoracic spine and rigid lumbar spine in axial torsion are suited for this behavior,” states the study.
However, the researchers stressed that there have not been enough studies on the anatomy of cats.
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Instagram trend
Although the research came out a month ago, cat Instagram influencers have been projecting the cat landing theory on reels since last year.
Mario and Mofu, a cat influencer account with nearly 2 lakh followers, made a reel, where he dropped his cat Mofu on a sofa. He drops the cat from a different altitude to see whether he lands on his feet.
From highest to lowest, Mofu lands on his feet, despite being called an “extraordinary cat” by his owner.
The video has more than 2 lakh likes and four thousand reshares.
Another account, “Layla the mf kitten”, with more than eight lakh followers, also became part of the cat fall trend.
The owner of the cat said that his cat Layla loves being upside down. In the video posted in March 2025, the black cat wearing a pink sweater lands on its feet with “paws out”.
The owner in the video said he was impressed by the Ninja flip and calls felines “tiny furry superheroes”.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)