Seattle cat is 'fine' after 11-story fall

[Kadie]

Seattle cat is 'fine' after 11-story fall
By VANESSA HO, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Updated 12:52 p.m., Tuesday, December 20, 2011


Forget Willow, the Colorado cat found five years after it disappeared and 1,600 miles away. Or Dusty, the California cat that stole 600 things in his neighborhood.

The latest famous feline to emerge is Baxter, a Seattle cat who fell from an 11th-story window, survived, and is now back to "running and jumping," says his owner.

Baxter's story became the "most unusual claim of the month" for the insurance company that covered some of his hospital expenses. Veterinary Pet Insurance had considered more than 80,000 claims nationwide in November, before selecting Baxter for the monthly honor. Only pets with reimbursable expenses that made a full recovery were considered.

A long-haired, 10-year-old house cat, Baxter had just moved into a downtown Seattle high-rise in early October, when his owners cracked open the windows without realizing there were no screens. The cat nudged a window open, stepped onto a ledge and fell, said owner Diana McDougle, who watched the whole thing in horror.

(pictures at link)

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Seattle-cat-is-fine-after-11th-story-fall-2413184.php#ixzz1h6yTcTPG

[meow2u3]

1. I'm not surprised in the least

I've heard of cats jumping down telephone poles only to emerge unscathed, but, on the other hand, I've had a cat I had to have euthanized because she jumped out of a second story window.

Isn't it a mystery that cats can survive 11th-floor falls but not a 2nd-floor one without suffering extensive injuries?

[yellowcanine]

2. It may depend on how many of the nine lives have been already used up.

Or maybe how mean the cat is. I suspect my mean Siamese would survive an 11 story fall with few problems.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I've read that it's because

if a cat realizes it is falling a long distance it spreads its legs to increase drag and slow its descent. If it falls a shorter distance it doesn't have time to do that and is more likely to be injured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_righting_reflex

[hifiguy]

4. I've heard that too.

It was even discussed in the Straight Dope a few years ago citing the same AVMA article. I think it's called the "flying squirrel effect."

Also, there's the "buttered cat paradox":

(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttered_cat_paradox) The paradox arises when one considers what would happen if one attached a piece of buttered toast (butter side up) to the back of a cat, then dropped the cat from a large height. Some people jokingly maintain that the experiment will produce an anti-gravity effect. They propose that as the cat falls towards the ground, it will slow down and start to rotate, eventually reaching a steady state of hovering a short distance from the ground while rotating at high speed as both the buttered side of the toast and the cat’s feet attempt to land on the ground.

[freshwest]

7. Oh, you got there before I did. I think.

[freshwest]

6. I've read that the shorter falls don't allow them time to twist to land on their feet. Just sayin'.

[Quartermass]

5. This cartoon explains it.

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