A New Study Details How Cats Almost Always Land on Their Feet

Study reported differences in flexibility between thoracic and lumbar spine regions in cats study published in The Anatomical Record; reported by Phys.org.

Researchers separated thoracic and lumbar spine regions and performed mechanical tests measuring flexibility, strength, and resistance to rotation researchers at Yamaguchi University tested spine segments from five deceased cats.

Thoracic region can rotate about 50 degrees with very little effort mechanical tests on separated spine regions.

Lumbar region is stiffer and acts as a stabilizer during axial torsion mechanical comparison with thoracic region.

Researchers used high-speed video to analyze midair righting maneuvers researchers filmed two live cats dropping onto a soft cushion with high-speed cameras.