<Feet down in a blink of an eye

Q: At what height will a cat not land on its feet?

A: If you hold a cat upside down and release her, she will right herself in about 0.3 seconds – in a blink of the eye. During this time, she falls 1.5 feet (46 centimeters). So, she will NOT completely right herself if released less than 1.5 feet above the ground.

"Cats are among the best predators on Earth. They've evolved great flexibility through climbing and hunting in trees and pouncing on prey with enough force to kill. As a result, they can twist themselves around fast to land on their feet.

"The cat manages the feat, with zero angular momentum. She isn't spinning to start with. So, she must maintain that zero momentum: a cute trick while she twists around to a feet-first descent.

"First, she thrusts her back legs straight out behind her body and at the same time she tucks her front legs in. Extending her back legs resists spinning. This allows her to twist her body, the front part of the body twisting more than the back. Tucking the front legs encourages spinning. The result twists the front legs down to the ground with the back part of the cat following the twist. She touches down all four paws, oriented feet first – only 18 inches from where she started."

Never could figure this out, even with my engineer neighbor, two cats, and all afternoon one time.

Arf