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The cat righting reflex is a cat's innate ability to orient itself as it falls in order to land on its feet. The righting reflex begins to appear at 3–4 weeks of age, and is perfected at 6–9 weeks. [1] Cats are able to do this because they have an unusually flexible backbone and no functional clavicle (collarbone). The tail seems to help ...
The falling cat problem has elicited interest from scientists including George Gabriel Stokes, James Clerk Maxwell, and Étienne-Jules Marey.In a letter to his wife, Katherine Mary Clerk Maxwell, Maxwell wrote, "There is a tradition in Trinity that when I was here I discovered a method of throwing a cat so as not to light on its feet, and that I used to throw cats out of windows.
Nystagmus in patients indicates dysfunction of the vestibular system, which can lead to dizziness and inability to complete a righting reflex. [1] Proprioceptive ability tests are important in testing for righting reflex function. A therapist may ask a patient whether they know where a certain limb or joint is located without looking at it.
The righting reflex is the attempt of cats to land on their feet at the completion of a jump or a fall. They can do this more easily than other animals due to their flexible spine, floating collarbone, and loose skin. Cats also use vision and their vestibular apparatus to help tell which way to turn.
[8] [9] This is known as the cat's "righting reflex". The minimum height required for this to occur in most cats (safely) would be around 90 cm (3.0 ft). However, it has been argued that, after having reached terminal velocity, cats would orient their limbs horizontally such that their body hits the ground first. [5]
Cats possess the ability to turn themselves right side up in mid-air if they should fall upside-down, known as the cat righting reflex. This enables them to land on their feet if dropped from sufficient height. [15] [16]
The normal animal will position its paw onto the surface properly. The second (sometimes called the proprioceptive positioning reflex) is similar. The dorsal (top) surface of an animals paw is placed onto a surface, and a fully healthy animal would flick it back up to be in the normal position (dorsal side up).
A common example of this reflex is the cat righting reflex, which allows them to orient themselves in order to land on their feet. This reflex is initiated by sensory information from the vestibular, visual, and the somatosensory systems and is therefore not only a vestibulospinal reflex. [8]