Mary Allen
Cats fascinate with their incredible abilities; for example, house cats can jump amazingly high. With a stone’s throw, they can reach places that are two to three meters high. How do our velvet paws do it?
Cats are born athletes: they jump higher for their size than any human pole vaulter could ever do. They are usually so skillful that they land unerringly even in the smallest area. This incredible jumping ability and accuracy of aim is not only possessed by our small domestic cats, but also by their wild relatives and big cats – after all, they need these skills for hunting. But it is also important to be able to jump so well in order to quickly climb a tree to safety in the event of danger.
Strong Hind Paws Help Cats Jump High
If you look at the anatomy of the cat’s skeleton, you will notice that the hind legs are not built as straight as in humans, but are bent. In addition, the hind legs are longer than the front legs and the muscles are directly connected to the pelvis. When cats “fold” their hind legs together, they stretch the muscles at their knees and ankles like the rubber band on a catapult. If you put a stone in a catapult and let go of the rubber band, it will be thrown forward with enormous force and speed. Using the same principle, cats are thrown upwards or forwards with great force as soon as they jump off.
Movable Joints & Fine Sense of Balance for Cat Leaps
The reason cats can not only jump high but also jump accurately is because of their mobility and sense of balance. The cat’s skeleton is made up of about 240 bones (compared to the human skeleton of 208 to 212 bones), which are not as firmly anchored as in humans. This allows their incredible flexibility, with which they can still correct their posture when jumping or in free fall so that they land as precisely as possible. Their tail helps them control direction, much like the rear rudder on a boat. The rest of their senses and the coordination center in the cat‘s brain help them to keep their balance.
Although cats are born with the ability to jump, they still have to train their powers as kittens and practice them over and over again in the course of their lives in order not to lose them again. When kittens start fighting and wrestling with their siblings at the age of three to four weeks, their first jumps still look quite clumsy and clumsy. They still have to learn a little more before they can jump as well and as high as their adult counterparts. Incidentally, a stone’s throw can occasionally go wrong; For example, when cats have misjudged a distance or the ground is too slippery. Cats wiggle their buttocks before jumping to distribute their weight, find their balance, and aim.