Mary Allen
Like hardly any other animal, cats have a particularly pronounced sense of balance. They can fall from the highest heights and still roll on their paws, they balance confidently on the narrowest of walls and jump to the smallest spot with pinpoint accuracy. But how do cats keep their balance during such difficult actions?
Cats are true masters of the animal kingdom when it comes to balance. And that’s important, too, because a cat’s day-to-day life depends to a large extent on the art of maintaining a safe balance in difficult situations. Outdoor cats in particular use their abilities outdoors when hunting or in arguments with other cats, but indoor cats also like to climb, jump and balance.
Vestibular System is the “Spirit Level” of Cats
The movements of cats, especially in relation to the musculoskeletal system, the head, and the cat’s eyes, are largely controlled by reflexes. The turning reflex, for example, ensures that cats almost always land on their feet. The stimuli for the reflexes are generated in the so-called vestibular apparatus, which is located in the inner ear of the velvet paw and works in a certain way like a spirit level. In the vestibular apparatus, crystals move in a fluid. The organ constantly dictates the position of the cat’s head and body in relation to the ground. If a cat falls, jumps, or falls, the stimuli from the vestibular system ensure that the cat lands safely on its paws. However, to keep one’s balance, for example when balancing on a narrow wall, it needs more – namely a very special tool.
Cat’s Tail is the Cat’s “Balancing Pole”
Cats stroll along the tightrope as a matter of course, even looking left and right unimpressed – they don’t even seem to have to concentrate to get from A to B safely. This is possible thanks to the unique “balancing bar” at the rear end of the fur nose. The cat’s tail is of elementary importance in order to be able to keep the balance so reliably. It moves completely automatically in the most difficult situations and gives the cat self-evident security to master tricky spots, but also jumps safely. In the jump, the cat’s tail also serves as a rudder, with which the cat can even correct the direction in the air.
Physique is Optimally Designed for Acrobatics
In addition, the cat’s body is simply ideally adapted to the sometimes breakneck, but from a cat’s perspective completely normal way of life for the animals. Light bones, effective muscles, and practical cat paws with claws make cats perfect hunters and acrobats. So it is the combination of an extraordinarily strong sense of balance, the extremely practical cat’s tail, and a physique perfectly designed for balancing that gives cats their security during complicated movements.