The "Righting Reflex"

I wish I would have read this article before we had dinner with our dear friends, Diane and Dave this weekend. (Quite possibly before I picked up Bandit a few months ago also) Sorry dogs. I didn't realize you don't have the "Righting Reflex", like cats do. I'm still learning.

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The Righting Reflex

The uniqueness of the cat's skeleton is one of the reasons cats land on their feet and can right themselves so quickly. Cats do not have a collarbone, and the bones in their backbone have more mobility than in many other animals. For these reasons, cats have free movement of their front legs and they can easily bend and rotate their bodies. This allows them to land feet first. Another component is the vestibular apparatus, which is responsible for their great balance. This tiny fluid-filled organ is located deep in a cat's inner ear and is composed of small chambers and canals lined with millions of sensitive hairs and filled with fluid and tiny floating crystals. As a cat falls, or even moves, the vestibular apparatus becomes active, giving readings on the body's position and helping to register which way is up. Their feet and legs can cushion the impact. This righting reflex begins to appear at 3-4 weeks of age, and is perfected at 7 weeks.

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Poor "Buddy" will never be the same.

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