Cats

Have you ever noticed that cats are never afraid of jumping from high places, and they always move gracefully and quickly, and their landings are always smooth. Why is this? Why do cats have such good balance? Are cats born acrobats?

It turns out that cats have thick fat pads on their toes, which can reduce the vibration of the ground against the cat's body. It can effectively prevent damage to organs. At the same time, when a cat falls from a high altitude, its head and forelimbs face downward. When there is still a certain height from the ground, it immediately raises its neck upwards, and then its body is parallel to the ground, allowing all four feet to land at the same time, so that it will not be injured or killed, and the cat's tail is a The balance organ can maintain balance, which prompts him to quickly turn around and land on his toes no matter which way he falls.

But why do cats have such special functions? This is about the reflex action of restoring balance.

When a cat falls from a high altitude, its eyes and vestibular apparatus (a complex organ located in the inner ear) transmit information to the brain about the position of the head relative to the ground. Crystals and fluids in the vestibular organ can sense changes in head position, so sensitive hairs touching the vestibule can detect the rotation of the cat's head. In a fraction of a second, the brain receives the signal and immediately sends neural instructions to the head to make it parallel to the ground, while the rest of the body forms a horizontal straight line with the head. At this time, the cat is ready Prepare for landing.

After a kitten is born, its vestibular organs have matured, but because its eyes have not yet opened, it does not yet have vision. Since a sound balance function requires the combination of information from the eyes and inner ear, the restoration of balance reflex will only take effect after the kitten's eyes open.