Of the things we have managed to figure out, the physics of the aerial righting reflex are probably the most studied. We've all seen it at some point or other--some cat will slip and fall headfirst off a roof, only to miraculously twist in midair and land perfectly on its feet. From the standpoint of Newton's first law of physics (an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted on by an external force), it doesn't seem possible from the outset that a cat could do this. There's nothing for them to push against in midair, and there is no apparent external force to cause them to spin. Physicists like Destin from the Youtube channel Smarter Every Day, however, have employed the powers of physics and high-speed cameras to figure that one out.
I cite Destin's video on flipping cats here, because physics are beyond me.
The external force that we see acting on a flipping cat's momentum comes from a combination of inertial momentum and abdominal muscles. A falling cat will divide itself into two axis, centered around the stomach area:
A common myth is that it's the tail that they use to twist around, but one has only to look at a bobtailed cat to realize that's not true; bobtails pull off the aerial righting reflex as well as any other cat. As a general statement, cats are very well-adapted for making this move. They're very flexible--particularly along the vertebrate--and thus they can make those death-defying twists in midair more easily and absorb more shock upon impact without injury. In fact, cats who fall greater (though still reasonable) distances tend to land in better condition than those who fall only short distances because they have more time to right themselves.
Now, there's more to the enigma of cats than flipping physics. Researching strange qualities of cats, I ran across a widespread theory as to why cats purr that struck me as extremely odd and (from the outset) rather improbable. Most people believe that cats purr to express contentment. From an evolutionary standpoint, that seems a rather useless trait to develop, but some scientists have theorized that the purr is actually employed as a healing mechanism. Seem far-fetched? It kind of is, but let me explain; Everything has a resonant frequency--a pitch at which a system oscillates at maximum amplitude--including bones and muscle tissue. When the resonance of a system is in disharmony, it's called "disease", and scientists have figured out how to restore harmony in a system by matching the natural frequency (a process called "entrainment"). The theory on cat purring is that they utilize a similar process to restore the natural frequencies of their bodies.
The frequency of a cat's purr is somewhere between 27 and 44 hertz, and scientists studying the effects of resonance on bone density have discovered a positive effect of this general frequency range on human bones. Similar studies have been done using ultrasound technology, which uses sound to generate heat to improve circulation and bone density in a human system. Cats may be capable of utilizing the properties of this frequency to stimulate bloodflow and improve circulation in their bodies, thus aiding the healing process and adding to the long-lived myth of the nine-lived cat.
No one knows for sure if this is how cats do it, but it would explain their quick healing capabilities and the veterinary myth that a cat, if left in a room with all its bones, can reassemble itself. Certainly, it piques a good deal of theorizing from curious minds, and maybe one day it will lead to discoveries and technology that could help with ailments such as osteoporosis.
In the meantime, I will leave you to ponder the enigma of cats, and to enjoy the mud and flowers.
Happy reading!
S.R. Koch
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtWbpyjJqrU (Smarter Every Day)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/24/why-cats-always-land-on-their-feet-_n_1828748.html
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