Impact Force Patterns on a Landing Cat

The impact force patterns of a cat landing from various heights were investigated. The cat was dropped onto a force plate from heights ranging between 0.20 and 1.00 m. It was found that the relationship between the cat’s maximum force of impact and its drop height was much lower than would be expected for an inanimate object of similar mass and consistency. The cat clearly manipulated the way in which it landed in order to reduce its impact force. It was also shown that the cat landed one foot at a time, with a consistent force and timing pattern