IS my cat BLESSED ?

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Mario - 30 Mar 2005 18:21 GMT

(french from Montreal)

Is it true that cats have nine lives ? I think mine just spent his first.
Is it possible for a 9 pound cat (2 yrs old) to fall down from the 7th floor
and to finish free-falling on concrete with no... I repeat... no injury
whatsoever ? I live in a penthouse where I give to my two cats free access
to the wide flat roof surronding my appartement.

Last night at 10 pm, it is time for them to eat. One of them is not showing
up. I guess Fiston (his name) is sleeping or playing somewhere on the roof.
But its amazing how they both can have an internal clock when its time to
eat (7 am ; 4 pm ; 10 pm). Sometimes, they even tell me its time to eat if
I dare forget two minutes pass du. Thirty minutes after 10, Fiston is still
NOT there. This is really unusual. I went to find him on the roof... but
no Fiston. Maybe I'm not looking carefully. Fiston is black and its dark.
Well, I guess he'll show up soon.

Thirty minutes later... still no Fiston. I'm really worried. I go back on
the roof with my flashlight. I decided to look down at the garage entry (7
floor down). Horrified, I see a black spot. I rush down (I'm not talking
the same path than Fiston did... I'm taking the elevator).

When I open the garage door, I find Fiston, laying down as if he was waiting
for me to pick him up. He's looking at me with his big green eyes... HE'S
ALIVE ! But I'm sure he must have his legs, ribs broken or something else.
I pick him up carefully thinking he's badly hurt. No sound. I put him
carefully on the floor... he is walking straight... a bit lost since he
never has seen the garage before but he seems not injured. I pick him up to
bring him back at home. To my big astonishment, he immediatly played with
his big brother, wrestled with him and ran around the house as if nothing
happened. He was also hungry.

How is it possible ?

Now that he is alive, I wanted to tear his head appart for giving me a big
scare. (I'm joking of course). Now, I'm afraid to let him go on the roof.
They had so much pleasure to be outside on the roof... without the risk of
being ran over by a car or all sort of contamination by other cats.

Mario

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Diana - 30 Mar 2005 21:19 GMT

Mario at skygod111@hotmail.com wrote on3/30/05 12:21 PM:

> (french from Montreal)

Bonjour, Mario.

> Is it true that cats have nine lives ? I think mine just spent his first.
> Is it possible for a 9 pound cat (2 yrs old) to fall down from the 7th floor
> and to finish free-falling on concrete with no... I repeat... no injury
> whatsoever ? I live in a penthouse where I give to my two cats free access
> to the wide flat roof surronding my appartement.

[snip]

Fiston is most certainly blessed! Look in the cat magazines or on the
internet for a "cat run" (or whatever they're called), which is like a large
enclosure that you could put on the roof for your cats. You don't want to
take chances with their remaining 17 lives!

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Diana

Portal To My Pages
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/r/drdrive/

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mlbriggs - 31 Mar 2005 02:01 GMT

> (french from Montreal)
>
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
>
> Mario

Don't know about the cat being blessed -- after all, he fell -- but you
surely were. Build them a playpen. MLB

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Mario - 31 Mar 2005 02:35 GMT

After all... he fell ? What a cold blooded you are ! Why didn't you add
that if he had died, all I needed was a garbage bag ? Don't need you
comment on my post.

> Don't know about the cat being blessed -- after all, he fell -- but you
> surely were. Build them a playpen. MLB

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wwwolf - 31 Mar 2005 03:10 GMT

>> Don't know about the cat being blessed -- after all, he fell -- but you
>> surely were. Build them a playpen. MLB

> After all... he fell ? What a cold blooded you are ! Why didn't you add
> that if he had died, all I needed was a garbage bag ? Don't need you
> comment on my post.

Your cat has misfortune by falling off of a roof and you call this BLESSED?
MLB has a valid point. You shouldn't take such an offensive tone. That reply was
not sacrastic or arogant like your was.

Also, you really shouldn't top post.

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Sparks - 31 Mar 2005 10:31 GMT

> (french from Montreal)
>
> Is it true that cats have nine lives ? I think mine just spent his first.
> Is it possible for a 9 pound cat (2 yrs old) to fall down from the 7th
> floor and to finish free-falling on concrete with no... I repeat... no
> injury whatsoever ?

Not it's not as uncommon as you may think!
However, if he had of fallen out of the 4th floor windows, he may have hurt
himself!
Most are surprised to learn that a cat stands a greater chance of survival
if it falls from a higher place than from a lower place. New York
veterinarians gathered data from their feline patients, which clearly
supports this fact. Ten percent of their patients died after falling from
2-6 stories, while only five percent of the fatalities occurred when their
patients fell from 7-32 stories

Laws of physics explain why these survival rates vary. All falling bodies,
regardless or their masses, accelerate by 22 miles per hour per second of
their falls. The falling object, after traveling a certain distance through
the air reaches a final speed, or "terminal velocity," because the object?s
friction with the air slows the fall. The smaller the object?s mass, and the
greater its area, the more it will slow.

A cat falling from a higher floor, after it stops accelerating, spreads its
legs into an umbrella shape, which increases the area against which the air
must push and increases the friction, thus slowing the cat?s fall. Through
the cats highly developed sense of balance, he buys more time to maneuver
his body in preparation for landing on all fours. A cat falling from a lower
height does not have the opportunity to increase its body?s area, slow its
fall, or position his body to land on all four feet.

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Mario - 31 Mar 2005 17:35 GMT

Thanks Sparks for your explaination. I understand your theory very well
since I'm a skydiver. If I would hit the ground, even with all my effort to
slow my falling, I would surely die. But I guess cats are very soft when
hit the ground. The fact that cats don't cramp themselves, it must help
them to get out intact from the fall when they hit the ground.

Anyway, your explanation is very plausible. Fiston is a proof of it.

Thanks

Mario

>> (french from Montreal)
>>
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> from a lower height does not have the opportunity to increase its body's
> area, slow its fall, or position his body to land on all four feet.

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philo - 03 Apr 2005 15:54 GMT

> (french from Montreal)
>
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
> They had so much pleasure to be outside on the roof... without the risk of
> being ran over by a car or all sort of contamination by other cats.

first off. i'm glad you cat is OK...
even though it's generally true that a cat lands on it's feet...
falling 7 floors can still be fatal!

the old addage is also true:
the bigger you are, the harder you fall...

so a cat probably has a bit of a better chance surviving a fall like that
than a human...

btw: my guess is that your cat will never fall off the roof again...
i know that i once had a cat that jumped off my second story porch.
(since i had a railing on it, it could not have fallen off)
anyway, even though no damage was done...it must have been
unpleasant enough for the cat never to do it again

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