“ The vets said from 3 stories the cat is having a fall but from 10 stories the cat falls and has time to relax so that when it hits the sidewalk it lands on first its feet but then the belly and rib cage spreading the landing and dispersing its effect which accounts for many of them living.”
An early hypothesis said that with falls greater than ten stories the cat will have time to empty its bladder, preventing rupture upon impact. Supposedly a ruptured bladder was the culprit in shorter falls.
Sounds like a feline version of a Parachute Landing Fall.
So our very old cat was practicing around the house for his upcoming 10 story falls?
Unfortunately, the 28 inch fall off the end table did him in. Well, he had a sudden seizure when I petted him and he then fell onto the floor. Best cat we ever had, too. The kids named him “PK” short for “Perfect Kitty.” He was a rescue from the place we rented at the lake one summer. Winter was coming on and he had been abandoned. None of the neighbors knew him, none of the vets had a “missing cat” notice, no chip, no posters anywhere. So we took him in and enjoyed him for 10 years or so.