My cat fell out the window today.

[Cobalt Violet]

We live on the third floor. He jumped at the screen, it fell out of the window, as did my cat, Jack. He is okay and didn't get hurt but he was really freaked out. He has never been outside before. He just fell out of a window into a world he doesn't know. He just laid down under the window and cried until I brought him in.

[Placebo]

1. Aww, well at least he wasn't hurt!

Cats are good about landing on all 4's.

[Katwomen]

8. I have two 11 week kittens

and I live on the 9th floor. Because I live in a "historic" building screens are not allowed. I never could figure the reason for that. At least you are allowed screens.

[blackcat77]

2. Glad he's okay

We've got a purely inside cat too. One time she got out when we didn't close the door properly and she just FROZE on the steps. She loves to look out the door but I guess that was one step beyond. :)

[ET Awful]

3. I hate to say it, but . . .

"He just fell out of a window into a world he doesn't know"

Sounds like an accurate description of * playing international politics :).



Poor kitty, glad he's okay.

[meti57b]

4. He fell three floors down and wasn't injured?

I didn't realize they were able to do that.

[Cobalt Violet]

11. They can fall from a lot higher than that and be okay.

They are good at landing.

[meti57b]

13. thank you. I'm glad the little guy is okay!!

[ProgressiveDave]

24. The higher the fall, the better chance the cat has...

they don't reach a lethal "terminal velocity", like us big fragile, gooey humans do...

http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/cats2.asp

...Since cats land on all four paws, the impact from landing on the ground is absorbed by all four. Additionally, cats bend their legs when they land, which cushions the impact by spreading the impact, not only through bones that could easily break, but through the joints and muscles as well.

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.

[aquart]

5. My sister had a cat who fell five floors. Twice.

It's actually easier for them to fall if their up a bit high, they have enough time to turn and position themselves for landing.

[miss_kitty]

6. I kitty sit some indoor only boys

From time to time, they have made a break for it (on Papa, not me) then they FREAK! it's like all of the sudden they're all "WHAAAAAAAAAAA! Where's the ceiling?"

[NV Whino]

7. Take him to the vet for an exam anyway.

A newly adopted cat of mine did her up-in-the-tree-for-four-days trick shortly after I got her. The tree guy I called out to rescue her thought it was cute to drop her from about 20 feet up. She seemed all right, but several months later she had a bad abcess from a cracked tooth. My suspiscion is that it was cracked when she landed.

By the way, she no longer does the tree trick.

[CAcyclist]

28. I would second that

Better to go to the vet for a checkup just in case.

[DuctapeFatwa]

9. Cats do not fall. They sometimes elect to employ a direct descent strategy

Occasionally, they may reassess the decision upon reaching their destination, and inform their pet humans that they will now be allowed to transport them to their original point of departure. This seems to be what happened in your case.

[gristy]

27. very funny

:)

[skygazer]

10. Poor kitty

What a shock! I would second having him checked out just to be on the safe side. One of the dangers of high falls for anyone is internal injuries - when you fall at velocity and then suddenly stop, your insides keep on going. It's easy to rupture a spleen or even an aorta (though an aorta would have killed the poor thing).

At the least, keeep a close eye on him for any unusual behavior, lack of appetite, etc.

Hope he's really okay.

[zuzu98]

12. I had a cat who fell that far once. Keep an eye on him.

The vet told me to keep checking her gums to make sure they were pink -- if they get pale it's a sign of shock/internal bleeding.

[Mz Pip]

14. He's a lucky kitty.

My kitty fell of the deck and broke his hip. It cost $1000 of kitty orthopedic surgery. Glad your litte guy is ok.

MzPip
:dem:

[Seabiscuit]

15. That's what happens when Kevin Costner finally decides to vote Bush

[miss_kitty]

16. I hope kitty has learned his lesson! n/t

[Dukakis88]

17. My parents' cat fell out the window of a hotel and landed on an awning.

She fell from a few stories up, and landed on this awning at the front entrance of the hotel. The hotel staff got her down, and she was okay. My parents were more freaked out than the cat was. It was crazy as hell. I wasn't there, but I assume my parents weren't bullshitting me.

The other cat they have fell down our chimney and landed on a little perch halfway down, and was crying for help. They searched for her for a day or so before finding where her cries were coming from. They then got on the roof and tied a rope to a basket and lowered it down. She was smart and brave enough to actually get in the basket and they were able to get her out.

That same cat got in a fight with another cat a couple of weeks ago and the two of them went rolling down a long concrete staircase outside the house. She broke her tail and had a bite wound in her ear. She seems okay now, though the vet said they can't do anything for the tail if it starts bothering her except amputate, so we are watching and waiting. So far so good.

[Wols]

18. Did you have Frist over for lunch?

That cat killer would make any kitty jump for its life.

[Cobalt Violet]

26. I'll jump out the window with the cat if he ever come over for lunch.

:)

[deadparrot]

19. Poor baby.

Hope he's okay.

[sleepyhead]

20. When cats fall from 4th floor or lower

they usually don't get any damage other than a broken tooth or such, because they haven't reached terminal velocity. If they fall from more than 7 floors, they are usually OK because they have time to turn over and land on their feet. It's the floors in between that cause the big problems - no time to right themselves, yet the impact is great enough to cause internal injuries. That said, it's always a good idea to have them checked out to make sure there is no damage. Remember that most traumatic injuries don't manifest themselves for 24-36 hours after the initial incident. Keep a close eye on him. Good luck.

[alphafemale]

21. Had a friend who's kitten fell from an 11th floor window.

Sprained back leg, and bruised ribs I think but otherwise he was fine.

I nick-named him Ooof! after that.

And as noted earlier, it does seem to be the middle floors that are most often disasterous for cats.

I saw something on a nature program once and they do a flying squirrel type of position that slows them down.

[Gothic Sponge]

22. Oh poor kitty!

I'm waiting for my cats to knock out a screen. luckily, they will only fall 5 feet.

[Cobalt Violet]

25. I think I'm going to have to clauk the screen into the window sill.

I can't think of any other way to stablize it against 15+ pounds of feline pounching at every moth.

[Peter1x9]

23. Glad he's alright

All of our cats live entirely indoors except for the oldest. We have him leash trained and take him out with us whenever the weather is nice.

[burrowowl]

29. I knew a cat that

jumped 5 stories and lived to a ripe-old age.
He didn't try it a second time.