On this weeks episode of Must Love Cats, they took a look at a cat that had fallen out a window of a highrise apartment building. In the process, they gave some of the background of what we have been discusing. The fall they were talking about happened in New York City. The term Highrise Syndrom was coined in 1987 when vets reported 132 cases in a five month period, prompting a study of how and why. This, I believe, is the study that Monica was quoting. The Animal Medical Center studied the information in these cases and compiled statistics to reach the conclusion that cats falling from two to seven stories fared the worst, and this was because of the cat's physiology and ability to right it's self. First the cat needs to twist it's body around until it is upright. This might take as much as one story, but that is not enough height for the cat to build up enough speed to cause serious injury. Two to seven stories was enough for the cat to right it's self and enough time to reach suficient speed to cause injury or death. Above that the cats not only could right themselves, but would stretch out ready for landing and relax a bit giving them more "sail" area to slow them a bit and and more shock aborbancy on landing lessening serious injury. Many of these cats did not escape uninjured, but all but eight survived. And don't forget there are variables, such as how heavy the cat was and what kind of surface they landed on. As for why they fell, that is mostly speculation. Many times the cat was found on the ground, or was missing and searched for. In many cases, there were no window screens, or the screens ripped. Cats brains are wired to notice horizontal movement more that vertical movements, and for those movements to trigger their hunting instincts. They also don't see well at long distances. Some of those cats who got excited by a bird flying by and leaped for it probably didn't know how high up they were. And I have met a few clumsy cats. I've had a few cases where a cat sleeping on the edge of the bed would roll right off. And Tiro, my cat who leaped for a bird and missed the railing? He always did have more looks than brains.
