Tabby Cat

　　　 Cats are intelligent animals with extremely strong self-protection abilities. In daily life, cats often do some dangerous things or encounter attacks from animals. When danger arrives, they immediately scale eaves and walls, climb trees, thus avoiding danger. So how do they demonstrate this skill?

　　　 1. Climbing to high places

　　　 For cats, having a height advantage means that for any enemies trying to catch them from below, they can use their front paws to scratch and severely injure them. Climbing to high places is often one of the first good strategies when cats are in danger. They will stay up there until it is safe to come down. Cats can jump from a stationary position to heights many times their own body height, and they can easily jump away from other animals and humans, something others cannot do.

　　　 2. Climbing trees

　　　 In daily life, when attacked by wild dogs or other beasts, trees provide an ideal escape route for cats. Cats have sharp, curved claws to help them climb textured vertical surfaces, and most experienced cats find climbing trees easy. Inexperienced cats or kittens sometimes climb trees in panic to escape danger and then get trapped because they have never learned how to come down. These cats really need rescue, otherwise they will either die in the tree or fall. Experienced cats sit in the tree waiting for the danger to pass before climbing down. Because they may have to wait up there for a long time, people often think they are stuck in the tree, but that is not the case. When emergency rescue arrives, they descend quickly and easily from the tree.

　　　 So why don’t cats get injured when falling from high places? This is related to cats’ developed balance system and perfect body protection mechanisms. When cats fall from the air, no matter if they start with their backs down and four paws up, during the fall, cats can quickly turn their bodies. When approaching the ground, their front legs are ready for landing. The thick fatty pads on cats’ toes greatly reduce the shock impact against the ground. This effectively prevents damage to internal organs caused by vibration. The cat’s tail also serves as a balancing organ, like an airplane’s tail wing, which helps maintain body balance. Besides, cats have developed limbs, short front legs and long hind legs, which are advantageous for jumping. Their motor nerves are well developed, bodies are flexible, muscles and ligaments strong, and balance skills sound. Therefore, even if the drop is large during climbing and jumping, they do not die from losing balance.

　　　 We often think how great it would be if we could, like martial arts characters, scale walls and jump on eaves, mastering lightness skill. Since cats possess this skill, doesn’t it make you regard them with new respect?(Source：PetsZone)