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Every cat owner must have seen it at least once, one moment their cat is upon the floor, the next moment it seems to have magically appeared upon the shelf that looked way out of reach. After seeing my cat accomplish this feat the first time, I thought to myself that there must be something on the shelf that I couldn't see that would allow him to get up there. When I looked closer at the shelf, I didn't find anything that would make it any easier for my cat to get there.
The average healthy cat can jump as high as six times its own body length. When you think about that from a human perspective, it gets kind of crazy really fast because that means a cat would jump as far as six cars are long without any type of run up to hit that distance or time to gather itself before launching itself.
Cats are able to do that thanks to their body structure. Their back legs have been designed to hold the majority of their muscle power, which enables them to use their legs to build up to their maximum takeoff point and then push off, all in one very fast motion. It is also aided by the cat's spine, the spine will stretch when the cat crouches and then it contracts as they take off to help propel the cat higher.
I am not only impressed by how high they get but also their ability to accurately land where they wish to land. Whether it is a narrow ledge of a shelf or a high curtain rod or the top of a door frame, cats are able to stick the landing perfectly. The tail serves as a balance point for their bodies while they are in the air to help them with keeping balanced as they are descending.
If you compare cats with people, most of us are excited with a two foot vertical jump, and the elite athletes we admire and respect and pay a lot of cash for the sport still need a run up to make six feet high.
