Your Paw-some Question | How do cats climb?

Cosmo and I learned all about cat anatomy and how feline friends like us climb so well. Thanks to WSU vet med's Steve Lampa for the expert info.

• Learn more about joints with Nemours
• Find out about connective tissue with Brittanica Kids
• Check out Vox's explainer on the righting reflex

Sound effects courtesy Pixabay and Zapsplat

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Transcript

Hey, Dr. Universe. 

Hey, Cosmo. 

Why was the cat afraid of the tree? 

I don't know. Why? 

Because of its bark. 

Hey, friends. I'm Dr. Universe. 

And I'm Cosmo. 

if you're anything like us, you've got lots of big questions about our world. Today, we're answering a question sent in by a kid just like you. 

Jake wants to know: How do cats climb?

It turns out the answer is all about a cat's beefy backside and razor-sharp claws. We jump with our strong rump muscles and hind legs. We have ball and socket hip joints that move in different directions, and a knee joint called a stifle. It moves back and forth like a hinge. After the jump, we anchor ourselves with our claws. They work like grappling hooks as we pull ourselves up whatever we're climbing. 

It probably helps that we have amazing retractable claws, unlike dogs with their boring claws. 

Dogs have claws that poke out all the time. That's why they tippy tap on the floor when they walk. That scratching and tapping dulls their claws. That's okay, because wild dogs hunt together. Their big weapon is teamwork. 

Cats like us hunt alone. Keeping our claws tucked inside our paws makes us quieter and stealthier. Plus, it protects our claws and keeps them super sharp. 

Perfect for sinking into prey. 

Normally, our ligaments hold our claws back. We can flex muscles in our paws to stretch that ligament and push our claws out. But those claws make coming down a lot harder. 

It's so embarrassing when you get stuck in a tree and need help from the fire department. 

When cats climb down, we use our flexible spines and long tails for balance. Plus, we have a righting reflex. It's why people say cats always land on their feet. 

Here's how it works. When a cat falls or drops down, we use our senses and brains to figure out where we are in space. Then we twist our bodies. The top half rotates one way, and the bottom half goes the other way— while we pull in our front paws. That makes the head and chest turn faster than our hind end. At just the right time, we stretch out our front paws and tuck our back ones to quickly turn our rumps. That's how cats stick the landing. 

We're good with life's ups and downs. 

That's all for this episode, friends. 

Big thanks to Steve Lamppa of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. 

As always, if you've got a science question for me, you can submit it at askdruniverse.wsu.edu. That's a s k d r u n I v e r s e dot w s u dot e d u. 

Who knows where your questions will take us next?