How cats defy the laws of physics

Let's face it - if you own a cat, you’re often in awe of their adorable qualities - their squishy toebeans, the perfect symmetry of their faces, the way they meow and how they always make a hard day more bearable.

As a cat owner, I'm ready to let you in on a secret…

Underneath that furry facade our feline friends harbour superpowers. Not everyone will believe me - but think about it… why else were they worshipped by Egyptians for thousands of years?

The truth is, cats can shape-shift, defy gravity, cheat death and present abilities that shoot a middle finger at the natural laws of the universe and can only be described as black magic voodoo sorcery.

Still don't believe me?

Here's proof of these mystifying moggy qualities - if your cat has accomplished any of the following, be proud of them!

Cats can transform into a liquid

According to Wikipedia, the definition of 'liquid' is 'a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container'.

Taking this into account, the pictures above prove that cats can easily transform from a solid to a liquid and can melt into whatever they're sitting in, at any time, anywhere.

They can also squeeze into impossibly small spaces and fit through tight gaps like so:

This is why I've lost my cats in my bedroom countless times - they always turn into jellified beings and slink under my bed even though it's literally an inch off the floor!

The science behind this is that cats have extremely flexible anatomies and their collarbone and spine are particularly pliable; unlike how our collarbones attach to our breastbone, their collarbone is attached to muscle and can flex more freely.

This is how they can comfortably mould themselves to boxes, bowls, large vases, sinks, etc so they can pretend to be a glass of wine for a while and ignore feline responsibilities.

Cats don't just 'tryyyy defyiiiing gravity' - they do defy gravity

They *blep*, they *mlem*, they *boop* - but did you know cats *float*, too?!

Gravity doesn't apply to felines and this has been proven by many photos that have circulated the web, including the examples below:

Whether it's climbing walls, traversing thin fences or balancing on the teeniest amount of surface area, cats are masters of pretending the floor is lava and give spiderman a run for his money.

This again is due to their incredibly light and flexible bone structure, with their tail playing a key role in helping them quickly adjust to changes in balance.

Cats always land on their feet

Something that has befuddled scientists and friends of felines for centuries - yes, literally centuries - is the fact that no matter which way they fall, cats always land on their feet.

As demonstrated in the video below, it seems they land correctly no matter what height they fall from.

In fact, the question of how cats always land on their feet is so controversial among physicists that there's a Wikipedia page dedicated to the Falling cat problem which features a GIF of what looks like Felix the cat being subjected to some kind of bendy hotdog torture.

The explanation scientists finally agreed on is that cats have an instinctual righting reflex which they perfect by the time they're 6 - 9 weeks of age. Their 'unusually flexible backbone' also helps them to twist in midair and - as everyone knows - all cats are born with degrees in Newtonian Mechanics and so are able to calculate their angular momentum mid-fall to ensure that they land on their paws every time.

Cats fall from great heights and survive

There's a reason that cats supposedly have nine lives - they can fall from heights that are fatal to humans and come out completely unscathed.

For example, did you know that a cat once fell from 32 stories high and survived? Knowledge of Living also states that if a human falls from a 10-story building, there's a 5% chance they'll live; if a cat falls from the same height, there's a 95% chance they'll live. Convinced cats are superior yet?

Terminal velocity (the speed at which gravity's downward pull matches the upward push of wind resistance) is the force behind this feline superpower. The terminal velocity of a falling cat is 60mph, whereas a human's is double that at 120mph. With cats' bones being so light, this also means there is less impact when they land from a great height.

In conclusion

Your respect level for cats should have skyrocketed and you should now be grovelling at the paws of your leader, Mr Fluffles. Cats' abilities really are the type you only expect to see in Marvel films.

You're probably thinking "Yes, but their 'superpowers' can be explained by science... so cats can't really be compared to Black Panther, can they?"

The fact these unbelievable qualities can be explained by science does not take away from how awesome they are.

We simply have to remember that every time a cat becomes one with its container, climbs a vertical wall, lands on its feet or lands completely unharmed, they are teaching us about our world and how wonderful it is to be a part of it.