I love WNYC’s Radiolab. But ever since I listened to the radio show called Falling, I’ve been worried about all those falling cats in New York City. Evidently there’s a plague of falling cats there. In a five month period, 132 cats were taken to a Midtown Manhattan veterinarian’s office after falling from windows. That’s roughly 1 cat a day. And that, of course, doesn’t account for the cats that died, were taken to a different vet, or never received medial attention. They call this the feline high rise syndrome. Fortunately, some of the cats were relatively unharmed, even after falling from high floors. (One was fine after falling 42 stories.) The explanation? The cats hit terminal velocity, relaxed in mid-air, and glided to an easy landing. On their feet, of course.
