Pet Cam Captures New Kitten's Death-Defying Jump From Second Floor

2 days ago 1

The moment a curious kitten terrified his owners with a fearless leap has gained viral attention online.

In footage from an indoor home camera, the owner captured the heart-stopping moment a kitten, named Apollo, launched himself from a second-floor railing in his owners' home.

The video, posted on Instagram by the cat's owner @crazybusyfurbabies, has been viewed more than 780,000 times, sparking reactions ranging from shock to amazement.

In the video, Apollo was exploring the upper floor of the house before taking a terrifying and sudden leap through the railings, all as his owner sat on the couch, too stunned to move.

Thankfully, the small ragdoll kitten landed gracefully on the living room floor below, on his feet and unscathed. Relieved, his owner put her head in hands, and in the comments people were stunned by the moment.

"Eight lives left," said viewer artsy_mike, while betsyboo1025 said, "OMGEEEEE, I would have freaked out too!!!!!!!!!!!"

Others warned the owner to be cautious of their kitten's jumping skills, warning that Apollo could have injured himself. "Kittens break their joints like this. It's a cute video, but plz be mindful," said maisha.a_xo.

While viewer lagbaoelaine on Instagram wrote: "How super scary. How did the little legs not get injured?"

Do Cats Always Land On Their Feet?

Although they often do, it is not true that cats always land on their feet.

Cats are known for their remarkable ability to land on their feet—a survival mechanism called the "cat righting reflex." This develops in kittens between 3-9 weeks of age and enables them to orientate themselves mid-air.

In 1998, Fiorella Gambale at the Institute for Feline Research in Milan, Italy, demonstrated that cats need a minimum height of approximately 12 inches to activate their reflex successfully.

For the study Gambale worked with a cat named Esther, who was dropped 100 times from various heights to observe the landing patterns.

The results found that when dropped from heights between 2 and 6 feet, Esther the cat landed on her feet 100 percent of the time.

But when dropped from a height of 1 foot, Esther failed to land on her feet every single time.

Gambale theorized that this means a cat needs a certain amount of time in free fall to trigger their righting reflex, and shorter falls may not allow them the window required to adjust their position, increasing the risk of injury.

While the study does provide interesting insight, it has not been peer-reviewed or independently verified, such experiments also raise ethical concerns regarding animal welfare.

Although Apollo walked away unharmed, his daring leap serves as a reminder of the unpredictability of pets. Experts recommend keeping a close eye on curious animals in multi-story homes to prevent potential accidents.

Newsweek has reached out to @crazybusyfurbabies via Instagram for comment.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

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