As a kid growing up in an orange orchard in SoCal, we usually had an outdoor cat that we fed, and petted. He also hunted gophers and other rodents, and slept on a chenille rug on the back porch.
My dad had told me that a falling cat always lands on its feet so, being something of an empiricist, I tried it and found it to be true. The cat apparently forgave me, as we remained friends.
Now someone has written an article about this ability for The Atlantic, here echoed at scribd.com. It turns out they can often fall many stories and survive, if a bit worse for wear.
If you like cats or just fun, off-the-wall science, read what they wrote. Fun fact: cats achieve "terminal velocity" at about 60 miles per hour and fall no faster regardless of distance fallen.
