When it comes to the long-jump and the high-jump events, cats are back in the winner's circle. The same pliable muscles and flexible spine that make them great sprinters allow them to jump vertically or horizontally up to six times their own body length. Wildcats need a well-developed ability to pounce in order to survive, especially those solitary hunters that base successful dining on an element of surprise. Tigers can leap more than 30 feet through the air onto unsuspecting prey. With its exceptionally long hind legs, the puma effortlessly jumps distances of more than 40 feet. Even the relatively short-legged lion, a pack hunter without much need for jumping, can spring as far as four-and-a-half times the length of its body, i.e., some 40 feet. Humans measure in at the low end of the big-cat scale. The average person can barely jump twice his or her body length.
These pouncing, jumping and leaping talents come from the combination of powerful leg and back muscles, along with a calculating mind. Easy jumps are sometimes made during the course of a trot or run. More difficult leaps, especially where landing areas are short or narrow, call for careful planning. Because a cat pushes off with great force, it first tests the solidity of the takeoff point with its hind legs. Next, the cat sizes up the distance to be spanned and then calculates the hind-leg push needed to leap it successfully. Once all of these assessments are computed, the cat crouches forward, tips its pelvis and bends at the hips, knees and ankles. Then, it's liftoff time. Contracting its muscles and extending its joints, the would-be astronaut launches itself.
Whether jumping up onto the top of a bookcase or down to the ground beside its unwary prey, the cat usually lands on its front paws first and draws its hind legs in behind. A safe landing is assured by its flexible shoulders and solid feet, ankles and wrists, which absorb the force of touchdown with little or no lateral movement. Padded paws act as miniature shock absorbers.
