Why do cats survive falls better than humans? Cats activate their "righting reflex" in mid-air. Once their head is off the surface, they start auto-correcting. First, they twist their head and front body, then their rear, finally landing belly down and feet first. This reflex isn’t entirely gravity-dependent. It’s a skill based on inertia and angular momentum. Even in zero gravity, they can still execute a flip. More importantly, a cat’s body has built-in shock absorbers. Videos show that their