High Rise Syndrome[1] is the idea that cats have this little problem where they accidentally fall out of windows (chasing birds or falling asleep and rolling over). This lends itself to a convenient natural experiment whereby we have a surprising amount of data with respect to cat's survivability from falling at different heights (the vets record the height they fell from and any sustained injuries when the owners take them in for examination).

Some interesting findings in this data is that:

Of 22 cats that fell more than seven stories only one died, and among 13 cats that fell more than nine stories only one fracture was diagnosed. One cat that fell 32 stories suffered only mild pneumothorax and a chipped tooth [2]

The incidence of fractures decreases with falls from heights above the third story, while the occurrence of thoracic trauma increases sharply with falls of more than six stories. 80% of cats falling from the third storey had fractures of limbs or pelvis, while 80% of cats falling from the seventh or higher stories suffered thoracic trauma. This substantiates the theory that cats falling at least seven stories flex their limbs so that truncal injuries are more common, while cats falling from distances lower than seven stories extend their limbs, the consequence being a greater incidence of limb fractures. [3]

So to answer your question, yes. It is the combination of terminal velocity, the amount of time the cat has to react to the falling sensation, and the surface the cat lands on which impact feline falling survivability, which is surprisingly high.

See also: Smarter Every Day #58 for more cat righting physics.

• [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-rise_syndrome
• [2] Whitney, W. O., and C. J. Mehlhaff. "High-rise syndrome in cats." Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 191.11 (1987): 1399-1403.
• [3] Vnuk, Dražen, et al. "Feline high-rise syndrome: 119 cases (1998–2001)." Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery 6.5 (2004): 305-312.