Cat Astounds Everyone By Leaping From A Burning Building
When firemen arrived at a Chicago apartment complex to react to a report, they had no clue they were about to witness a death-defying performance of feline agility.
Hennessy, a cat, determined the best route to escape out of the burning flat was down.
“The cat was sitting on the other side of the door but would not come out when the firemen arrived to the floor and pushed their way into the apartment,” Larry Langford, director of public affairs for the Chicago Fire Department, told The Dodo. “As they got farther into the flat, the cat walked deeper into the apartment and ultimately decided to get on the window ledge after they smashed out the windows to breathe.”
When Langford arrived on the scene to film the fire, he noticed Hennessy staring out the fifth-story window. He began to feel uneasy, but figured Hennessy would return inside.
He was completely wrong.
Nine lives for a cat that jumped from fire at 65th and Lowe. Cat hit grass bounced and walked away! pic.twitter.com/LRBsjMta2Z
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) May 13, 2021
Cats are natural climbers and have no fear of heights. Their bodies are built to withstand falls, and they know which way is down automatically. This allows them to align their bodies in mid-air, ensuring that they always land on their feet.
According to the BBC, “they have a rather high surface area in relation to their weight, which reduces the power with which they strike the pavement.” “Compared to huge animals like people and horses, cats attain terminal velocity, or the speed at which gravity’s downward drag is balanced by the upward push of wind resistance, at a sluggish rate.”
Before leaping from the flaming building’s window, Hennessy appeared to weigh his options. Langford explained, “He put his paws out like he was testing – he truly seemed like he was trying to calculate [the fall] and then he just took off.” “It was unexpected.”
The intelligent cat extended his legs out in the air to create a parachute effect and increase drag resistance. “He looked more like a flying squirrel than a cat,” Langford said.
Hennessy nearly avoided a retaining wall and landed safely on the grass with a tiny bounce, to to the delight of onlookers. He then trotted around the building’s corner as if nothing had occurred. Langford was taken aback when he noticed the cat wasn’t limping and appeared to be in good health.
Hennessy, it turns out, didn’t need anyone’s help that day. Whatever happens, the brave cat always manages to land on his feet.