Talk about curiosity (almost) killing the cat! Three-year-old Lucky nearly went to the big cat box in the sky when the frisky feline went exploring out a partially opened window in the 32nd floor apartment of his Manhattan high rise.
Nosing through the 6" crack in the window, Lucky discovered what was on the other side of the window -- nothing but air and a teeny, tiny ledge. Window washers watched from across the street as the cat suddenly fell, plunging 26 stories and landing on the sixth floor balcony of an apartment below. Incredibly, they snapped photos of the whole heart-stopping incident, catching Lucky on the ledge, in mid-air, and landing on the balcony.
More astonishingly, Lucky survived with only a broken toe and broken lower jaw. How are cats able to survive such falls?
"Cats --- the higher they fall from, it's actually better the outcome," Dr. Benjamin Davidson explains. "What happens is, they reach a terminal velocity, which is the maximum velocity, and when they reach that, their body relaxes and when they hit the ground, they break less bones."
Nosing through the 6" crack in the window, Lucky discovered what was on the other side of the window -- nothing but air and a teeny, tiny ledge. Window washers watched from across the street as the cat suddenly fell, plunging 26 stories and landing on the sixth floor balcony of an apartment below. Incredibly, they snapped photos of the whole heart-stopping incident, catching Lucky on the ledge, in mid-air, and landing on the balcony.
More astonishingly, Lucky survived with only a broken toe and broken lower jaw. How are cats able to survive such falls?
"Cats --- the higher they fall from, it's actually better the outcome," Dr. Benjamin Davidson explains. "What happens is, they reach a terminal velocity, which is the maximum velocity, and when they reach that, their body relaxes and when they hit the ground, they break less bones."
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keep those windows close, thank heavens Lucky is ok!
CAN ANYONE SPELL SCREEN!!! WHY IN THE HELL AREN'T THERE ANY SCREENS ON HER WINDOWS??? WHAT AN IDIOT. SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE CATS.
I would venture to say that the HOA does not allow screens.
High rise buildings don't have screens
6/1/09
Always glad to hear good news for our animal friends. God is
compassionate toward all His creatures. People need to put
screens up in the windows and make sure they are firmly in place.
It could so easily have been a child that fell; as a matter of fact,
many kids have fallen out of windows and unfortunately they did
not always survive.
jnsprngslvr
Minimal injuries??!!! A broken jaw???? Thats not minimal, the girl should sue the building owners for not having screens on the windows. It could be a KID falling from there next time!!!
I wish with all my heart that AOL and all other news forums, would not print stories like that. For some reason, there are depraved people who do not understand that cats are sweet, innocent little animals that need our protection. Some of these people will take a story like this and use it in a very unfortunate way. We need tougher animal abuse penalties!!!
Screens are not put on upper windows on city high-rise buildings. They are to keep bugs out, not to provide a false sense of security to pet owners and people with small children, and bugs don't generally fly that high. The cat owner doesn't own the building and has no right or means to anchor a screen on the outside. She SHOULD put something up inside the apartment, (but not something so flimsy as a screen) if she is going to open the window. Sometimes you learn the hard way.
I'm glad the owner learned her lesson (and very glad the cat is okay!)...but she was ignorant before to not think the cat couldn't have gotten out of that window. No one ever thinks about consequences anymore until after they are slapped in the face with them.
TAKE THE CAT FROM THE IDIOT WOMAN WHO HAS NO CLUE HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A FELINE! LIVING IN THAT BUILDING AND OPENING YOUR WINDOW 6 INCHES! MAKE SOME KIND OF ANIMAL PROOF WAY TO GET AIR FROM OUTSIDE. ANOTHER IRRESPONSIBLE PET OWNER.
irresponsible pet owners??? are we forgetting that these were once wild animals?
Why did the window washers have a camera so handy??
Well??? When I was a Window Washer, there would be scores of naked and half dressed women in the building, or the ones near where we were working... Why do you think we brought along a camera or two???
Hey BOPCO, I think a window washer with a camera, is either not doing what his employer is paying for, or a nasty peeping tom. In any case I am sure glad the cat survived. Wow I wonder what the cat thought??
Probably had a cell phone camera as I do.
the cat was doing it cat thing, the owner needs to read an owner manual
What would happen if that cat fell on your head?
my comment is to the one who said "what happen if the cat fell on your head" you dont have much compassion and you stupid
I can just feel the hate for this woman from you all and I think it is sad. For one, it is not her building and she has no means of putting on a screen as someone said earlier, but I wouldn't have realized the cat would find the opening and get out. That is such a small detail and it is easy to miss. There are far more obvious things that people don't think of the consequences about. She learned something could go wrong, and she is fixing it. I never saw my cats attempt to go through a six inch space, so I think everything is okay, she can keep the cat, and we should all be happy it all worked out.
you are so totaly right philip