The paratrooper cat syndrome

We have always seen cats as great balancers, agile, fast and very clever, both We say that they have 7 lives, but the fact is that their strategies do not always work out well, they have calculation errors, impulses that are difficult to control, among other factors, and sometimes flight, persecution or play go wrong and end up in an accident..

Did you know that there is a feline syndrome known as the parachute cat syndrome? A priori it may sound funny to us, but it is a problem that should concern those who have a domestic cat in their lives, especially if they live in tall buildings, precisely because of these natural mistakes they can make.

Read on This new article from Animals and Pets Online to discover what the parachute cat syndrome is about and how to act in case it occurs.

What is the parachute cat syndrome

This syndrome, also known under the name of the flying cat syndrome, deals with the domestic accident that cats most commonly suffer and that falls from great heights happen much more than we can think.

Our cat may chase another, an insect or a bird and decide to jump confidently through the window to go after its objective and at that time our cat is acting in the manner known as the flying cat syndrome or paratrooper.

Many times we see how they fall gracefully, as if they did not cost the minimum effort, because it is a low height, or, in cases of greater height they leave us more open-mouthed even when they make a turn in the air that allows them to fall properly to cushion the fall and run away.It is precisely at an intermediate height, that is to say a height too high to fall smoothly with a simple jump and too low to be able to make the turn and fall with legs ahead, or good n when it comes to an extremely high height and as much as they can be placed well the impact is too strong, when there is danger to our cat.

This syndrome occurs when the cat runs determined, but in a way that ignores the set of real variables, a jump from an inappropriate height to be able to perform it correctly and the result varies according to that height and the previous physical state of the animal.

Are there cats more prone than others?

One factor that is known with certainty that does not affect the propensity in this case, is the sex factor of the cat.In contrast, if it affects the fact that is sterilized or not, because if it is not, it is very common for them to control the sexual impulse that always leads them to escape from home and an option is always the window or the balcony.

Another factor is the age, because the younger the more curiosity and inexperience the cat has.In addition, in full adolescence it is when the sexual impulse we mentioned earlier is higher.

In the case of the kittens of a few months there is also a clear propensity, because inexperience is very high since they are still learning and knowing the world.A part of the process of learning a kitten is learning to measure distances, hence the funny videos that circulate online of clumsy little cats that fall trying to reach places that result is take farther than they thought.Precisely, as they are not aware of the distance from their window or balcony to the floor or the nearest surface, confident they jump and fall badly.

Also, It is possible that a kitten that does not have a normal learning process does not get to learn many things about being a cat and in these cases, even if the cat is older, it will never act in a completely catlike way and if one of the things affected in his learning was the distances, this cat will have more chances of falling from his balcony or window.

The good thing about all this is that there are various ways of prevention for this to happen regardless of how our cat is.Later in this article we will discuss the most effective prevention forms.

As act and first aid

As soon as we detect that a cat has had a spectacular fall we should approach to evaluate the possible damages.It is vital that if the animal does not get up on its own we do not catch it or move from good to first, if not that we should call the veterinary emergency to indicate the best possible, according to the state of the animal, how to handle it to transport it or what will be the best option.

If the fall has been from an intermediate height, it is quite likely that external wounds are not appreciated and even that the hairy gets up alone.Even so, it is always advisable to go immediately to the veterinarian , because it is very easy to have internal wounds and these can go from mild to very serious.We may only observe a slight limp, but we must take it and take it to a complete revision since it can be a broken leg or even have internal wounds that must be treated immediately.

the case that in the fall they have occurred or external wounds, depending on the severity of these and the general state of the cat that is convenient or not that we do something ourselves.We must think that in the falls of cats with paratrooper syndrome the wounds par excellence are the internal ones, especially the breakage of the palate and the front legs, followed by breaks in the thorax and abdomen.

Another result in these cases is death, which usually occurs when the fall is from a floor height that is too high, either instantaneously or after a short time due to internal injuries.

Due to the variety of possible results, the first aid we can offer ourselves is very limited, the most relevant being immediate observation, the so-called to the emergency room and follow in their footsteps, and take the injured or seemingly unharmed cat to the nearest veterinarian.

The life of our faithful cat friend, in many cases, will depend on our being able to do these simple steps with the biggest as soon as possible.

Efficient prevention

As we have said before, there are many ways to avoid these accidents, for example, starting by sterilizing our cat or cat and thus greatly reducing the likelihood of feeling the need for escape from home.

Another very logical and simple way is to avoid access to windows and balconies, but if you can't or want to, at least you can avoid going out through these parts of the house. correctly place grilles or mosquito nets and so our cats will not be able to go out there, but they will be able to look and browse as much as they like.

Another idea is to make sure to enrich their environment sufficiently within home so you do not want to go for food or fun.We can provide interactive games for cats , search for food in various parts of the house, if possible there is more than one cat to always be feel accompanied, scrapers at different levels and with various toys , circuits, shelves, etc.

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