She flew down at a speed of 100 km/h, turning over in the air, and landed on the asphalt.
When Sabrina's owner heard the dull thud, she fell to her knees - it seemed that her pet had crashed to death. But the cat stood up and meowed.
It happened in 1986 in New York when Sabrina fell out of a 32nd floor window.
The vets who examined her couldn't believe their eyes: a broken fang and a slight bruise on her chest. "It's a miracle," the doctor said, but science later explained the phenomenon.
Cats have a unique "righting reflex": when falling, they turn their heads, arch their backs, and spread their paws, turning their bodies into a kind of parachute. This slows down the speed of their fall.
Their paws also act as shock absorbers, distributing the impact. But even with this, Sabrina was lucky: she fell on some bushes, which softened the blow.
Her case interested scientists. They found out that cats falling from 5-9 floors die more often than those who fall from a height of over 20 floors. The reason is that the former do not have time to group themselves.
Sabrina became a celebrity: newspapers wrote about her, and her owners received letters from fans.
But fame had its downside. One day, reporters burst into Margaret's apartment, trying to take a photo of the cat. Sabrina, frightened, hid under the sofa and did not come out for a day. After that, the owner refused to give an interview.
In 1995, the cat died of old age, but her record - a fall from 100 meters - has still not been broken.
Author: Kurchev Anton