Are cats able to survive long falls? – SEE SAW Comics, Webcomics from the Sequential Artists Workshop

Are cats able to survive long falls?

Panel 1: The first panel is vertical. At the top is the question, “Are cats able to survive long falls?” Right below the question we see a gray cat leaping off of a high-rise balcony toward a white bird in flight. The dark silhouette of the building with its balconies occupies the right-hand side of the panel. On the left side is the following text, “Cats have survived some very long falls from tall buildings. In the 1980s, two doctors published a study of 115 cats who fell from two to thirty-two stories.” Just below this text is the silhouette of a city skyline in gray. At the top of the skyline is the text, “90% of these cats survived.” At the bottom of the page a footnote explains that the study is entitled, “High-rise syndrome in cats by Whitney and Mehlaff” and that it appeared in the Journal of The American Veterinarian Medical Association in February of 1988. Panel 2: At the top of this panel is rectangular white chart outlined in black on a light gray background. The chart is entitled, “Terminal Velocity (Cat).” The vertical axis is “Miles per Hour” and runs from 0 at the bottom to 100 at the top. The horizontal axis is “Stories Fallen” and runs from 0 at the left to 30 at the right. The curve starts at 0,0 and climbs quickly to sixty miles per hour and then flattens out, remaining at 60 miles per hour. The text reads, “The authors concluded that these cats reached a terminal velocity of 60 miles per hour after falling six floors or so.” Panel 3: At the left of this panel a series of drawings show four images of a gray cat on a light gray background. At the top left of the panel, the first cat is inverted with its feet up in the air. Over the course of the four images the cat flips and lands on its feet. The text at the right reads, “One reason that cats may be inclined to survive long falls is their ability to re-orient themselves feet down while falling.” This cartoon is part of a series called Falling. It is written and drawn by Jim Hamilton who can be found on Instagram at Green Harbor Publications (all one word, greenharborpublications).

Published On: June 16, 2025

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Panel 1: This comic is all in one panel. At the top left is the question, “Does a ball thrown straight up take the same time to go up as it does to come down?” Directly below the question is the response, ‘Well, it depends.” The text continues, “In a vacuum, the time going up and the time going down would be equal.” Directly below this text we see two boys having a conversation. One says, “But we do not live in a vacuum.” The other boy responds, “Good point!” Below the boys the text continues, “In the real world, it takes longer to come down. Why? Air resistance.” In the center of the panel we see a left-handed batter who has just swung at a pitch and popped the ball straight up. He is wearing a white uniform with the number seven on the back. Right beside him standing behind home plate, the catcher follows the flight of the ball. He is wearing a gray uniform and a chest protector. His hat is on backwards. He has already discarded his mask. Along the left side of the panel is the following text, “On the way up, air resistance and gravity work together to slow the ball’s upward motion. On the return trip to earth, air resistance counters the impact of gravity, which means that the ball accelerates at a slower pace, and so it takes slightly longer to come town.” This cartoon is part of a series called Falling. It is written and drawn by Jim Hamilton who can be found on Instagram at Green Harbor Publications (all one word, greenharborpublications).

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