That's cat's balance is the key here. I tried this with a hairless cat - whom also have very little in the way of whiskers - and the poor thing just didn't have the balance to handle the final steps.
I successfully got 2 middle aged cats to do this. They have both since passed and I have two new cats. I haven't bothered to train them, but I think it's because my wife cleans their box and I haven't thought about it.
The first two cats did this almost effortlessly. They didn't give us any trouble because we changed steps slowly.
It would be interesting to compare long tailed vs. short tailed cats on natural falls.
In the video, the cats started their falls with no angular momentum, and so they finish their falls with no angular momentum. The problem the cat has to solve is to get itself in an upright position.
In natural falls, they won't always start with no angular momentum. For example, consider a cat walking along a branch and a gust of wind shakes the branch and the cat tips off. There's a good chance the cat will get angular momentum in that kind of accident.
In that situation, merely getting upright is not sufficient as the initial angular momentum remains. There are several approaches that cat could take to deal with this.
1. Wait until near the ground to do the "get upright" operation, so that there isn't time between that and landing for the rotation to take the cat too far out of position.
2. Get upright, and then whenever the rotation takes the cat too far out of position, repeat the uprighting operation.
3. Get upright, and then use a constant counterrotation of the tail to maintain the upright position.
I would guess that the long tailed cats would do better on natural falls that are high enough to need angular momentum management.
And they were given plenty of time to right themselves. My cats could land on their feet when dropped with about two inches clearance between their backs and the couch. And to do this experiment without thick gloves, the cat has to be treated respectfully. In short, this kind of exercise is at worst mildly annoying to the cats, and well worth it if followed by payment ham.
My wife uses this approach with our cat and it works. However, when I try it he pays no attention - could be that I've been his main servant for 18+ years so of course I don't see him as a threat or I have glasses any my wife doesn't or sheer feline contrariness ....
If the nozzle is too large, or the cat too skinny, it risks getting sucked into the machine. Fair enough the cat is scared. Cats don't do math either. Well, perhaps Schrödinger taught his cat, but I hear it had a sticky end. Nobody is really sure.
They (cats) unfortunately lack the reversible rear feet of squirrels, so down is rather precarious when all your claws face in the "release the hold" direction as you go down.
Edited to add: or you could just leave your actual ladder in place. All three of my cats have learned to climb a human ladder (albeit only a short one, with 5 steps) - both up and down
Consider brushing the cat, with the folding saw, on the left-side porch steps, every other day. Hairballs..
What? He brushes his cat with a saw? I haven't ever had a cat, but that sounds af it might make the cat somewhat upset. Or perhaps the saw is fantastically dull? Interesting. :)
> "Cats have a natural fondness for heights, which leads to falls when the cat is distracted or falls asleep. If this were to occur in a tree, the cat might be able to save itself by grabbing on with its claws. Many building materials such as concrete and painted metal do not allow a cat to grip successfully.[13] "
You just have to sit on them ... At least that worked for us ;) Our cat just yielded (protesting but not fighting) in this position. I'm sure you're aware but make sure you're just trimming the dead nail part.
I considered training our cat to do this, but there's a bunch of advice out there saying that it may be harmful to your cat, and may be difficult as the cat gets older. So please consult with your vet before going this route.
I have a missing limb cat. She doesn't let it slow her down, not even a little. She even somehow manages to routinely use the scratching post upright with her only front leg. She just takes everything in stride.
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