Why do cats fall over when you put something on them?

8whiskers

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This is such a weird behavior! My Louie just had abdominal surgery to remove a stone from his bladder. When he came home I tried various things to protect his incision so I wouldn't have to resort to the Cone of Shame. My favorite was a large ACE bandage around his middle. As soon as I put it on, he immediately fell over, like he was instantly paralyzed!!

Why do they do this? A harness, a bandage, even a t-shirt I tried to fashion like a baby- onsie to prevent him from getting to his stitches all made him fall over and lose the ability to walk. Take it off and, ta-daaa! He can walk again.

Why do some cats do this, and others could care less?
 

GemsGem

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It depends on if the cat as been accustomed to wearing clothes since a kitten. If not, when you put clothes on them for the first time they feel like their movement is restricted. So they either freeze to the spot or fall over because they feel like they cannot walk or move.
 

varsettie

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This video explains it perfectly:


3:24

Costume Induced Sideways Cat Instability syndrome. 

:3
 
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catspaw66

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That video is what you get when you mix two male nerds, several cats, several cameras, money and way too much time on their hands. Loved it.
 
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8whiskers

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That video is priceless! I'm so glad cats fall over in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere so that the earth can stay in balance. I knew cats were smart, but not THAT smart!

Now I am going to have to put something on each one of my cats to make sure they fall in the right direction. What do I do (besides Corporal Cuddling) if I have a cat that falls wrong? :-)
 

susank521

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This is such a weird behavior! My Louie just had abdominal surgery to remove a stone from his bladder. When he came home I tried various things to protect his incision so I wouldn't have to resort to the Cone of Shame. My favorite was a large ACE bandage around his middle. As soon as I put it on, he immediately fell over, like he was instantly paralyzed!!

Why do they do this? A harness, a bandage, even a t-shirt I tried to fashion like a baby- onsie to prevent him from getting to his stitches all made him fall over and lose the ability to walk. Take it off and, ta-daaa! He can walk again.

Why do some cats do this, and others could care less?
Hilarious! I laughed so hard I cried!
I wish you had made a video of Louie.
 
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8whiskers

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I wish I had videoed him too! He's still amusing in the Cone of Shame. He walks like a runway model, now almost crossing his legs when he walks. I may have to tape him doing that. It's funny when he does the all over body shake with the cone on, it always makes him lose his balance!
 

catspaw66

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That video is priceless! I'm so glad cats fall over in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere so that the earth can stay in balance. I knew cats were smart, but not THAT smart!

Now I am going to have to put something on each one of my cats to make sure they fall in the right direction. What do I do (besides Corporal Cuddling) if I have a cat that falls wrong? :-)
You put the food in the dish so it is mounded on the right side. This will cause the weight to pull him in the correct direction after he eats it.
 

segelkatt

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I do hope these clowns do not expect any of this to be for real. There are always gullible folks who take anything that was said or produced by someone with a title or otherwise seemes to be an expert as abso;ute truth. As an exercise of tougue in check it is excellent. And very funny. Thanks.
 

susank521

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I wish I had videoed him too! He's still amusing in the Cone of Shame. He walks like a runway model, now almost crossing his legs when he walks. I may have to tape him doing that. It's funny when he does the all over body shake with the cone on, it always makes him lose his balance!
Please do video his new walking style!  Sounds like it's almost as amusing as the graceful fall-over-sideways trick.
 

catspaw66

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I do hope these clowns do not expect any of this to be for real. There are always gullible folks who take anything that was said or produced by someone with a title or otherwise seemes to be an expert as abso;ute truth. As an exercise of tougue in check it is excellent. And very funny. Thanks.
They are very popular on YouTube and most people realize that they are cat guys that like to poke fun at scientific research. They are both engineers with Master's Degrees.
 

varsettie

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The engineer's Guide to cats is merely a satire on scientific research and cats. The two running the youtube channel actually are engineer's though. There are several videos they have made with 'an engineer's guide to Cat Yodeling' being my personal favorite. ;3

My cats however, do not enjoy yodeling and they have shown me that with their claws. Ouch :/
 
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