Why are cats so bad at walking backwards?

My cats do the same thing, and I’ve never figured out why.

LOL @ that link!

They are totally front focused animals. Watch them hunt and they never pay attention to what’s behind them.

Lol, this makes me wanna corner my cat and make him walk backwards.

Their joints and limbs are better suited for running and jumping. They can also turn around in a pretty small space, so it’s not as important for them to be able to back up.

LOL That is funny. Try this. Tape your cats ears down and he will lose his balance and will tip over. They can’t even walk with their ears taped down.

@Summum – :O I wouldn’t do that!

It doesn’t hurt them it just shows you how their ears and whiskers are needed for balance. I love animals and have always takin great care of those that are with me.

I never really noticed, I’ll be watching for backing up challenged cats now.
Yes, that link, hilarious, saw it before! haha

Agility and obedience competition dogs have to be taught how to back up in a straight line. It just isn’t natural behavior for them.

@Summum If you tie a sock or scarf around their midsection they can’t even stand up. It doesn’t hurt them, but it sure pisses them off.

LOL I will have to try that. I have a cat that I rescued that follows me around the house. She even jumps up on the keyboard when I get on the computer. Her leg was almost tore off when she was a tiny kitten. I took her to the vet and then had to feed her with a tiny bottle. She is now about 2 years old and is with me all the time.

There was a study at the University of Alberta indicating that cats remember exactly what their front legs did in walking over terrain, and then use that memory as a guide for how to place the rear feet. So the cat uses vision to see obstacles and decide where to place the front feet, but then the rear feet take their cue from what the front feet have done.

My bet is that walking backwards confounds this process.

@Seelix You realize you are going to be responsible for a lot of people messing with cats to test these things out?

Cats are weird. That’s why I’m a dog person.

Watching my two from the window right now as they play fight on my deck rail in the bamboo and zebra grasses. Yep, backin’ up is even more precarious when you are on a 4 inch rail hovering 10 feet above a creek. lol

It’s not in a cat’s nature to go backwards, it will always either turn around, or jump.
It’s not built into them,unlike us,to reverse.

I think it’s in the nature of the beast: I can’t recall ever having seen a cat “back down” from anything. They may occasionally turn and flee, but “back down”? Never.

Coz they’re thick as two short planks? Just a hunch, as Quasimodo once said.

I think it’s quite funny when one of my cats wants in when the other is sat in the open window,,, they back up a little to turn around to let the each other pass, whichever yields first that is….. If however the local toms try to get in, neither move either way….. :-/

I always thought it was because their back legs are built in such a crooked, awkward angle.

@Adirondackwannabe – If I’m responsible for people making their cats walk backwards, I can accept that. But any ear taping or sock tying or other experiments – you guys are on your own there!

I tied a scarf around my cat’s humongous midsection….he seemed to have no problem lumbering over to me for some love. Bummer.

Tape down his ears. LOL

I wonder if the same tricks will work on my husband…

I thought of this today when I put a harness on one of my cats for the first time. Cats in a harness think they cannot walk, at first. He was pulling himself along the floor by his paws!

@crisw We have a harness for my cat too and he is SO ridiculous in it. He’s been in it on walks at least ten times now and everytime, it’s the marine crawl. Except it’s weird because, when he’s in the grass, he’s fine with it on, but pavement, he refuses to get his gut off the ground! So strange.

@crisw

@deni

LOL! I suggested to my wife that she get a cat harness; thanks for the head-up. :-p

Lack of fine motor skills. The same happens to kids who almost never go outside to play.

Why would you put a harness on a cat?

@Dutchess_III

“Why would you put a harness on a cat?”

We just moved. Our cats are indoor cats; they would have been instant coyote food at our old house if they went outside. Two of our cats are very content with the indoor life; one would very much like to go out.

The house that we moved to sits right on a canyon, and I’ve only seen one cat in the neighborhood since we moved, so I know that his survival rate, should he get out, would be nil; he would be coyote food. But, with a harness, he could go out on a supervised tie-out and enjoy the grass and sun and dirt safely.

Oic. Maybe you could build a great big play cage for him outside?

@Dutchess_III

This place is a temporary rental until we move to Portland, and then I may do just that :>)

@Dutchess_III my cat is toothless and clawless. He would literally be eaten. Same reason you’d put a dog on a leash pretty much, to get them some exercise. Too bad cats don’t get it.

haha! Maybe they’re embarrassed by the harness and don’t want other cats to see, so the crouch, and think the grass hides it…