[Studies on righting reflexes in newborn cats falling in the air (author's transl)]

The classical righting reflexes have been well illustrated in the familiar example of a falling adult cat, which always lands deftly on all four feet. It, however, has never been clear when newborn animals come to turn themselves in the air after birth. In the present studies the newborn cats were dropped in the air with legs pointed upward from a height of about 30 approximately 40 cm, and the observations were continued for the period of 36 days. The results were as follows: 1. The newborn cats fell plump on their back when they were dropped with legs pointed upward in the air. 2. No righting reflexes were observed in the cats of 27 days and downward. 3. The eyelids (rima palpebrarum) of the cats came to be open on the 8th approximately 14th after birth. 4. The cats which were suggested to obtain full eyesight judged from the observations of their behaviours had no visual righting reflexes when dropped with legs pointed upward. 5. The walking pattern of the cats changed in association with their growth. For the period of 20 days after birth the type of locomotion was creeping, for the period of 21st approximately 26th plantigradation, and after the 26th approximately 27th digitigradation. 6. It has been concluded that the righting reflexes as compound reflexes are never observed in the experimental cats for about one month after birth even though the cats have obtained each postural reflex, i.e. tonic neck or labyrinthine reflex which constitutes righting reflexes.