Why do cats always land on their feet?
For grown-ups: the science
Cats can feel which way their body is turning, so they twist around and land on their feet. But it's never okay to drop a cat on purpose.
Cats have inner ear and visual systems that sense their body's orientation and motion. In midair, they use a righting reflex, turning the head, front half, and back half in sequence while conserving angular momentum to flip themselves over. While this often lets them land feet-first, there may not be enough time to turn if they fall from somewhere too low, and falling from somewhere too high isn't safe either. It's important to never drop a cat on purpose or leave one somewhere high up.
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Transcript
When a cat tumbles through the air, its feet end up on the bottom. Why does that happen?
A cat's ears and eyes feel which way its body is turning right away. When it falls, it points its head up and its feet down.
The cat bends its back in a bendy curve, twisting its front and back halves different ways. Turning its body like this makes its feet end up facing down.
Once its feet are down, the cat spreads them out wide to hold up its body. It bends its legs when it lands, so the landing feels soft instead of hard.
Cats can feel which way their body is turning, so they usually land on their feet. But it's not always safe, so we should never drop a cat on purpose.