What physical principle is involved in the righting reflex that allows a cat to reorient its falling body?

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The righting reflex allows a falling cat to reorient its body so that its paws face the ground. Using information from its inner ear and the flexibility of its spine, it folds and extends different parts of its body then rotates them in opposite directions. It can thus modify its orientation while maintaining a total angular momentum close to zero. The phenomenon therefore illustrates in particular the conservation of angular momentum, and not the conservation of mechanical energy. The height, the condition of the animal and the impact surface remain determining factors: landing on its legs does not guarantee the absence of injury.