They had just one job

There was a study on the heights that cats "left the building" for what ever reason, and their ability to survive the fall... AND a short initial fall, was easy to survive because they did not reach their terminal velocity, and then there was going up a bit higher, where they reached a high speed and did not have time to orientate themselves AND relax for the trip down and the landing. This height range usually resulted in the most injuries. BUT when the cat left a really high building, it had time to orientate it's self to it's landing position, to prepare for the landing AND to relax while it reached it's terminal velocity.... this resulted in very few injuries, despite the great heights. There is also a ration between how hairy the cat is and how thin it is.... and it's injuries. as the fur to surface area and weight, played a part in the injuries and survivability of the fall.....

It was called the drag coefficient - more fur, lower weight = slower vertical speed.