‘True essence of Cat walk’: This video documents the cat’s weird behaviour

The peculiar way of walking that requires a cat to first place its hind feet in front of its forefeet is called direct registering.

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The word catwalk, which refers to a particularly stylish way in which models walk the runway, traces its origins to ‘direct registering’. Direct registering refers to a peculiar way in which cats walk by placing their hind legs in front of their forepaws. This phenomenon not only gives them a royal gait but also serves many benefits in the wild.

The ‘direct registering’ allows cats to minimise their trail by reducing their paw prints, navigating narrow surfaces, and maintaining body balance. While domestic cats don’t necessarily need these benefits, they still follow direct registering as a matter of instinct.

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A video documenting this ‘direct registering’ is going viral on Twitter. The video shows three cats walking over fresh snow. The paw prints left by the cats show a linear trail which was created when cats used two paws at one step, even though they have four limbs.

Cats have a precise method of walking called ‘direct registering’.

Their hind paws fall inside the place of their forepaws — minimizing noise and visible tracks — while ensuring more stable footing..

🎥 IG: my_ragdoll_cats_21 pic.twitter.com/FEyHltdvL2

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) February 13, 2023

Commenting on the video, a Twitter user observed, “My observation is that in snow they are assiduous about that, among other reasons they mostly don’t love snow. If I walk in snow my cat will follow behind in my foot tracks & not make his own. They do have amazing kinesthetic awareness.”

Our cat Popcorn can even come back using the same paw print leaving only 1 track of paw prints on snow. #Toronto pic.twitter.com/iWsSeiyhUU

— Health Inspector Jim (@phijimchan) February 14, 2023

Another Twitter wrote, “What is additional amazing about this is that they return in the same tracks they made. I’ve watched Evie do this in the front lawn for the past couple of months. Her paws fall in the same pattern even after a snow fall. She reuses her original tracks.”