Cats can jump, once visually evaluated the distance, up to five or six times its own height and it is not rare to see them climb for the simple self enjoyment of doing it. Thus they can adopt their favorite posture to observe from above what is happening below.
When finding strategic high places, on top of a flat roof that sees towards the garden, for example, the find enough distraction to be entertained for a long period.
The behavior that impulses cats to climb is very much tied to their survival natural instinct. There aren’t many enemies that dominate the climbing technique cats do.
Also, from their high shelters they can keep guard of the movements of their potential adversaries. At home, cats hide on top of the cabinets or on similar places when a dog enters, for example, a dog they don’t know.
The flexibility of their spine is another powerful weapon with which they count when they feel chosen or in danger, because it permits them to sneak through narrow openings or to escape through almost inaccessible places.
Climbing down afterwards is another thing, because it is always harder and less elegant than when climbing up.
The orientation of the claws don’t favor good descents, and the cat frequently has to climb down backwards and by stages until they are sufficiently close to the ground, then they turn and give a final jump forward . Cats seem to always know if they will be able of climbing down after climbing up and, if they are trapped on top of a tree or another complicated place, is because they were frighten when climbing up and didn’t have time to evaluate the situation.
In general, they learn fast and they are not usually attracted to this kind of adventures that have bad endings.
