Run at full speed
This gait, also sometimes referred to as a fast gallop, is the fastest gait and is usually only sustained in short bursts. This is also a three beat gait, but unlike the canter may have either a single or double suspension phase depending on speed. The fastest gallop will have two phases where all four feet are off the ground simultaneously. During a gallop, impetus from the hindquarters propels the forequarters into the air and the cat bounds forwards, all four feet off the ground and with the spine fully extended. One forepaw will then contact the ground fractionally before the second, the spine flexing to draw the hindquarters under the body so that the hind paws will contact the ground again, one fractionally ahead of the other. The hind paws cross the forepaws as they contact the ground. In a double suspension gallop, the forelimbs have left the ground for a second time before the hind limbs land such that the cat is suspended with the back in flexion as well as during the phase of extension. The following videos illustrate running. |
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