Do cats have shock absorbent paws?

It is more like their legs are like shock absorbers, with tendons and ligaments and muscles acting together to make their joints act springy. But, depending on where they land, they can hurt themselves. Sometimes, when climbing trees, they prefer steps to come down. But when there are no steps, they prefer to shinny down a ways and jump the rest of the way. But where I live, most trees are surrounded by brush/bushes, and landing in those is not safe. I have been surprised that mine will jump down from a six-foot fence onto rough gravel without even twisting a toe or an obvious bruise. They do get such injuries, but would rather starve for a week than admit being injured. As a matter of survival, cats in the wild cannot show weakness (such as injury or illness).