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Among the abundance of myths and misconceptions about cats, one of the most common is the myth that a cat has “spare” lives. Why is it considered so? How did this legend come about?

The Story of the Legend of the Nine Lives

Do cats really have 9 lives? The short answer is no, but sometimes the behavior of cats is so mysterious that the possibility seems almost realistic.

The ancient origins of the myth of the nine lives of a cat

The proverb that started it all is: “A cat has nine lives. She plays for three lives, wanders for three, and remains in place for the last three.

As with most tales passed down by word of mouth, there is no evidence of when or where this famous English proverb first appeared. However, she was already familiar to William Shakespeare, because he mentions her in his play Romeo and Juliet, written in 1597: “Nothing but one of your nine lives, venerable cat king!”. Therefore, it can be argued that this myth appeared before the end of the XNUMXth century and, possibly, has an ancient origin.

As Science magazine notes, what is known for sure is that the craze for cats began about 12 years ago in the homes and places of worship of the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians saw their cats as divine beings with supernatural powers. In particular, the ability of the goddess Bastet to transform from a human into a cat and back, may have served as a prototype for the legend, because she did it again and again.

The legend of these mystical abilities seems to have followed domestic cats during their migration from the Middle East through Greece and China to Europe and eventually spread throughout the world. However, by the time the cats reached England, they were already revered more for their ability to catch rodents than for their ability to reincarnate. But despite their mouse-trapping duties, the cats have managed to maintain their air of mystery.

Why nine?

Why is it believed that cats have exactly nine lives? The number nine has a special meaning in numerology, in particular because it is a symbol of the triple number three – to which the proverb mentioned above refers. In addition, the number nine is symbolic in Islamic, Greek and Roman Catholic cultures, and that’s not all. If a cat is able to “come back to life” several times, then the number nine gives this myth an additional mystical meaning. In addition, the early Anglo-Saxon settlers in England (originally called “the land of the angels”) used the number nine in both legal and literary contexts, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica.

But in Spain, writes Pet Plan UK, you can hear that a cat has seven lives – another number full of symbolic meanings. Arabic and Turkish legends claim that the cat has six of them. Despite the differences regarding the exact number of lives, everyone agrees that the graceful beauty has more than one.

Cats in action

Why, even realizing that this is a myth, do people continue to claim that a cat has nine lives? And why do so many people believe it? Any owner of this mysterious creature will confirm the rationality of this myth – you just need to watch how cats jump, wriggle and land on their paws.

Cats have an almost uncanny ability to jump from a low, semi-sitting position to a high, long jump in a matter of seconds. But it’s not magic – it’s just biology. Their amazing ability to jump is due to their muscle mass and the length of their hind legs. The cat’s hind legs are so strong that it can easily jump up to six times its height!

As impressive as cats’ ability to jump is, it’s important to remember that they are not invincible and can’t always land on their feet. 

If the pet likes to jump on the door, closet or refrigerator, you should not allow it to do this by securing your home with the help of special protective measures. It’s best to keep items that might interest her—toys, treats, and catnip—lower down. The cat will try to get to them, so it is better to keep such things out of sight of the pet or somewhere below. You can buy a cat tree or a house so that the animal has a place to realize its jumping and climbing skills.

The daring antics of a furry pet can be fun to watch. However, do not forget to create conditions for safe play – this is essential to protect her health and ensure the quality of her only life.