{"id":28969,"date":"2018-08-08T04:04:40","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T04:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/?p=28969"},"modified":"2019-01-21T05:37:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-21T05:37:05","slug":"why-do-cats-have-nine-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/why-do-cats-have-nine-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Cats Have Nine Lives?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most people have heard the adage &#8220;cats have nine lives.&#8221; Have you ever wondered if there is any factual basis to this old legend?<\/p>\n<p>The reality is that cats only have one life. But, as we will see below, truth is often stranger than fiction.<\/p>\n<p>In this article we\u2019ll cover the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Origins of the Cats Have Nine Lives Legend<\/li>\n<li>How Widespread is the Multiple Lives Myth?<\/li>\n<li>The Meaning Behind Cats Having Nine Lives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Origins of the Cats Have Nine Lives Legend<\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear when exactly the myth that cats have nine lives first originated. However, the idea that cats might have other lives after their first one is thousands of years old.<\/p>\n<p>The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death, where certain of the dead would someday live again.\u00a0Mummification was essential to this process in order that the <em>ka<\/em> (soul) of the deceased could find its body and be reborn into the afterlife.<\/p>\n<p>Cats were sacred to Egyptian society, and were associated with the important deity, Bastet. Domesticated cats were often depicted in Egyptian paintings, some going as far back as 3,600 years.<\/p>\n<p>Given the <a href=\"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/what-do-cats-symbolize\/\">Egyptians&#8217; reverence of cats<\/a>, it&#8217;s not surprising that cats were often mummified with the same care and respect given to humans. In fact, just outside the town of Beni Hasan, a burial site was discovered that contained over 80,000 cat mummies!<\/p>\n<p>Jumping forward a couple thousand years,\u00a0Englishman John Heywood published a collection of proverbs in 1546. One of these said that &#8220;woman, like the cat, has nine lives.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Shortly thereafter, in 1584, English writer William Baldwin said in what&#8217;s often considered the first horror fiction novel,\u00a0<em>Beware the Cat,\u00a0<\/em>&#8220;Witches are allowed to possess the body of their cat nine times.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most famous early reference to cats and their nine lives comes from the play\u00a0<em>Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, written by William Shakespeare around 1591:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">MERCUTIO<br \/>\nThis calm submission is dishonorable and vile. The thrust of a sword will end this surrender. (draws his sword) Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you go fight me?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">TYBALT<br \/>\nWhat do you want from me?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">MERCUTIO<br \/>\nGood King of Cats, I want to take one of your nine lives. I\u2019ll take one, and, depending on how you treat me after that, I might beat the other eight out of you too.<\/p>\n<p>This modern translation of the Bard&#8217;s verse shows that by at least the sixteenth century, the nine-lives myth was a part of popular culture.<\/p>\n<h2>How Widespread is the Nine Lives Myth?<\/h2>\n<p>There are actually many cultures with fables about cats having multiple lives, and we&#8217;re not just talking about <a href=\"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/can-cats-faint\/\">fainting<\/a>. However, not all of them maintain that cats have <em>nine<\/em> lives.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in Brazil, Germany, Greece, Italy, and many Spanish-speaking countries, cats are said to have seven lives. In many Muslim countries, such as those of the Arabian peninsula and Turkey, cats supposedly have six lives.<\/p>\n<p>One theory regarding how the myth spread is that the Moors passed it to the Spaniards and Portuguese during their 800-year occupation of the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century. From there, the legend travelled through the rest of Europe with some variation to the number of lives.<\/p>\n<h2>The Meaning Behind Cats Having Nine Lives<\/h2>\n<p>The most likely explanation for the multiple lives myth is the cat&#8217;s natural agility and quickness, which often allows them to escape life-threatening situations. For example, the cat in the video below probably just used one of its nine lives:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/Fjni0GgE2_c<\/p>\n<p>People&#8217;s fascination with death-defying cat stories also make them popular of news segments, further spreading the myth. In the remarkable video below, Sylvester the cat survives both a fire and building collapse:<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content-asset videofit\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Courageous Cat Leaps From Ashes of Fiery Collapsed Building | Ridiculous News\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zbJIEKYRx_o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Contrary to what the news anchor reports, I&#8217;m guessing that kitty used at least two of her lives.<\/p>\n<p>Another possibility for the meaning behind why a cat has nine lives is an old English proverb which states, &#8220;A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Having more to do with the stages of a cat&#8217;s life, the proverb refers to the playfulness of kittens, the wandering spirit of young adults, and finally how older cats settle down and prefer snuggling in your lap.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, the modern tradition is likely based primarily on specific cat physical abilities, such as usually landing on their feet. Known as <a href=\"http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1016\/j.jfms.2003.07.001?journalCode=jfma\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">high-rise syndrome<\/a>, the cat&#8217;s instinctual righting reflex can often reduce injuries they might suffer, however,\u00a0cats can still be injured or killed by a high fall.<\/p>\n<h4>So, do cats really have nine lives?<\/h4>\n<p>Unfortunately, like people, <a href=\"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/cats-go-die\/\">cats have only one life<\/a>. That&#8217;s why it is essential to do everything you can to make their lives healthy and happy ones.<\/p>\n<p>Probably the most important thing you can do is feed them a\u00a0high-quality, meat-based cat food such as <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2H0taZs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wellness<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2shxGyf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Taste of the Wild<\/a>. Regular vet visits are also a must.<\/p>\n<p>And, if you want to go all out on keeping your indoor cat in tip-top, escaping-life-threatening-situations, peak physical shape, try the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2OSwJpI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cat Garden Complex Activity Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, the myth that cats have multiple lives isn&#8217;t likely to (excuse the pun) <em>die out<\/em> anytime soon. And, even if it&#8217;s an exaggeration that few people believe, this legend is a testament to just how extraordinary cats really are.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of which, if you have children, you should definitely check out George Mackay Brown&#8217;s book,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2OlGVpI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Six Lives of Fankle the Cat<\/a>. In this wonderful story, Fankle tells Jenny, the girl who rescued him, tales of his former lives.<\/p>\n<p>For teens and adults,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2OnsBNr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Seven Lives and One Great Love: Memoirs of a Cat<\/a>\u00a0is a witty and\u00a0epic love story, spanning a broad repertoire of cultural references.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you have any questions or would like to share a story about your cat and a time it seemed like they had nine lives, please tell us in the comments below. We\u2019d love to hear from you!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most people have heard the adage &#8220;cats have nine lives.&#8221; Have you ever wondered if there is any factual basis to this old legend? The reality is that cats only&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":29163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":3,"label":"Behavior"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Why-Do-Cats-Have-Nine-Lives.png",800,578,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Phil Ruth","author_link":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/author\/ruth_phil\/"},"comment_info":1,"category_info":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Behavior","slug":"behavior","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":46,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3,"category_count":46,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Behavior","category_nicename":"behavior","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catkingpin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}