OUR FURRY friends give us lots of love, attention and fun.
Felines have a knack for making us laugh – whether it’s dragging your stuff off the table for no reason or making landings you didn’t think were possible.
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And being able to constantly survive falls from great heights has led many to say that cats have nine lives, but it turns out that’s not where the saying started at all.
Although they are able to survive sticky situations thanks to their flexibility and speed, they are unfortunately not invincible.
The myth of a cat having nine lives actually differs from country to country, reports the Daily Star.
For example, in Arabic-speaking countries cats are said to have six lives, while in Italy, Greece and Brazil they are believed to have seven.
But the saying originally comes from an English proverb.
It reads: “A cat has nine lives. For three it plays, for three it wanders and for the last three it stays.”
The proverb was written to describe the life cycle of a cat – from a playful kitten to an adult cat and then to a calmer older cat.
However, it seems people have started to take the saying at face value – assuming that a cat actually had nine lives.
However, some believe that the saying comes from ancient Egypt.
it is well known that the ancient Egyptians worshiped gods that looked like cats, such as the sun god, Atum-Ra, who took the form of a cat in the underworld.
It was believed that the sun god gave birth to eight other gods, and some believe this is where the saying comes from as nine gods, plus the sun god equals nine lives.