![]() ![]() William Shakespeare also references nine lives in his 1597 tragedy Romeo and Juliet, appearing in Act 3, Scene 1 during a fight between Tybalt and Mercutio. For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays." The idea of nine lives may also have come from Shakespeare or traditional sayings.Īn old English proverb of unknown origin directly references the idea of cats having nine lives. It crops up in a stitch in time saves nine." Or maybe because it comes from the Welsh, where nine steps was used to measure legal distances. ![]() Christ died on the ninth hour of the day. In the Bible, nine was used 49 times and stands for completion. In China, nine is associated with the dragon, which is a symbol of power.Ĭat behavior expert Celia Haddon told Newsweek: "Some numbers seem to have a special significance and perhaps this is why cats have nine, rather than 10 or eight, lives. In Hinduism, nine is considered a complete and divine number. For example, they believed it took nine days to fall from heaven to Earth. To the Ancient Greeks, it represented a magic number and is associated with the gods. The number nine has significance to many early cultures. Century-Old Children's Book Contains Pages of Cats in Costume.Vet Reveals Dog and Cat Breeds Whose Cute Looks Actually Make Them Suffer. ![]() With cats being some of the luckiest animals in terms of evading danger, assigning the species seven lives seems appropriate. This is thought to relate to seven being considered a magical number related to good luck. In Spain and other Spanish speaking nations, cats are said to have seven lives. In other countries and cultures, the number of lives a cat is said to have differs.Īrab countries tend to say that cats have six lives. The Egyptians' obsession with cats is believed to have helped the species disperse around the globe, with felines traveling along trade routes into Europe and beyond.Īnd as they expanded across the world, so too did the myth of multiple lives. As the Egyptians revered cats the myth of the saying originating there does sound feasible." feline behaviorist and author of Let's Talk About Cats, told Newsweek: "No one really knows for sure where that saying came from and we can only go on myths such as from ancient Egyptian times. The myth of cats having nine lives may have come from Ancient Egypt. Horus is seen on the right and Atum to the left of Horus. As a result, some people have linked the saying of cats having nine lives with this myth-the eight gods, plus Atum-Ra, equal nine lives.Īncient Egyptian Gods Horus and Atum. Atum-Ra was said to have given birth to eight other gods. The sun god Atum-Ra was said to take the form of a cat so he could visit the underworld. It has been suggested that the idea of cats having nine lives has its roots in Ancient Egypt. If a cat makes it to 21, that would be like 100 years old in human terms. When they reach old age, they need more rest and tend to live at a slower pace of life. This period covers age 24-40 in human years."Īlderton-Sell explained that as cats mature, from age 7-10, they start to slow down a bit and put on weight. Lucinda Alderton-Sell, Cats Protection's Field Veterinary Officer, previously told Newsweek: "Between the ages of 3 and 6, cats are in the prime of their lives and usually at their peak of physical fitness. Ageing in cats begins rapidly, but slows down as they get older.ĭr. Studies show the average cat may only live to be 14 years old, which is the equivalent of age 70 in human years. Earlier this year, researchers announced the discovery of what they believe to be the world's oldest pet cemetery, with nearly 600 cats and dogs at one single Ancient Egyptian site. One 2,500-year-old specimen scanned by French scientists in 2019 was found to be several different cats, with a textile ball in the place of the head. ![]() The civilization was known to worship cats, with several deities being depicted as having cat-shaped heads. The relationship between human and cat became beneficial for both species-humans were providing food for the cats, and cats were stopping rodents from raiding human food stores.ĭomestication sped up in Ancient Egypt. As humans farmed and stored food, they attracted common prey for cats, such as mice and rats. It is thought the departure from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a farming one was beneficial to these ancient cats. With their incredible agility-and apparent ability to avoid certain death on a semi-regular basis-the saying that cats have nine lives has resonated across societies and generations.Ĭats started living alongside humans in the Near East during the Neolithic period, around 10,000 years ago. there are almost 60 million pet cats, with around one in four households having a feline companion. ![]()
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