Why has a cat have nine lives?

Answer 1

This is not a myth this is true, when I emptied the cartridge of my 9mm beretta into my next door neighbours cat it didnt peg out until the tenth bullet

Answer 2

Cats are world champions in having a well-developed righting reflex. If a cat starts to fall out of a tree, it twists its whole body in midair and lands on its feet. So, cats often survive falls that would kill most animals. I think that’s where the idea came from that cats may have more than one life.
What I cannot answer is where the nine comes from. It might mean that a cat will survive a bad fall nine out of ten times. Or maybe nine is just a nice number. Or maybe you can think of a better reason.

Answer 3

It's an old myth. People saw cats getting out of difficult situations OK and thought that must be the explanation. They only have one life, so protect the kitties! :o)

Difficult situations would include -

Falling from a height - cats have an ability to right themselves in the air and land on their feet if they have more than about 2 seconds to use their tail and body during the fall.

Being trapped somewhere - cats can go up to two weeks without food and water due to, among other things, the way their kidneys work.

Getting into and out of tight places - cats use their whiskers to know exactly what they can fit into, which can be very tight places! That's why you should never cut a cat's whiskers.

It may be also due to the fact that most cats are nimble, quickly alert, and resourceful.

Answer 4

Cats don't have nine lives... Once they're dead they're just dead. Some people say that cats have multiple lives... but this is just an expression because cats have been known to survive falling from great heights. The small size and low body weight of felines make a softer landing, so often cats walk away from great falls with minor injuries. I don't quite know where they got the 9 from though...

Answer 5

I suspect that it has something to do with the cat-o-nine-tails used for flogging sailors. It was a whip with nine tails, each ending with a metal tooth. Perhaps it meant that even if several tails broke off, you could still flog the miscreant, unless all nine "lives" were lost

Answer 6

Cats can get really close to death a lot and still live, that's why they say "cats have 9 lives" it's just an expression.

Answer 7

They can be crafty, agile, and seem to be able to escape a lot of deadly encounters. But they don't really have nine lives. :( I wish they did, I want my fat thing to be a round (and I mean ROUND *lol*) as long as she possibly can.

If cat's did have nine lives, can you imagine if they used some of them to get back at those who abused or neglected them?

Answer 8

I know, its really unfair on dogs isn't it? Cats get nine lives and dogs have to squeeze seven years into one.

Answer 9

Because, they always fall on to their feet, they can easily and strongly control their muscles, they became used to hard conditions easily, they have very strong life instinct which strengthen them against to dangerous positions...

Answer 10

because they r very clumsy and get run over by cars

Answer 11

I Dont Really No.