2006-11-29 05:31:40 · 7 answers · asked by Agnostic 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
I tried looking this question up on yahoo answers and people just say, "cause they can just from high places" or something dumb like that. I want to know where the myth came from (Country, time period, Culture, folklore). Thanks!
2006-11-29 05:35:16 · update #1
I know they're agile and they can survive a lot. but where does the exact number 9 come in, why not 12 or 10? Where did the "9 Lives" ORIGINATE? I don't want to know WHY you THINK they have nine lives.
2006-11-29 05:37:54 · update #2
the myth about nine lives comes from a cross culture confusion .. write down the number 9 in disproportionate fashion .. i.e. with the bottom piece larger than the top .. now add an ankh sign to the top circle so that it overlaps and "voila" you have an ancient symbol for Bes the Egyptian cat God .. the confusion came with Medieval explorers thinking that this depicted a cat having nine lives in ancient beliefs .. of course this is incorrect as a study of Egyptian Hieroglyphs (sacred writings) will show that "Gods" lives were never depicted, since they were considered Immortal and everlasting
2006-11-29 07:19:17 · answer #1 · answered by The old man 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In these days and time one will never really know except it is something that has been said for generations to come. I do believe it to be true cause I ran over a cat one day and when I came back up the street hoping to see that poor little old dead cat it was on side of the road looking at me and there was not any sign of a dead cat anywhere. To myself I said oh that saying must be the truth. Then I said well it must not have been his 9th life time. So therefore a person must not panic when a cat is killed cause it has many more lives and you don't , yet only given an opportunity to live a lifetime for humans only.
2006-11-29 08:26:57 · answer #2 · answered by JoJoBa 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Cats are magical creatures. 9 has been a featured volume in many cultures; 3 replaced into once a sacred volume, so 3 X 3 ought to for sure be that so a lot extra. Cats were worshiped, hated, loved, abused, and dealt with as no longer something more beneficial than a further animal, for hundreds of years. they have survived, as a species, at the same time as others ought to now no longer have. So superstitious human beings have attached many recommendations to them. between them the muse that they have got were given 9 lives.
2016-10-16 11:03:31 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, cats are generally pretty hardy, so that's the extra lives. I am guessing it has to do with their sacredness to the Egyptian religion. The Egyptians had an an Ennead, nine gods which judged the dead. If not, it is probably something numerological. I checked Wikipedia, it didn't say either.
2006-11-29 08:53:36 · answer #4 · answered by The Doctor 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Cats do not have nine lives, no animal can have more than one
life. This saying “Cats have nine lives” is just representing that they
have fast reflexes. Without this ability there would be less cats and more
Infestation of rats, cockroaches, beetles and etc.
2015-11-04 10:45:56 · answer #5 · answered by Lacaroz Dos 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have a cat you know they can survive anything. They can fall from like three stories and be alright. I think it probably came from peoples observation of cats and how they seem supernaturally agile.
2006-11-29 05:35:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
the say come from long a go
2006-11-29 10:35:57 · answer #7 · answered by myangel_101211 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋