Of all the cat myths and misconceptions out there, one of the most persistent is that cats have lives to spare. But do cats really have nine lives? And what is the meaning behind that famous saying? Let's break down the origins and realities of this myth.

History of the Nine Lives Legend

Do cats really have 9 lives? The short answer is no, but there's something so beguiling about a cat's demeanor that makes it seem almost possible that they could have extra lives.

Ancient Origins of a Cat's Nine Lives

The proverb that started it all states: "A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays."

As with most oral storytelling, there is no evidence of when or where this famous English quotation was first documented. However, William Shakespeare knew about the saying because he referenced it in his play Romeo and Juliet, written in the late 16th century: "Good king of cats, nothing but one your nine lives." Because of this, the myth predates the late 1500s and possibly has ancient origins.

What we do know, notes Science magazine, is that the fascination with cats dates way back to about 12,000 years ago in the homes and places of worship of the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians saw their feline friends as divine creatures with supernatural powers. Most notably, the goddess Bastet's ability to change from human to cat and back again may have promoted the idea that cats have multiple lives because she kept appearing and reappearing.

This mystical nature then seems to have followed the domestic cat during its migration from the Middle East through Greece, China and into Europe, eventually spreading into all corners of the world. By the time cats made their way to England, however, they were revered more for their ability to ward off rodents than to reincarnate. Despite their work as mousers, cats retained their air of mystique.

Why Nine Lives?

Why do they say cats have nine lives? The number nine holds significance in numerology, especially due to its composition of three groups of three, like the structure of the English proverb. Nine is also symbolic in Islamic, Greek and Roman Catholic cultures, to name a few. If a cat "comes back to life" multiple times, the number nine makes sense when looked at from a mystical point of view. Additionally, early Anglo-Saxon settlers of England (originally called Angle-lond), used the number nine in both legal and literary contexts, says Encyclopedia Britannica.

But in Spain, says Pet Plan UK, you'll hear that cats have seven lives (another number full of symbolic meaning), and Arabic and Turkish legends claim six lives. Despite the differences in the number of lives a cat supposedly has, there exists the one common underlying belief: Cats live more than one life.