A cat has nine lives is an idiom that means a cat is very lucky or resilient, and can survive or escape from dangerous situations. It is often used to describe someone who has a similar quality, or to express admiration or relief when a cat or a person avoids harm or death.
The origin of this idiom is not very clear, but it may have something to do with the cat’s ability to land on its feet after falling from a height, or to escape from predators or enemies. Some ancient cultures, such as the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, believed that cats were sacred or magical animals, and that they had a connection to the underworld or the afterlife. They may have also associated the number nine with divinity or mysticism, as it is the highest single-digit number and the product of three times three, which is considered a perfect number in some traditions.
The earliest recorded use of this idiom in English dates back to the 16th century, when William Shakespeare wrote in his play Romeo and Juliet: “Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk? / What wouldst thou have with me? / Good king of cats, nothing but one of your nine lives.” Here, Mercutio mocks Tybalt, who is a skilled swordsman and a relative of Juliet, by calling him a king of cats and implying that he has already used up eight of his lives. Later, in the same scene, Mercutio is fatally wounded by Tybalt, and says: “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o’ both your houses! ‘Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! A braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic! Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.” Here, Mercutio curses both the Montagues and the Capulets, the rival families of Romeo and Juliet, and blames Romeo for his death, as he intervened in the duel and gave Tybalt an opportunity to strike. He also compares Tybalt to various animals, including a cat, and accuses him of fighting by a set of rules or formulas, rather than by skill or courage.
Since then, this idiom has been used in many other literary works, such as Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Agatha Christie’s The Cat Among the Pigeons. It has also been adopted by other languages, such as French, Spanish, German, and Turkish, with some variations in the number of lives attributed to the cat. For example, in Arabic, a cat has seven lives, while in Chinese, a cat has only one life, but can be reborn nine times.
In conclusion, a cat has nine lives is an idiom that expresses the luck or resilience of a cat or a person who can survive or escape from danger. It has a long and uncertain history, but it may be related to the cat’s physical abilities and the cultural beliefs about cats and the number nine. It is a widely used and recognized expression in English and other languages, and it has appeared in many famous literary works.
