Anyone who loves cats knows about the numerous legends and superstitions associated with them. The magical essence of animals was talked about in the ancient world, and many interesting stories are passed on from mouth to mouth in modern society. You've probably wondered, why do cats have 9 lives? Some sources suggest that this is a matter of artistic hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration). Probably, we are talking about their survivability. These harmonious creatures have unique abilities, thanks to which they help themselves, as well as those they love. The belief about nine lives among cats undoubtedly has a rich history. Its various interpretations can be heard in the myths and legends of many peoples of the world.
How many lives do cats have according to various beliefs?
Cats have lived among people for so long that already at the beginning of time many mystical qualities were attributed to them. One of the legends says that a cat has more than one life.
9 lives
The belief about the 9 lives of a cat was created by the ancient Egyptians. Egyptian scrolls say that Ancient Egypt was patronized by 27 gods and goddesses. They were divided into 3 parts, each of which was dominated by 9 entities of divine origin. In one of them, the leading role was occupied by Bastet, a goddess who was the daughter of the Sun God. Bastet - love and joy - was personified with a cat. In her earthly form, she died and was reborn 9 times. This is where the belief came from that a cat has 9 lives.
According to the myths of Ancient Egypt, the cat goddess Bastet died and was reborn 9 times
Interestingly, cats have been deified or related to divine creatures in almost all religions.
The ancient Greeks believed in Diana, Selene, the goddess of the Moon. She often appeared in the guise of a cat, black and fluffy, but her sparkling yellow eyes betrayed the divine principle in her. The year of the Moon lasted nine months, during which this celestial body disappeared from the starry sky 9 times (one might say died), and then appeared again (reborn).
Over the centuries, all these legends have firmly settled in the human consciousness, linking the cat’s nature and the number 9. Hence the strong opinion that a cat is the owner of nine lives.
7 cat lives
In the Middle Ages, minstrels were in fashion, bringing culture and enlightenment to the common people. Residents of villages and cities were carried away by their creativity. The poems ridiculed the vices of their superiors, who were always represented in the form of animals (so that the minstrel would not be executed for calling for rebellion). One of the most popular works was a poem with ironic content called “The Romance of the Fox Reinecke.” The character of the poem is Tybalt, a cat with a royal title and the character of a bully. The king had an interesting ability, namely seven lives. This fact gave all cats 7 lives.
In the novel about the fox Reineck, the cat Tybalt had 7 lives
6 lives of a cat
The belief about 6 cat lives was given to the world by Muslims. The Prophet Muhammad had a cat, Muezza, who saved the life of her owner. For this, Muhammad gave his pet the opportunity for six rebirths. Since, according to religion, a cat cannot be equated with a person, in the end the fluffy beauty received 6 lives.
The Prophet Muhammad loved cats and advised his fellow believers to take care of them
God's gift
This funny story spread all over the Internet, and the heroes who participated in it even took part in Malakhov’s program! So, the characters are: a cat, his owner a priest, a little girl and her mother.
The action took place in a small village, and events developed as follows. The priest was lonely and lived with his devoted cat, who always slept in his bed, next to his owner. Not finding the pet in the house in the evening, the old man went in search of him and saw him sitting on the top of a small tree. Hoping to remove his pet, the priest decided to act like this: he tied one end of the rope to a tree, and the other to the car, and drove away so that the tree leaned over. The plan was to remove the cat from the plant that was bent closer to the ground, but something went wrong. The rope, unable to bear it, burst, and precisely at that moment when the tree had already tilted considerably. In general, it turned out to be a good slingshot! The animal “went into orbit,” and the priest could only pray to God for his salvation and only guess where the projectile would land!
Not far from the priest lived a family: a mother and her little daughter. The girl kept asking her parent to get a kitten. But mom already had enough trouble, and she, deciding to quickly get rid of the constant “whining” of the child, told her to ask God to give her a cat, and if He decides that it is possible, then he will definitely bring the pet into the house. It was while the girl was telling the Lord about her desire and saying how good she was that a frightened animal flew into the open window. In general, the mother fainted, and the girl squealed with happiness!
As a result, the cat was returned to the owner, because everyone knew the priest and his pet, and the girl was given a kitten. Mom was quick to share this story.
Mystical interpretations of the “survivability” of cats
Medieval beliefs said that witches, sorcerers or fortune tellers always had in their arsenal an assistant cat, which was a guide to the world of ghosts. Demons could easily inhabit cats, helping their owners do sinister things. People believed that the witch herself could reincarnate into a cat (but only a certain number of times in her entire life). Therefore, when an unfamiliar cat appeared near the house, they tried to immediately drive it away.
Cats easily communicate with incorporeal entities. They sense the presence of spirits or other psychic phenomena. The most common legend, which remains relevant today, is the friendship between a cat and a brownie.
The Middle Ages as an era became famous for the genocide of cats due to their connection with witches and the devil himself. They were exterminated en masse, regardless of the color of their coat. People who somehow showed favor towards cats or gave the slightest reason to suspect them of this also fell into the hands of the Inquisition. It must be said that the cats showed miracles of vitality here too. They survived this terrible time, and moreover, they again achieved the favor of the inhabitants of Western Europe.
A black cat is widely associated with the presence of evil spirits.
Cultural meaning of the number 9
The number nine has special meaning in many cultures. In China, it is consonant with the word “durability”. There are 9 muses in Greek mythology. In early Christian culture, the number nine was considered lucky, as it represents a certain variation of the trinity (three times three).
Is there even a grain of truth in this myth?
Although cats have been deified in the past, and the number nine has special meaning in many cultures, these animals, of course, only have one life.
Scientific lifespan of a cat
Modern biologists do not deny that cats, as representatives of the animal world, are very healthy and recover from the most severe injuries. A scientific basis has been found for this. Nature already has a self-healing mechanism inside the cat’s body, which gives rise to various legends around these animals.
Rumbling
Among biologists and felinologists, there is a widespread hypothesis about purring, which they use to explain the endurance and vitality of representatives of the cat world. The ability to produce sounds tuned to a certain range contributes to a beneficial effect on the body. Sound vibrations lead to self-massage and self-soothing. The results are experienced not only by cats, but also by the people around them. It has been scientifically proven that the purring of cats can restore damage to bone tissue, relieve inflammation, and increase resistance to stress. But the workings of the cat's purring mechanism itself remain a mystery.
The purring of cats is sound and ultrasonic waves of a certain frequency that have a healing and calming effect on the human body.
Cats can treat not only themselves, but also the person they like. This could be not only the owner, but also one of the guests or relatives.
Purring is actually healing and calming. And both the animal itself and the person. My cat broke her leg. I only found out about the fracture at the clinic, when she was given an x-ray. But on the way there the cat purred. The doctor explained to me that she did not do this out of pleasure, as we usually explain these vibrating sounds. In this way the animal relieved its pain. From time to time I suffer from insomnia. The best remedy for it is to drag the cat under the blanket and hold it close to you. I must say, he himself is a fan of sleeping in this position. So, to the sound of his purring you fall asleep very quickly, and even sleep until the alarm goes off without waking up.
Mysterious sense of balance
The cat always lands on all its paws, regardless of the height of the fall, while remaining unharmed or with minimal damage to health. This phenomenon falls under the definition of a miracle. This is possible thanks to the excellent vestibular apparatus, which allows the cat to group itself during a free fall, thereby taking the desired position. Here, the construction of the body plays a big role, allowing you to perform planning, taking a spread-eagled position in the air. The cat's tail acts as a rudder. It is worth noting that the greater the height, the more opportunities the animal has to take the correct position before it collides with the ground.
During the fall, the cat manages to group itself so as to land on its paws
Adaptive abilities
Our furry pets or their yard relatives adapt perfectly to all situations in which they find themselves. Cats are comfortable not only on the couch, but also in the wild. They can always find food and a place to rest. Instincts lead cats to survival, even if a domestic cat suddenly finds itself on the street. Often an animal, left without human protection by the will of fate, does not want to return to care.
Healing ourselves
The most complex cat bone fractures heal within a few weeks. In humans, for example, this process takes many months and even years. Here again the unique ability to purr plays a role. The frequency of sound regenerates cells, which helps speed up the healing process of fractures, heal bruises, and speedy recovery from various infections.
They say that a cat absorbs damage brought upon its owner. Often the animal dies, taking with it the owner’s illness.
Video: the cat has wasted many lives, but not all
Thief
A funny story was written by one man. He told about his cat, who did not sit at home with his paws folded, but helped his owners replenish supplies. We took our pet with us to the dacha. During the season, when the harvest was already beginning to appear and could be harvested, household members began to find vegetables in the morning at the front door: cucumbers, unripe tomatoes. For a long time they could not understand what virtue was feeding them, because their harvest was in place. One day, a man noticed that a cat, having jumped over the fence into a neighbor’s garden, went straight to the greenhouse. The thief returned back with a small cucumber in his teeth. Of course, the neighbors were not told about this incident, but the grandmother decided to punish the bandit by spanking him with a slipper for hooliganism. The cat did not appreciate such a gesture, and to this day no one can find grandma’s slippers. Only one cat knows where they can be!
Norse mythology
Scandinavian legends tell about the beautiful goddess Freya, the patroness of passion and love, fertility and spring. This incredible girl perfectly embodied the feminine grace and strength of a brave warrior.
The god Thor himself gave her a chariot drawn by two huge wild cats. It was these animals that were considered Freya's messengers. Therefore, farmers who wanted to appease their patroness always left milk as a gift for her cats.
The goddess Freya was considered the ruler of the nine worlds. It is with this number that the number of cat lives is associated.
Who is guilty?
This is a story about a cat, or rather a cat, who harasses a poor woman. This dirty little guy constantly misbehaves, but always gets away with it, and his owner gets the worst of it. One day this happened: a cat caught a sparrow on the balcony and, in order to enjoy it comfortably, dragged it onto the closet. The bird, not wanting to be eaten, struggled, screamed, and flew down, the cat following it! The owner of the living space and the cat intervened in this nightmare, caught the bird, which immediately, out of fright, “hit” her in the palm of her hand, grabbed the angry hunter and dragged the entire household to the balcony. The cat scratched, struggled, and finally grabbed the woman by the chin. She released the bird and released the animal. The result is this: the sparrow is safe, the predator is offendedly lapping up milk in the kitchen, and the woman is pecked, bitten and scratched, and even the house is a mess!
What kind of pranks cats are capable of! With such animals, life will become more varied and fun! Get a cat, you won't get bored!
Interesting Facts
- The first cat went into space in 1963. He successfully survived the flight and returned to earth.
- The largest recorded litter of a cat is 19 babies. The vast majority of kittens (15) lived long lives. And a cat named Dusty gave birth to 420 babies in her life.
- Cats always find their way home. Scientists believe they locate themselves by the angle of sunlight or by magnetized cells in the brain that act like a compass.
- The cat's back contains 53 loosely fitting vertebrae , which gives the animal special flexibility. In humans - 34. In a cat, 32 muscles are responsible for controlling the ear. Therefore, they can rotate the organ 180 degrees. The cat also does not have a collarbone, which allows it to fit into any hole the size of its head.
- The oldest cat from Texas lived from 1967 to 2005 (38 years) . Recall that 20 years in cats is approximately equivalent to 96 human years.
- Cats have remained virtually unchanged during evolution . They remained the same as many thousands of years ago, unlike dogs.
- The largest wild cat is the Amur tiger. Its length is 3.6 meters, and its weight is up to 320 kg. The smallest cat is the Black-footed cat. Its length is about 50 cm, and its weight is up to 1.2 kg.
- Cleanliness is an innate instinct for all cats. This allows the prey not to smell the predator. Domestic cats wash themselves at least ten times a day.
- In Rus', a cat was very expensive because it was used mainly for catching rodents. She was considered a symbol of peace and protected the family from evil spirits. Similarly, cats are the only animals allowed to enter the mosque.
“Cat first aid kit”
Are all cats endowed with the gift of healing? Scientists say that everyone, but their abilities depend on the breed and size. We suggest you familiarize yourself with what the most common and popular individuals can treat.
- The larger the cat, the more energy it has, and therefore it can treat almost all ailments.
- For a cat to be therapeutic, it must be friendly, outgoing, and mature.
- Long-haired pets, such as Persians, Burmese, Angoras, Siberians and the like, cope well with depression and treat neuroses.
- “Persians” relieve joint pain and treat osteochondrosis.
- Angoras are excellent at diagnosing disease and accurately determining the source of the disease.
- Hairless and short-haired cats heal diseases of the heart, liver and kidneys.
- The European Shorthair will relieve hypertension and minimize the risk of heart attack and stroke.
- Siamese representatives are somehow able to destroy bacteria in the house and are thus useful for the whole family. However, diseases will only be treated by their beloved owner.
- Cats with “plush” coats, such as British cats, cope well with heart ailments.
Experts note that cats are better at relieving joint pain and treating them. Cats help with neuroses and depression, and fight diseases of internal organs. Scientifically proven fact: people who have such animals live 4-5 years longer than those who do not have this pet!
Perhaps cats can heal with their warmth, because their body temperature is 2-3 degrees higher than the temperature of people. But this remains a mystery of nature and the mystery of the cat itself!
