Do cats really have 9 lives?

People said, "No wonder it survived, cats have 9 lives!"

Yes, we heard it all the time. Now as grown ups we know it's just a myth, cats have only 1 lives. They die, they die.

But have you ever been wondering why people in the past believe, I mean seriously believe, that cats have 9 lives?

The Mechanism

It's cute, it's cunning, sometimes annoying. Sometimes they make us, bipedal creature, jealous of their ability. We all know cats have sharp eye. They also the master of sneaking, they can move silently just like a ninja. Sometimes they snatch our food in a blink of eye while we looking for something to drink with our food.

But beside all that amazing ability, cats have amazing reflexes.Well, not all cat. I've seen few cats with a very slow reflex response. But most of them have amazing reflexes. Especially when they're falling from heights.

Irrelevant with my topic, but cute isn't it?

When cats are falling from heights, they have some sort of reflexes called "Cat Righting Reflex". It is a reflex mechanism that help cats positioned their body in order to land on its feet and minimize the injury. It's supported by cats unusually flexible backbone and sensitive vestibular apparatus (inner ear, organs which help us maintain our balance).

Scientist also found that because of their thick furs, small size, and light bones, free falling cats have terminal velocity of 97 km/h or 60mph. Compare it with human terminal velocity of 210 km/h. Furthermore, once cats reach their terminal velocity, their instinct kick in. They stretch their leg to increase air drag and decrease their fall velocity from 97 km/h to 85 km/h (60mph to 53 mph). This 7 mph difference brings massive advantages and almost ensure cats survival. That's why cats are more likely survive falling from 7stories height building and higher than 5 stories height building. Because by falling from 7-stories height, they'll have enough time to reach terminal velocity. It's not a myth, research has been done.

Why number 9?

Nobody knows for sure why people in the past choose number 9 for the number of cat lives. Maybe just because number 9 sounds more mystical than other number. You know, 9 lives, 9 tail, 999, etc.

One theory propose that the number 9 originated from Egypt mythology. A group of Egypt God were called The Ennead or The Nine. The Nine were created by one mighty God called Atum-Ra who has 9 soul inside one body. Every time each God of The Nine travel into the realm of death, they first transformed into cat form.

The Ennead were worshipped by many people in Egypt in the ancient time. Therefore, cats were considered as sacred animal. When the Egyptians migrates to Europe, this myth were also brought to Europe. Perhaps it was what caused the emergence of belief that cats have 9 lives.

Everyone fail at some point, even cats. :P