The notion that cats have nine lives has been around for centuries, and it is obviously based on the fact that cats are rather tough creatures, true survivors in a threatening world. They seem to escape inevitable death at times, so clearly they are blessed with more than one life. But why nine? No one is quite sure, except that humans have always considered three to be a “good” number, and thus a lucky one, and nine (three times three) is even better. “Cats have nine lives” is just another way of saying “Cats are very lucky creatures.”
