A cat has nine lives....

I found this picture on facebook....and thought I would add it....

This superstition will come up again in this week and next week's lessons....

Some people believe in the superstition that cats have nine lives, because cats can survive falls from high places with few, if any injuries. This gives the appearance that cats return to life after sustaining a fatal injury.

Most people are surprised to learn that a cat has a greater chance of survival if it falls from a higher place than from a lower place.
New York veterinarians gathered data from their feline patients, which clearly supports this fact.
Ten percent of their patients died after falling from 2-6 stories, while only five percent of the fatalities occurred when their patients fell from 7-32 stories.

1 story = 3.3 meters

A cat has nine lives. 猫に九生あり。
（猫が生来敏捷で狡智なため、他の動物よりもしぶとく生きのびると考えられることから）猫は容易に死なないという意味。
一説には、猫は高い所から落としてもちゃんと立つことから、こう言われるようになったとも。
like a cat with nine lives （九生を持つ猫のように＝しぶとい／しぶとく）、
have nine lives like a cat （猫のように九生を持つ＝しぶとい）というようにも使われる。
「9」は西洋では古来神秘的な数とされ、成句やことわざに多くみられる。