We have all heard of the saying that a cat has nine lives, but where did it come from? Sure most humans would say that it’s because cats are so lucky, but I am here to set the story straight. A cat having nine lives is not because that cat is lucky; it is because that cat upset a goddess! Plus, guess what? All of those nine lives are not as the same cat! I should know, because I’m that cat.
Hi! My name is Amun, but you can call me by my current name, Isabelle. I am currently on life number nine and I can’t say if there will be any more lives after this one, but believe me, a rest would sure be nice. In my other lives I have been either a male or a female cat. I have never been anything else, not a human, or any other kind of animal especially a snake (ugh!) or a dog. As the saying goes cats rule and dogs drool, I really couldn’t see me as a mindless drooling dog. Believe me, I have seen enough of them through my other lives to know that cats are definitely on the top of the chain as far as animals go, and this may include humans as well.
What? You ask. How can a cat be higher than a human? Well, just look at us; we have been idolized since before the days of the pyramids. So much so that even the Egyptian Goddess (Bast) was worshipped for us. We do not need humans to survive, but they depend on us to rid them of mice and other such creatures. Sure they may reward us for our efforts with a nice warm place to stay, some table scraps to tide us over till our next hunt and even a nice fur rubdown occasionally. But most of them know that we will only tolerate so much and are quick to bare our claws or sharp fangs should the mood strike us.
We are in our element when we are left alone to roam or explore our world and surroundings. The human I have now knows this independence well and lets me do as I wish. Sure, she complains when I explore the top of the table, especially when there are other humans present and there are tasty morsels of food upon it, but I am gracious enough to remove myself as to reduce her embarrassment. I allow my hostess to stroke my fur when I feel she needs my attention and I always give her a swift paw or nip when she displeases me.
I can always tell when she is upset or troubled with things and after living as many lives as I have, I’ve seen more than my share of troubles. I try to comfort her as best as I can in those moments, but I mostly wind up swatting her on the cheek, as if to say, “Snap out of it!” I find this approach works well and I can get back to my more pressing endeavors (napping) sooner, but more of this current life later. As I said, this is my ninth life and it is pretty cushy, but believe you me, the road to getting where I am today wasn’t so smooth. In fact, at times it was downright rocky! Plus, the garden times were unpredictable! The garden is where I went in-between lives. The garden times were nice, but you couldn’t kill anything there, and as a cat with all these mice and birds, and snakes, (drool) all over, believe me this heaven was hell!
Remember I mentioned a time before the pyramids? Well I guess that was very fortunate for me to include that, due to the fact that there is where my journey and now yours begins.