1. You never own a cat, they just live with you.

Cats have never become as subservient to humans as dogs have. Maybe it’s for this reason that cats can fend for themselves much better in the wild than dogs can. Cats like to roam, and the expression “let the cat out” is a true one, especially if the cat is a male or Tom cat.

I used to let one of my favorite male felines, Puss Feller, out every night just to do his thing; and he must have done it well as afterwards I would see a number of baby cats in the neighborhood who bore a striking resemblance to him.

2. Cats are said to have nine lives, making them much more “survivors” than dogs and even people.

While this may not be entirely true, cats are often found alive after calamities such as earthquakes, tornados and cyclones, fires, etc. As far as the “9 lives” expression goes, it reminds me of a story my dad once told me when he was young and he and his brothers wanted to really see if a cat had 9 lives.

They put a poor cat through all kinds of physical trials, including tying a string of firecrackers to its tail, throwing it off the roof of their house, trying to drown it, and even putting it in a hemp “gunny sack” with a dog (the dog came out on the short end).

Despite everything, the cat survived; which goes to show that if there’s a survival will, there’s definitely a way.