A cat has nine lives, yet care will kill a cat.
A cat has nine lives, yet care will kill a cat.
Meaning in plain English
Even something imagined to be unusually resilient can be worn down by worry. The cat’s nine lives make the exaggeration of care killing it more striking.
Example
A usually cheerful organiser admits that repeatedly worrying about an event has made the preparation feel overwhelming.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Care here is worry or anxious preoccupation, rather than attentive kindness. The saying combines a familiar picture of a hard-to-kill cat with the opposite image of that cat defeated by concern. Its point is the felt burden of worrying: someone who usually seems robust can still find it exhausting. It may prompt sympathy or a conversation about what is troubling a person. The dramatic wording is figurative, not a medical prediction or a reason to blame someone for feeling anxious.
When to use it
Use it to recognise the burden of worry without dismissing the worried person.
Keep in mind
It is not a health claim, and telling someone to stop worrying may offer little help.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-04. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 214 · Cat
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗