Cat stealing your breath

TheLoreman

Member
OK. I wasn't sure quite where this one should go but I'll try here anyway.

A friend of my girlfriend was talking about how she hated sleeping over at my girlfriends house when they were kids because of the cats in the house. Apparently this woman believes that if you sleep in a room with cats they'll steal your breath in the middle of the night. (?)

Anyone else heard of such a thing?
 

Myrddin

Well-Known Member
I have not heard of this. I have slept in the same room with cats before, though, and I have never had a problem with any of them stealing my breath. Hey, I'm still here, right?
 

TheLoreman

Member
I know. Strange yeah? I'd never heard of it. But I know cats have significance within Egyptian mythology so I wondered if there was anything related to that. Something residual...?
 

Myrddin

Well-Known Member
It does vaguely ring a bell... Maybe I responded too quickly before, because now that I think about it, I feel that maybe I have heard something, at least like it. I think you're right, it might be from Egyptian myth, just because your mentioning of it is what brought the vague familiarty of it to my mind. Huh.
 

LegendofJoe

Active Member
there is a fun movie called Cat's Eye.
It is three stories, with the last one dealing with a cat that actually saves a girl
from a little gnome-like creature that sucks her breath when she is asleep.
Maybe the story was inspired by something, cat or otherwise.
 

TheLoreman

Member
Not heard of that film. Is it an old film? Just wondering if my girlfriends friend had seen that a while back and maybe it influenced her?
 

magickz

Active Member
This was always told to us by countless people each time we were expecting our kids. I find it silly since we have always had a cat in the house and more than likely always will.
 

TheLoreman

Member
Interesting magickz. Do you know where it all came from? I had honestly never heard of it until the weekend and my girlfriend's friend cannot remember where she heard it, only that it has been with her since she was a child. I wonder if it's based in some kind of folklore?
 

Isis

Member
I heard it a lot when I was pregnant. Here's my theory: cats like to cuddle up to warm surfaces. Babies are warm, but not big enough to push the cat away, so the cat can inadvertently smother them.
 

Myrddin

Well-Known Member
Interesting magickz. Do you know where it all came from? I had honestly never heard of it until the weekend and my girlfriend's friend cannot remember where she heard it, only that it has been with her since she was a child. I wonder if it's based in some kind of folklore?
I would that it probably is based on some sort of folklore. Certainly sounds like the kind of thing that it might.
 

TheLoreman

Member
I heard it a lot when I was pregnant. Here's my theory: cats like to cuddle up to warm surfaces. Babies are warm, but not big enough to push the cat away, so the cat can inadvertently smother them.
Wow. That's interesting. So you've heard of it too. Any ideas where you heard it?
 

Isis

Member
I heard the saying mostly from older folks. People my age just laughed it off. As for where it originated, I just posted my own thoughts, but I don't know if I'm right or not.
 

Nora_Rose

New Member
Not sure where it originated. Just as some people revered cats a lot of people use to think the cat worked for the devil. I know there is a dark goddess in Hebrew mythology that turned herself into a vampire cat and her favorite prey was infants. There are probably loads of variations that just passed down through generations until it came down to what we hear now. I have always had cats and never once have I seen it near my kids. The cats usually hide from my kids.
 

jerri

Member
From what I read this myth is as old as the 17th century so I don't think it came from Greek or Roman mythology. Cats are usually considered good luck (unless black on Friday the 13th).
 

Olsen

Member
We have cats in our house, and they've been sleeping in the same room with me several times. Nothing has happened so far.

I can't figure out where this urban myth may come from, especially since there are the so-called "crazy cat ladies", who are known to shelter many cats in their homes and sleep with them in their beds. There aren't any reports of these persons complaining of breathing problems...
 
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