I’m sure you’ve heard of phrases like, “you’ve got the wrong end of the stick” or “he’s a basket case” or similar sayings may have become part of your language.

What about phrases that include your most favourite creatures, cats?

“It’s raining cats and dogs” – It means torrential rain. The saying seems to have first arrived in the 17th century, 1653 to be exact, but no-one really knows where it came from.

One story is that as dogs and cats were kept outside back in the dark past, and homes had thatched rooves, pets used to take refuge from the weather in the roof, sometimes getting into the attic. When the wind really blew, these rooves would often blow off taking the cats and dogs with them, dumping them in the street, from the sky, as it were. What a load of…

Another story is linked to the torrential rain which allegedly flooded the 17th century sewers and all the dead dogs and cats would be flooded into the streets. What? Other stories relate the saying to Norse mythology and still others to the rare occasions when animals have fallen from the sky after being lifted by a tornado or something.

I’m sure we can concoct a better story – why not have a go and let us know?

“Letting the cat out of the bag” – It means letting slip a secret. The saying is at least 250 years old but its origins are again unknown. There are two stories about it’s possible origin.

The first has to do with merchants out to make a quick buck from an unwary customer who would put a cat in a bag instead of a piglet which would be discovered later when the cat was let out of the bag. Hmmm, sounds dubious to me.

The second story concerns the whip called the cat o’ nine tails used on ships a long time ago to maintain discipline. The whip was apparently kept in a leather bag to keep it in good condition, and if it was let out of the bag, someone was in trouble. Any better?

Do you know any sayings like this that are to do with cats?

Let us know. Perhaps that will set the cat among the pigeons!