You may be surprised to find some of them are purr-fectly false. It's true cats instinctively fall feet first. It's also true that cats have a remarkable agility that allows them to survive many falls from high places that may have killed other creatures. Screening on balconies and high windows can help protect a cat from a disastrous fall. Cats should drink milk every day.
Cats have nine lives.
Today we know this notion is sheer nonsense. A book written during the Dark Ages called Beware the Cat gave rise to the idea that cats have nine lives. Another feline superstition from that era was that a person who kicked a cat was certain to develop rheumatism in that leg. It was also believed that any farmer who killed a cat could expect some of his cattle to die mysteriously. All cats become fat after being spayed or neutered.