The original quote was actually "care killed the cat". It is believed to be an early reference to a cat having 9 lives.
The origin of the quote is disputed between two English playwrights and a Scottish writer.
- Ben Johnson's play called "Every Man in His Humour" written in 1598, used the original quote. The quote was: "Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care will kill a cat, up-tails all, and a pox on the hangman".
- The second claim is that is came from Shakespeare's play, "Much ado about nothing", written in 1599. The quote was: "What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care."
Both plays were released to the public around the same time.
- Later, a Scottish writer called James Allan Mair wrote a book about British proverbs in 1873. In error, he wrote the quote as "curiOSity killed the cat" instead of "care killed the cat".
So, as you can see, the origin of this quote is a difficult one to pinpoint.
