# What's the origin of the myth that cats can suck the breath out of babies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [February 17, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630 "2004-02-17T06:46:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rjewell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@rjewell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjewell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/1 "2004-02-17T06:46:19Z")
I’ve got a theory about cats stealing babies breaths. Babies drink milk. Kitties love milk. Babies breaths smells like milk. Kitties try to find the source of the milky smell, they put their noses (and whole heads) into kitties mouths. I had a very curious kitty sleeping on my chest once while I was reading before going to sleep. I yawned and she stuck he whole head in my mouth. It was cute, but I can imagine that a baby has a smaller mouth than me and a kitty’s head could certainly block her airway and suffocate her. My theory. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/2 "2004-02-17T06:53:18Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **rjewell**. Here’s the link to the article: [What’s the origin of the myth that cats can suck the breath out of babies?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_081.html) ---
**Author:** ![mad\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@mad\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mad_spoon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/3 "2004-02-19T15:10:03Z")
Ah, but cats aren’t actually particularly fond of milk, even if people like to think they are. They prefer water. So that might be a flaw in your theory ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/4 "2004-02-19T15:34:30Z")
My cat is fond of milk, and hangs around when I’m having cereal so he can get the last bit in the bowl. Given a choice between water and milk, he goes for the milk. As for the OP – they steal babies’ breath because they come from the Devil. That’s my theory. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/5 "2004-02-19T18:39:24Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > [cats] steal babies’ breath because they come from the Devil. That’s my theory. Cats steal baby’s breath because they have no money to feed their flower-arranging jonesin’. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/6 "2004-02-19T19:34:04Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > My cat is fond of milk, and hangs around when I’m having cereal so he can get the last bit in the bowl. Given a choice between water and milk, he goes for the milk. Second that. My cat does the same. > [@](#): > > As for the OP – they steal babies’ breath because they come from the Devil. That’s my theory. What the cat or the baby? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Blornx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Blornx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blornx)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/7 "2004-02-21T01:08:10Z")
Cats are curious. Babies probably have sniffy breath. One of my cats has a fascination with my armpits. He burrows into them when my hands are behind my head, as well as overindulging my shirts-to-be-laundered. I don’t know what his attraction is; I find it comical but rather annoying. ---
**Author:** ![cdhostage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@cdhostage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdhostage)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/8 "2004-02-21T01:54:10Z")
My 22-year-old cat likes to lick my armpits. Weirdest thing in the world. She sleeps on my bed 18 hours a day, and when I go to bed, she curls up on my chest or in my arm. When I’ve been working hard physically, I take a shower before abedding, and she goes and licks my armpits. I find the story of the cat that sniffs tonsils perfectly believable. A mother would be freaked out by the cat sticking its nose down a baby’s throat; a religious mother would create an improper myth to keep cats out of crib rooms. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/9 "2004-02-21T02:11:40Z")
I found an 1883 cite in a US newspaper saying that it was an _old_ tale that people that hated cats repeated. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/10 "2004-02-21T16:01:38Z")
> [@](#): > > My 22-year-old cat likes to lick my armpits. Weirdest thing in the world. She sleeps on my bed 18 hours a day, and when I go to bed, she curls up on my chest or in my arm. When I’ve been working hard physically, I take a shower before abedding, and she goes and licks my armpits. I knew a girl whose cat would get up in bed and lick her (the girl’s) nipples. In this case, I think the girl was weirder than the cat. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-myth-that-cats-can-suck-the-breath-out-of-babies/229630/11 "2004-02-24T03:19:06Z")
Isn’t the armpit thing a quest for salt and oil. My cat does this all the time