The Curious—and Creepy—Origins of 'Cat Got Your Tongue?'

“Cat got your tongue?” This familiar question has long been used to describe sudden silence. What makes the expression memorable is its unsettling imagery, suggesting that something as ordinary as a cat could somehow steal a person’s ability to speak. Yet the origins of this phrase remain uncertain.

The first known written example appeared in 1881, when the illustrated magazine Bayou’s Monthly noted: “Has the cat got your tongue, as the children say?” Over time, that strange idea has given rise to a number of eerie explanations that attempt to link the saying to real historical fears and practices.

“We humans are wired to tell and appreciate stories, and in the absence of a logical explanation for something, it's only natural to invent one,” says Martha Barnette, co-host of the radio show and podcast A Way with Words. “The more colorful the story, the better it sticks. That's what happens with what linguists call folk etymologies.”

Stories attempting to connect cats to silence originate from sources as disparate as ancient religious traditions, the harsh discipline of maritime life and periods of intense superstition.

One common explanation links the phrase to ancient Egypt, where cats held a prominent place in both daily life and religious symbolism. Egyptians valued cats for protecting food supplies from rodents and snakes, but they were also closely associated with protection and divine power. “The sun god Re can take on the form of the ‘Great Cat’ to defeat the chaos serpent Apep,” says Colleen Darnell, an Egyptologist, author and educator. “Cats were [also] sacred to Bastet, and millions were mummified as votive offerings to the goddess [of protection].”

A popular but unsubstantiated theory claims that criminals, liars or those who committed religious offenses had their tongues cut out and offered to cats as punishment or sacrifice, creating a literal explanation for the idea of a cat “taking” someone’s speech. But Egyptologists have found no surviving evidence to support such a practice. What historical sources do show is that harming a cat could bring severe penalties, including death, and families sometimes mourned the loss of a pet cat. Still, the notion that sacred cats were associated with severed human tongues remains one of the most persistent origin stories.

Another explanation points to Europe during a period when cats were often viewed with suspicion rather than affection. In the late Middle Ages and into the early modern period, many Europeans believed cats could act as familiars, supernatural companions that assisted witches in casting spells or gathering information. Black cats in particular became closely associated with witchcraft. In some communities, they were feared as shapeshifting witches or as animals capable of carrying curses. At the time, the idea that a witch’s cat might steal someone’s speech would not have seemed far-fetched.

The challenge with this theory is chronology. Although the association between cats and witchcraft is well documented, there is no clear evidence that ties the belief directly to the phrase. Linguistic records do not show “cat got your tongue?” appearing during the height of the European witch trials, suggesting the expression gained traction later.

“The age of witches and magic is mostly past by the late 19th century,” says Michael Adams, a professor of English and linguistics at Indiana University. “If we had an instance of ‘cat got your tongue’ from the 17th century, it would be a different story and easier to make a connection between a witch's familiar and the cat who stole someone's tongue.”

The theory considered most plausible involves a very different kind of cat. Beginning in the 17th century, the British Royal Navy, and later the U.S. Navy, used a whip known as the cat-o’-nine-tails to discipline sailors. This instrument was designed to inflict severe pain. It consisted of a handle attached to nine cords, each tipped with knots or metal.

Floggings were public and intended to enforce strict obedience. Sailors who endured this kind of punishment were often left physically weakened and emotionally shaken. Some historians believe a beaten sailor might be too exhausted, fearful or traumatized to speak afterward. In that context, someone might ask whether the cat had taken his tongue.

“Even though the cat-o'-nine-tails folk etymology is probably the most popular, I have a hard time seeing how it works,” says Adams. “First, a bosun [a ship's officer] used the cat against someone's chest, shoulders and back. I've never heard of the risk of losing a tongue from discipline with a cat-o'-nine-tails. Second, the British Navy abandoned flogging, by any means, as discipline in 1879, so it would be odd indeed for people to start saying ‘cat got your tongue’ just as the cat wasn't used at all.”

The phrase may have a far simpler explanation rooted in everyday behavior, suggests anthropologist Sabina Magliocco. She argues the expression may have grown out of playful teasing rather than fear or punishment. “Since cats are well known for swiping food from counters and floors, it makes sense that children might tease the shyer ones by asking ‘Did the cat steal your tongue?’ meaning ‘Is that why you're unable to speak?’” explains Magliocco.

The true origins of this strange phrase may never be known. “Folk etymology is a natural response to dead ends of our knowledge about words and idioms,” says Adams. “Maybe, someday, we'll find the crucial bit of information that solves the problem of ‘cat got your tongue.’”