1. Cats hide their claws.

“猫藏利爪而不露”，意思是，告诫那些与人交往毫无戒备之心的人，意思与“知人知面不知心”差不多。

2. The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream.

这一句是嘲笑那些掩耳盗铃者。(猫咪喜欢偷奶油吗?这好像是老鼠喜欢做的事情哦。)

3. The cat did it.

做错了事情，用“这是猫干的”来推卸责任。可能是因为猫咪喜欢到处乱跑吧，难免会造成一点小乱子啦!

4. When the cat's away, the mice will play.

猫是老鼠的天敌。没有猫，老鼠就会肆意妄为。在中世纪的欧洲，基督教徒曾认定猫是魔鬼附身的动物，数以万计的猫因此被处死。不料，猫的厄运招致老鼠的猖獗。很快，鼠害成灾，黑死病一波接一波的横扫欧洲大陆。这段惨痛的历史教训充分证明“狸猫不在，老鼠闹债”——When the cat's away, the mice will play.

类似谚语也出现在其他欧洲语言中。在法国，人们说“只要猫上了房，老鼠就在地上忙”——When the cat runs on the roofs, the mice dance on the floors.

德国人则说“家里没了猫，老鼠伸懒腰”——Cat outside the house, response for the mouse。

5. A cat may look at a king.

“猫也可以傲视国王”，意思是，“既然猫都可以傲视国王，那么人人平等更是理所当然，小小老百姓也应该有说话的权利。”这一成语来源于德国。据说16世纪巴伐利亚国王马克西米利安一世曾造访一家木雕作坊。作坊主的猫一直懒洋洋地卧在桌上看着这个国王，脸上满是猜疑的神情。这只猫能肯定想不到，一句谚语会因它而生——“猫也能傲视皇帝”(Darf doch die Katze den Kaiser ansehen. "Even a cat may look at an Emperor.")。到了法国，这句话成了“狗也能傲视主教”(Un chien regarde bien un eveque. "Even a dog may look at a bishop.")

6. A cat has nine lives.

英语国家的人相信，猫这种动物命大，福大，造化大。2001年，美洲动物医疗协会杂志刊登过一份研究报告，研究人员调查了132起猫从高空坠地的事件，坠地的平均高度是六层楼，结果百分之九十的猫坠地后都存活下来了。它们在空中灵活地翻转身体，四肢着地，爪子上的肉垫大大缓解了坠地时的冲力。古人对此肯定也有所了解，认为“猫有九条命”(A cat has nine lives。)。下面这段故事讲一条名叫“船长”的小猎狗如何命大，就以“猫有九条命”做对照：

Mischief was Captain's middle name. One time, I remember he decided to take a look at the roof of the conservatory. Portly little Captain found his way out on to the roof much to Mr Woolley's dismay. He then followed in the Captain's foot-step, or should I say paw prints, in order to rescue his poor hound. Unfortunately Mr Woolley slipped and spent the next a few days unconscious in hospital. But Captain was fine. Talk about a cat's nine lives!

7. He's like a cat; fling him which way you will. He'll light on his legs.

猫之所以摔不死，是因为它们高超的着地本领。过去形容一个人大难不死或逢凶化吉，就说“他像一只猫，不管怎么扔，都会以腿着地”(He's like a cat; fling him which way you will. He'll light on his legs。)。

8. There are more ways of killing a cat than by choking it with cream.

“杀猫的方法很多，不必非用奶油呛死它”，有点类似于中国的“不要非在一棵树上吊死”。