"Wel wot nure cat whas berd he lickat."—Wright's Essays, vol. i. p. 149.
"The cat knoweth whose lips she licketh."—Heywood, 1562.
The first appears the most correct.
What the good wife spares the cat eats. Favourites are well cared for.
When candles are out all cats are gray. In the dark all are alike. This is said of beauty in general.
When the cat is away the mice will play.—"The Bachelor's Banquet," 1603. Heywood's "Woman Killed with Kindness," 1607. When danger is past, it is time to rejoice.
When the weasel and the cat make a marriage, it is very ill presage. When enemies counsel together, take heed; when rogues agree, let the honest folk beware.
When the maid leaves the door open, the cat's in fault. It is always well to have another to bear the blame. The way to do ill deeds oft makes ill deeds done.
Who shall hang the bell about the cat's neck?—Heywood, 1562.
"Who shall ty the bell about the cat's necke low?
Not I (quoth the mouse), for a thing that I know."