What thinks people do to keep you in a low state of mind is to tell you all the bad possible things that can happen to you if you take that route. It goes the same way with the cat because its curiousness makes it takes the risk that could possibly end its life but in the end, it can be worth the try. That's why people tend to tell everything that could go wrong because probably they tried but weren't successful when they tried. They don't want to see you succeed.