This is another way of saying that a cat is much more likely to escape death then are most animals. It is too wily and agile to be taken by surprise, and even when it falls it manges to come down on its feet, which are sufficiently padded to break the stock.
The proverb is used rather loosely in contexts as:
‘She’s had so many accidents with her new car that wonder she’s not been killed.’
‘A cat has nine lives.’
Whether there is any play on the word ‘cat’ in the sense of ‘spiteful woman’ depends on the feelings of the speaker!