The cat o' nine tails is a multi-tailed whip traditionally used for severe punishment. The whip is made up of nine knotted strings of cotton cord and is designed to lacerate the skin and cause intense punishment. Throughout history, the cat o' nine tails was often used in the naval service, the Napoleonic wars, slavery, and as punishment for sailors who mutinied.
Being made of rope, the cat o' nine tails toy was not the most lethal weapon of punishment, but it was the amount of times a person was sentenced to a whipping that would cause severe pain and sometimes death.