pajautā! -

The earliest printed reference to the origin of this proverb is attributed to British playwright Ben Jonson in his 1598 play, Every Man in His Humour

tikai tur tas skanēja : care will kill a cat (kur care nozīmēja worry about)

The earliest known printed reference that uses the 'curiosity' form is O. Henry's Schools and Schools, 1909:

"Curiosity can do more things than kill a cat; and if emotions, well recognized as feminine, are inimical to feline life, then jealousy would soon leave the whole world catless."

The earliest version that I have found of the precise current form of the proverb in print is from The Portsmouth Daily Times, March 1915, in a piece headed The Height of Curiosity:

Mother - "Don't ask so many questions, child. Curiosity killed the cat."
Willie - "What did the cat want to know, Mom?"

šis vispār izskatās labs resurss: http://www.phrases.org.uk/