They say cats have nine lives. Well, it seems Rue McClanahan, the consummate cougar, has had at least three.

News of the death of the Emmy-winning actress who played the bawdy Blanche Devereaux on the hit TV series "The Golden Girls" was trending on Twitter and Facebook Thursday. Strange, given that McClanahan passed away five years ago. Even stranger: The same thing happened last year.

McClanahan died on June 3, 2010, after suffering a stroke at the age of 76. Four years later, on June 10, 2014, the news suddenly went viral, with many people linking to the 2010 obituary of McClanahan on CBSNews.com.

Thursday, word of McClanahan's death once again resurfaced with a renewed online outpouring of mourning. And once again, traffic soared on CBS News' story.