Continuity mistake: In the opening, Penguin's parents look at the cage holding him. From the outside, his shaking is making the cage move slightly side to side. From inside, his shaking is not moving the cage at all.
Continuity mistake: When Oswald Cobblepot is in his crib as a baby, in outside shots the rubber duck on the string is swaying back and forth. In shots through the crib bars, it is dead still. (00:01:00)
Answer: The film keeps it ambiguous. There are two ways to look at it. Scenario A- She literally died and is brought back to life by the alley-cats somehow, adapting some of their traits. Or... Scenario B- The trauma of falling and sustaining a head-injury, along with her paranoia after Schreck tried to kill her, has driven her mad, and she uses her connection with cats to build a new persona. (Which is supported by the fact that all the things she claims "kills" her with each of her "nine lives" wouldn't actually have killed her. Ex. Her one fall is broken by the kitty-litter truck. Max doesn't hit her in any vital organs when he shoots her. Etc.) Her destroying her apartment is her lashing out at all the things she used to hold dear- her vision of a normal life, etc. It's symbolic of her purging the past and embracing the future. (Plus, oftentimes when people throw fits, they'll smash stuff up).