Cats
From Wikiquote
This entry is about the animal. For the musical, see Cats (musical).
The cat, also called the domestic cat or house cat, is a small feline carnivorous mammal of the subspecies Felis silvestris catus. It has been living in close association with humans for between 3,500 and 8,000 years.
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- I think all cats are wild. They only act tame if there's a saucer of milk in it for them.
- Douglas Adams, discussing feral cats in Last Chance to See (1991)
- If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have on your hands is a non-working cat.
- Douglas Adams, as quoted in the Eulogy for Douglas Adams (17 September 2001) by Richard Dawkins.
- Some see "God" as "dog" spelled backwards. I see "God" as "cat" spelled with a vivid imagination.
- Jacob Appel, Arborophilia (2005)
- Lat take a cat, and fostre hym wel with milk
And tendre flessh, and make his couche of silk,
And lat hym seen a mous go by the wal,
Anon he weyveth milk and flessh and al,
And every deyntee that is in that hous,
Swich appetit hath he to ete a mous.
- How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven.
- Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat.
- Robert A. Heinlein, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)
- Perhaps God made cats so that man might have the pleasure of fondling the tiger...
- Robertson Davies, The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks
- The kitten has a luxurious, Bohemian, unpuritanical nature. It eats six meals a day, plays furiously with a toy mouse and a piece of rope, and suddenly falls into a deep sleep whenever the fit takes it. It never feels the necessity to do anything to justify its existence; it does not want to be a Good Citizen; it has never heard of Service. It knows that it is beautiful and delightful, and it considers that a sufficient contribution to the general good. And in return for its beauty and charm it expects fish, meat, and vegetables, a comfortable bed, a chair by the grate fire, and endless petting.
- Robertson Davies, The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks
- The Naming of cats is a difficult matter;
It isn't just one of your holiday games.
You may think at first, I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you a cat must have three different names.
- Nothing's more playful than a young cat, nor more grave than an old one.
- Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia
- Cat, I'm a kitty-cat, and I dance, dance, dance, and I dance, dance, dance.
- Steve Ibsen, "The Kitty Cat Dance"
- A cat who turns her nose up at bread does not deserve meat.
- Mehmet ildan, Quotations[specific citation needed]
- It is said that in Ulthar, which lies beyond the river Skai, no man may kill a cat; and this I can verily believe as I gaze upon him who sitteth purring before the fire. For the cat is cryptic, and close to strange things which men cannot see. He is the soul of antique Aegyptus, and bearer of tales from forgotten cities in Meroe and Ophir. He is the kin of the jungle’s lords, and heir to the secrets of hoary and sinister Africa. The Sphinx is his cousin, and he speaks her language; but he is more ancient than the Sphinx, and remembers that which she hath forgotten.
- H.P. Lovecraft, "The Cats of Ulthar"
- We own a dog -- he is with us as a slave and inferior because we wish him to be. But we entertain a cat -- he adorns our hearth as a guest, fellow-lodger, and equal because he wishes to be there. It is no compliment to be the stupidly idolised master of a dog whose instinct it is to idolise, but it is a very distinct tribute to be chosen as the friend and confidant of a cat.
- H.P. Lovecraft, "Cats and Dogs"
- Don't want a cat
Scratching its claws all over my
Habitat
Giving no love and getting fat
Oh, you can get lonely
And a cat's no help with that.- Pet Shop Boys, "I Want a Dog"
- For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
[edit] In praise of cats
A thing of beauty, strength, and grace lies behind that whiskered face - Anonymous
- It is widely grokked that cats have the hacker nature.
- Eric S. Raymond, The Jargon File [1]
- For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.- Christopher Smart (1722-1771), "For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry" from "Jubilate Agno" (1758-1763)
- When there was room on the ledge outside of the pots and boxes for a cat, the cat was there — in sunny weather — stretched at full length, asleep and blissful, with her furry belly to the sun and a paw curved over her nose. Then that house was complete, and its contentment and peace were made manifest to the world by this symbol, whose testimony is infallible. A home without a cat—and a well-fed, well-petted, and properly revered cat—may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?
- Mark Twain, The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, Chapter 1 [2]
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[edit] Cats and humans
- Cat — A soft indestructible automaton provided by Nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.
- Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.
- Robertson Davies, "mehitabel"
- The cat is a wild animal that inhabits the homes of humans.
- Konrad Lorenz, Man Meets Dog
- [My cat] Nameless and I have an agreement: I leave her alone and don't make sudden moves when I wake up to find her perched on my chest, staring with an unblinking hostile gaze at my face and in return she rarely mutilates me.
- James Nicoll (2005-11-12). "Change One Thing". rec.arts.sf.written. (Google Groups). Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
[edit] Unsourced
- Our character is what God and cats know of us.
- One cat just leads to another.
- When the rat laughs at the cat, there is a hole. The rat has not power to call the cat to account. The rat does not go to sleep in the cat's bed.
- In the eyes of a cat, all things belong to cats.
- No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.
- Siamese Cats have a way of staring at you. Those who have walked in on the Queen cleaning her teeth will know the expression.
- No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat; as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.
- attributed to Deng Xiaoping
[edit] In praise of cats
- A meow massages the heart.
- There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.
- Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will pee on your computer.
- Bruce Graham
- echoing Tolkien's "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
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- Cats will purr at content or when they are feeling frisky.
[edit] Cats and humans
- Dogs have Masters. Cats have staff.
- Anonymous
- Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want.
- I gave my cat a bath the other day... They love it. He sat there, he enjoyed it, it was fun for me. The fur would stick to my tongue, but other than that...
- You can tell your cat anything and he'll still love you. If you lose your job or your best friend, your cat will think no less of you.
- Helen Powers
[edit] Cat elegance
- Cats, no less liquid than their shadows, offer no angles to the wind. They slip, diminished, neat, through loopholes less than themselves.
[edit] Cat arrogance
- Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.
- Jeff Valdez
- In ancient times, cats were worshiped as gods. They have never forgotten this.
- A cat knows exactly what you are, and treats you accordingly.
- author unknown
- Cats understand our feelings. They don't care, but they understand.
[edit] Cat intelligence
- Cats are experiments in consciousness with limited intelligence, humans are experiments in intelligence with limited consciousness (unless they work on themselves).
- Children are like cats, they can tell when you don't like them. That's when they come over and violate your body space.
- Everyone knows cats are on a higher level of existence. These silly humans are just too big-headed to admit their inferiority. Just think what a nicer world this would be if it were controlled by cats.
You wouldn't see cats having waste disposal problems. They're neat.
They don't have sexual hangups. A cat gets horny, it does something about it.
They keep reasonable hours. You never see a cat up before noon.
They know how to relax. Ever heard of a cat with an ulcer?
What are the chances of a cat starting a nuclear war? Pretty neglible. It's not that they can't, they just know that there are much better things to do with one's time. Like lie in the sun and sleep. Or go exploring the world.
- I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.
