cats Quotes

“When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.”

“Everyone smiled happily... even Loretta.”

New kids always laughed about that till they got a look at the cat. It was the meanest looking animal I ever saw. It had one short leg and a broken tail and one missing eye, and the mailman wouldn’t deliver anything to the Herdmans because of it.

“No animal has more liberty than the cat, but it buries the mess it makes. The cat is the best anarchist.”

“The cat from Spain flew an aeroplane.”

“The cat from Berlin played the violin.”

“The cat from Japan waved a big blue fan.”

“Dogs have important jobs, like barking when the doorbell rings, but cats have no function in a house whatsoever.”

“Sleep is like a cat: It only comes to you if you ignore it.”

“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.”

“Before a Cat will condescend To treat you as a trusted friend, Some little token of esteem Is needed, like a dish of cream.”

“Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity, There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity. He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare: At whatever time the deed took place—Macavity wasn’t there!”

“When you notice a cat in profound meditation, The reason ,I tell you, is always the same: His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name: his ineffable effable Effanineffable Deep and inscrutable singular Name.”

“For he isn’t the Cat that he was in his prime; Though his name was quite famous, he says, in his time. And whenever he joins his friends at their club (which takes place at the back of the neighboring pub) He loves to regale them, if someone else pays, With anecdotes drawn from his palmiest days. For he once was a Star of the highest degree — He has acted with Irving, he’s acted with Tree.”

“Again I must remind you that A Dog’s a Dog- A CAT’S A CAT.”

“With Cats, some say, one rule is true: Don’t speak till you are spoken to. Myself, I do not hold with that — I say, you should ad-dress a Cat. But always keep in mind that he Resents familiarity. I bow, and taking off my hat, Ad-dress him in this form: O Cat! But if he is the Cat next door, Whom I have often met before (He comes to see me in my flat) I greet him with an oopsa Cat! I think I’ve heard them call him James — But we’ve not got so far as names.”

“Old Deuteronomy’s lived a long time; He’s a Cat who has lived many lives in succession. He was famous in proverb and famous in rhyme A long while before Queen Victoria’s accession. Old Deuteronomy’s buried nine wives And more – I am tempted to say, ninety-nine; And his numerous progeny prospers and thrives And the village is proud of him in his decline.”

“Jellicle Cats come out to-night Jellicle Cats come one come all: The Jellicle Moon is shining bright- Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball.”

“He is quiet and small, he is black From his ears to the tip of his tail; He can creep through the tiniest crack He can walk on the narrowest rail. He can pick any card from a pack, He is equally cunning with dice; He is always deceiving you into believing That he’s only hunting for mice. He can play any trick with a cork Or a spoon and a bit of fish-paste; If you look for a knife or a fork And you think it is merely misplaced - You have seen it one moment, and then it is gawn! But you’ll find it next week lying out on the lawn. And we all say: OH! Well I never! Was there ever A Cat so clever As Magical Mr. Mistoffelees!”

“Miss Polly looked at the forlorn little gray bunch of neglected misery in Pollyanna’s arms, and shivered: Miss Polly did not care for cats—not even pretty, healthy, clean ones.”

“There’s a reason cats were near deity in ancient Egypt. Dogs may be loyal, but cats are smart. This one must recognize our bond. You can take the cat out of Egypt, but you can’t take Egypt out of the cat.”

“Cats were the gangsters of the animal world, living outside the law and often dying there. There were a great many of them who never grew old by the fire.”

“Strong gates,” said Pod, “gates you can’t open. What are they there for?” “Against the mice?” said Arrietty. “Yes,” agreed Pod uncertainly, as though he gave her half a mark, “but mice never hurt no one. What else?” […] “Cats?” echoed Arrietty, surprised. “Or to keep you in?” suggested Pod.

“Purple Cat, Purple Cat, What do you see?”

“Pete had the blue cat blues.”

“And on that dog there is a cat, a snoozing cat on a dozing dog on a dreaming child on a snoring granny”

“And on that cat there is a mouse, a slumbering mouse”

“No self-respecting cat ever slept with a flock of birds,” she scolded. “Or ate worms, or flew, or did his laundry in Mrs. Doohiggy’s birdbath.”

“And that’s how I learned the language of the cows. Those afternoons had no yesterday and no tomorrow---only me and the cows and the cat, who crouched on a fence post and squinted in the sunlight.”

“And that’s how I learned the language of the cows. Those afternoons had no yesterday and no tomorrow---only me and the cows and the cat, who crouched on a fence post and squinted in the sunlight.”

Many universal themes are addressed in this little book. Willfulness is mentioned first because I think it ties with the ending theme of original sin (which is a story about willfulness.) The child attempts to determine if she is a willful child, the cat confirms that she is. The child then concludes “willful is what I want to be… something special.”

“The fur flew fast but the feathers flew faster! It only took ten minutes. The kingdom was saved!”

″‘I’ll take him.’ Mrs. Trill says, ‘Are you sure?’ And Mr. Fortesque says, ‘Oh yes, I’ve been looking for a brown cat as nice as this one for ages.‘”

Deep in the woods in an old white cabin, three friends make their pumpkin soup the same way every day. The Cat slices up the pumpkin, the Squirrel stirs in the water, and the Duck tips in just enough salt.

“He runs after cats, too. We don’t go to the zoo anymore.”

“Lyle wanted desperately to win Loretta over. He tried flashing the sweetest, most toothsome smile at her to show how really friendly he was. But this only frightened the distrustful animal even more.”

“Bit if Lyle was happy, he was making someone else unhappy; perfectly miserable in fact. That someone else was Loretta, Mr. Grump’s cat. ”

“Sampson, the church cat, had listened to so many sermons about the meek being blessed and everybody really being brothers that he had grown quite frighteningly meek and treated Arthur like a brother.”

“Slinky Malinki was blacker than black, a stalking and lurking adventurous cat.”

“Then Slinky Malinki, rapscallion cat, piled them up high in a heap on the mat.”

“Daddy took me to see the new union building he is working on. He can walk on steel girders high up in the sky and not fall. They call him the Cat.”

“The neighbours thought Pettson was odd. He was certainly absentminded. And it wasn’t normal, the way he talked to that cat.”

“Mog was nice but not very clever. She didn’t understand a lot of things. A lot of other things she forgot. She was a very forgetful cat.”

“A policeman came and they told him what happened. The policeman looked at Mog. He said, ‘What a remarkable cat. I’ve seen watch-dogs, but never a watch-cat. She will get a medal’. Debbie said, ‘I think she’d rather have an egg’.”

“They ate up the few vegetables that were left in their storm-wracked gardens. They ate up the salted pilchards that were left in the cellars. Mowzer hated vegetables and the pilchards were took salty for her taste. Soon there was nothing left. The cats and their people grew very hungry.”

“Pat drove down the steep and winding road, and along the valley to Ted Glenn’s cottage. Jess kept a sharp lookout for the lost doll. ‘What day!’ said Pat.’ We’ve found a glove and a knife, but no Sarah-Ann. I wonder if we will find her – I do hope so’. Jess twitched his whiskers hopefully.”

“Pat is the Greensdale postman. Every day he drives his red van up the valley. Twisting along the twining roads, up and over the hills, far away; down narrow lanes and tracks to farms and cottages. He brings letters and cards; newspapers and magazines; football-pools and catalogs and bills and birthday-cards and parcels full of who-knows-what? He also brings a smile, a joke, a chat; news of the valley and who’s-doing what. He has a little black cat, called Jess.”

“He was practicing away one evening when Gwendolen stormed in and shrieked a spell in his face. Cat found, to his dismay, that he was holding a large striped cat by the tail.”

″‘There, there, Hamish,’ said Mrs. Grinling consolingly, ‘I’ll have a tasty piece of herring waiting for you when you arrive home.‘”

″‘I’m sure it’s a cat. Go and give it some milk.’ ‘There’s nobody there,’ said John Brown.”

“On the fateful day Old Tom arrives at Angela Throgmorton’s doorstep, Angela knows that things will never be the same. She lovingly raises the little feline monster as her own, but all he does is drive her crazy.′

“Drac and the Gremlin spring before General Min can attack. The General is caught by surprise. With a howl of despair she flees deep into the jungle.”

“Winnie, the Witch lives in a black house. She has black chairs, black floors and black doors. The trouble is that Winnie’s cat, Wilbur, is also black. ”

″ I’d like a ride,′ said the cat. ‘Very well,’ said Mr. Grumpy. ‘But you’re not to chase the rabbit.’ ”

″ ‘If we only had a cat!’ sighed the very old woman. ‘A cat?’ asked the very old man. ‘Yes, a sweet little fluffy cat,’ said the very old woman. ‘I will get you a cat, my dear,’ said the very old man.”

″ When suddenly out of the shadows they saw Scarface Claw the toughest Tom in town.”

“And so he went back over the sunny hills and down through the cool valleys, to show all his pretty kittens to the very old woman. It was very funny to see those hundreds and thousands and millions and billions and trillions of cats following him.”

“The pig mucked about. The dog teased the cat. The cat chased the rabbit. The rabbit hopped. The children squabbled. The boat tipped…and into the water they fell.”

“Off with a yowl a wail and howl, a scatter of paws and a clatter of claws…straight back home to bed”

“Pretty soon the very old woman saw them coming. ‘My dear!’ she cried, ‘What are you doing? I asked for one little cat, and what do I see? ”

“Each cat took a sip of water, and the pond was gone!”

″ ‘It is the most beautiful cat in the whole world,’ said the very old man. ‘I ought to know for I’ve seen hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats but not one was as pretty as this one.’ ”

“But just as he was about to leave, he saw another one all black and white and it seemed just as pretty as the first. So he took this one also.”

“They bit and scratched and clawed each other and made such a noise that the very old man and the very old woman ran into the house as fast as they could.”

“Every day they gave it plenty of milk- and soon it grew nice and plump.”

“Cats here, cats there, Cats and kittens everywhere, Hundreds of cats, Thousands of cats, Millions and billions and trillions of cats.”

“The cat from France liked to sing and dance.”

“My cat likes to hide in boxes.”

“The cat from Norway got stuck in the doorway.”

“The cat from Greece joined the police.”

“The cat from Brazil caught a very bad chill.”

“Look at all these clever cats, cats from Spain, Brazil and France, cats from Greece, Japan and Norway, cats who sing and fly and dance...”

“This is the dog that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built”

“This is the man all tattered and torn, that kissed the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with the crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built”

“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?”

“This is the cat that chased the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built”

“This is the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog, that worried the cat”

“This the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with the crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built”

“Rats! They fought the dogs and killed the cats, and bit the babies in the cradles, and ate the cheese out of the vats, and licked the soup from the cooks’ own ladles.”

“I thought cats and mice were enemies.”

When we find out where Shane lives, it is on the streets covered with newspapers and Shane’s drawings of cats. Although Shane has very little, he wants to give everything he can to make sure that the cat has everything that he needs.

“A slender wheat-colored Siamese cat was curled on his knee, chocolate-colored front paws curved in towards one another, sapphire eyes blinking occasionally as he stared into the fire.”

“Captain Tinker wanted me to go to school. He’ll be very disappointed in me if I run away. I ought to go back. I will go back...”

“Sometimes they went because their masters were obliged to go away from home on trips or business. Sometimes a cat was sent to School to learn good manners.”

“A warm glow filled her heart because she realized that the friendships she had made at School would last forever.”

“Cats use a different kind of knowledge. I only try to teach Manners and Cooperation, which means courtesy and getting on with one another.”

“Never again did he tease any little cat. He saved his rough tricks for the cats as big as he was. As for the little cats, he tried not to tease them but to please them. This was the beginning of his education.”

“Alfanhui knew about firewood. He knew which kinds of wood gave off sad flames and which gave off joyful flames, those that made strong, dark fires or those that made bright, dancing fires, those that left female embers to warm the dreams of cats or others that left male embers to bring repose to hunting dogs.”

“ ‘I never have cared for red hair,’ Nana said fondly, twisting a strand of Posy’s round her finger. ‘Never could fancy it since I got scratched by a ginger cat as a child. But nicely kept it can be striking.’ ”

″‘You must all behave like the cat. Look at that way he’s purring!’ It was quite true. The cat was purring as though nothing were happening, because he knew that the Flood was only a game.”

“Street Show Puff, puff, puff. How the trumpets blow All you little boys and girls come and see the show. One-two-three, the Cat runs up the tree; But the little Bird he flies away- ‘She hasn’t got me!’ ”

“Lord Lundy from his earliest years Was far to freely moved to Tears. For instance if his Mother said, ‘Lundy! It’s time to go to Bed!’ He bellowed like a Little Turk. Or if his father Lord Dunquerque Said ‘Hi!’ in a Commanding Tone, ‘Hi, Lundy! Leave the Cat alone!’ ”

“I’m king of a cow! And I’m king of a mule! I’m king of a house! And a bush! And a cat! But that isn’t all. I’ll do better than that! My throne shall be higher!”

“Don’t dress the dog... or the cat. Don’t shampoo with a big tube of glue. And don’t tell your mom that she’s fat.”

“Any cat can make a house seem haunted.”

“When barbarians invade Rome, Miranda the cat and her daughter Punka must find a safe place to hide from the chaos. ”

“And no cat was allowed on her street either. The cats of Rome knew this by now. However there had been one cat who came in the night. This was the great and awful lizard cat with the broken tail who had come from Barcelona in Spain to Rome.”

“Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?” (and sometimes) “Do bats eat cats?”

“Deed I don’t know, Aunt Polly; cats always act so when they’re having a good time.”