Feline philosophy and kitty cat quotes

FASCINATING, fabulous, affectionate, aloof, enigmatic, mysterious and sometimes plain contrary – the domestic cat is all of these and more.

Here are a few of my favourite cat quotes and philosophies, mostly taken from my old but treasured notebook, which I use to jot down my gardening notes. The pages are decorated with beautiful feline illustrations by artist Juliette Clarke and a host of wonderful quotes, from a wide variety of sources and compiled by Helen Exley.

In this little notebook, many well-known cat lovers and some of my favourite authors and poets have their say about the feline mystique.

Here is a small sample of some of their wise words.

* “When in doubt – wash. If you have committed any kind of error and anyone scolds you—wash. If you slip and fall off something and somebody laughs at you—wash. If you are getting the worst of an argument and want to break off hostilities until you have composed yourself, start washing. Remember, every cat respects another cat at her toilet. That’s our first rule of social deportment, and you must also observe it.” – from Paul Gallico’s magical cat book ,’Jenny’.

*”Cats, as a class, have never completely got over the snootiness caused by the fact that in ancient Egypt they were worshipped as gods.” – PG Wodehouse.

* “They taught the children the lesson of the necessity of kindness to smaller, weaker creatures. But mostly they were just there: warm breath, furry lives, acute intelligence, carriers of optimism and faith.” – Nancy Thayer.

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*”One small cat changes coming home to an empty house to coming home.’ – Pam Brown.

*The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” – Leonardo da Vinci.

*A cat is a pygmy lion who loves mice, hates dogs and patronizes human beings.” Oliver Herford.

*The great charm of cats is their rampant egotism, their devil-may-care attitude towards responsibility, their disinclination to earn an honest dollar. Cats are disdainful of everything but their own immediate interests.” Robertson Davies.

* A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes.” Indian proverb.

*”The greater cats with golden eyes

Stare out between the bars

Deserts are there, and different skies

And night with different stars.” – Vita Sackville-West

* Cats fill in all the empty spaces in the human world. The comfortable ones.” Marion C Garretty.

*A kitten is a lethal weapon disguised as a cute fluffy bundle of joy.” Stuart and Linda MacFarlane.

* You can’t look at a sleeping cat and feel tense.” Jane Pauley

*”Dogs come when they are called. Cats take a message and get back to you.” Mary Bly

* “It always gives me a shiver when I see a cat seeing what I can’t see,” Eleanor Farjeon.

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