The Mysterious Cat

By Maria Moya

The Fascination of Cats

The independence, beauty and mystery of cats fascinate all humans who spend time with them.

Writers, artists and other sensitive people are especially drawn to cats. Free and proud, cats share our houses and environments, but never quite give up their autonomy.

The chapters of this book cover the subjects of cats’ independence, cats’ mystery, cats’ beauty and grace, cats’ relations to their humans, cats and kittens, cats and dogs, cats’ peculiarities of character, and cats’ affinity to artists and writers.

A small sample:

A house without a cat is like an aquarium without fish.
Jean-Luis Hue

The city of cats and the city of men exist one inside the other, but they are not the same city.
Italo Calvino

Always the cat remains a little beyond the limits we try to set for him in our blind folly.
Andre Norton

 

It always gives me a shiver when I see a cat seeing what I can't see.
Eleanor Farjeon

What a cat doesn’t know is not worth knowing.
Colette

No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch.
Leo Dworken

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: May Burnett
• Release date: Apr 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513083995

Book preview

Introduction

In putting together this selection of 200+  quotes and sayings about cats, I was struck by the abundance and variety of comments on this unique animal. They are evidence that cats have long fascinated humans, especially writers and artists, who are after all the source of most well-known quotes. Mark Twain, for instance, seems to have had a very high opinion of cats, as did Edgar Allan Poe, Robertson Davies, Robert A. Heinlein, and many other well-known writers of various countries, who are represented in these pages. They typically refer to the beauty, gracefulness, and dignity of the cat, and its aura of mystery. The fact that the cat has maintained much of its independence, despite its partnership with man, is also worthy of many observations.

The ambiguous and endlessly varied relationship between cat and man is the subject of one of the longest chapters, Cats and their humans. 

Anyone who knows and loves cats will find much to smile over, ponder, agree or disagree with in these sayings. Some are meant to be humorous, others are evidently heart-felt expressions of the love and tenderness that felines can inspire in humans of all ages. While the English language alone provides abundant material, I also translated some additional quotes from German, Spanish and French authors. 

I hope to provide some entertainment and food for thought to other friends and admirers of the cat with this little collection, which I herewith offer up for your enjoyment.

The Independent Cat

As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat.

Ellen Perry Berkeley

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There are people who reshape the world by force or argument, but the cat just lies there, dozing, and the world quietly reshapes itself to suit his comfort and convenience.

Allen and Ivy Dodd

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To understand a cat, you must realize that he has his own gifts, his own viewpoint, even his own morality.

Lilian Jackson Braun

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One must love a