“The way to get on with a cat is to treat it as an equal - or even better, as the superior it knows itself to be.”

“Bless the ladies and their charming inconsistency! They demand to be treated like men, but they react like women.”

“Marriage, in my view, should be a balanced stalemate between equal adversaries.”

“But the dust! And the clutter! My housewifely and scholarly instincts were equally offended.”

“You are softening toward the young rascal because he is ill, and because he says he likes cats.""It is an engaging quality, Emerson.""That depends," said Emerson darkly, "on how he likes them.”

“The cat Horus shot out from under the table and headed for the door, his ears flattened and his tail straight out. There he encountered Abdullah, who had been waiting for us on the verandah and who had, I supposed, been alarmed by Emerson's shouts and hurried to discover what disaster had prompted them. The cat got entangled in Abdullah's skirts and a brief interval of staggering (by Abdullah), scratching (by Horus) and swearing (by both parties) ensued before Horus freed himself and departed. ”

“In the silence I heard Bastet, who had retreated under the bed, carrying on a mumbling, profane monologue. (If you ask how I knew it was profane, I presume you have never owned a cat.)”