“His movements could be called cat-like, except that he did not stop to spray urine up against things.”

“The Assassin moved quietly from roof to roof until he was well away from the excitement around the Watch House. His movements could be called cat-like, except that he did not stop to spray urine up against things.”

“He stopped and leaned against a pole and looked up at the deaf and swollen sky. It was a movement of dark shapes, a hurrying, a running. He closed his eyes. ("Hunger")”

“He was being called on to be a man, called up for service almost, except his country didnt need him, his lover did, and he felt proud and strong and ready to do whatever was necessary.”

“He teaches how to void excrement and urine and the like, elevating what is mean, and does not falsely excuse himself by calling these things trifles.”

“The cat jumped out of Willie’s arms and bounded up the stanze.The gallery fell into a hush as the cat crawled through Moses and the Prophets and the reign of David and up through the Old Testament entirely, fixing its claws on the slaying of the Holy Innocents and stopping to consider how far it wished to travel into the Gospels. The Russian priest began to scream again.A spirit-minded guard, interpreting the cat’s movements as an evil sign, fell on his knees and asked forgiveness for his many sins of the flesh.A policeman called to the cat to jump down but the cat seemed content to remain with the dying Innocents.Willie whistled sharply then. The cat turned, hesitated, then leaped down and skittered out of the gallery.Everyone turned to Willie, who stood quite still, holding his arms as if he were still cradling the cat.“Cats—men,” he said in a faraway voice, “need things to hang on. Otherwise, wouldn’t everything fall away?”The Italian word for insane rippled through the gallery.”