“And there are my cats, engaged in a ritual that goes back thousands of years, tranquilly licking themselves after the meal. Practical animals, they prefer to have others provide the food ... some of them do. There must have been a split between the cats who accepted domestication and those who did not.”

“You can keep a dog; but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.”

“If we stay with animal analogies for a moment, owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are god. (Cats may sometimes share the cold entrails of a kill with you, but this is just what a god might do if he was in a good mood.)”

“A cat is the only domestic animal I know who toilet trains itself and does a damned impressive job of it.”

“Keep your whiskers crisp and clean.Do not let the mice grow lean.Do not let yourself grow fatLike a common kitchen cat.Have you set the kittens free?Do they sometimes ask for me?Is our catnip growing tall?Did you patch the garden wall?Clouds are gentle walls that hideGardens on the other side.Tell the tabby cats I takeAll my meals with William Blake,Lunch at noon tea at four,Served in splendor on the shoreAt the tinkling of a bell.Tell them I am sleeping well.Tell them I have come so far,Brought by Blake's celestial cat,Buffeted by wind and rain,I may not get home again.Take this message to my friends.Say the King of Catnip sendsTo the cat who winds his clocksA thousand sunsets in a box,To the cat who brings the iceThe shadows of a dozen mice(serve them with assorted dipsand eat them like potato chips),And to the cat who guards his doorA net for catching stars, and more(if patience he abide):Catnip from the other side.”

“Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods.”