Literary Cat Quotes…
Writers’ Cat Quotes: Loving, Sentimental & Funny Cats Quotes
Cats Quotes: Loving & Funny Cat Quotes For Feline Fanciers
“BOOKS. CATS. LIFE IS GOOD.” – Edward Gorey
They dance madly around the house, still thinking they’re kittens. And then curl up on a couch or window sill to find sunshine and sleep. Our cats are dignified clowns. And sources of purrs and love.
In the Wilderness, our closest relatives — all the other Primates — avoid Cats with screaming warnings. But we — Humankind — long ago took one little feline species into our ancient rough homes and they’ve been with us ever since.
Bringing their own mysterious brand of comedy, love and sunshine into our lives.
So many of our fave authors have written about the kittens and grown cats in their lives with honesty and (sometimes surprising) love.
A laugh. A tear. Here, my friends, are our favourite Literary Cat Quotes:
“TAILS HITHER, TAILS YON, UPHELD IN PRIDE AND SATISFACTION.” – Andre Norton
“IT WAS ON THE CORNER OF THE STREET THAT HE NOTICED THE FIRST SIGN OF SOMETHING PECULIAR — A CAT READING A MAP.” – J K Rowling
“WHAT GREATER GIFT THAN THE LOVE OF A CAT?” – Charles Dickens
“HOME IS WHERE I HANG MY TOOTHBRUSH AND WHERE THE CATS HAVE THEIR COMMODE.” – Lilian Jackson Braun
“A CAT CAN PURR ITS WAY OUT OF ANYTHING!” – Donna McCrohan
“I THINK ALL CATS ARE WILD. THEY ONLY ACT TAME IF THERE’S A SAUCER OF MILK IN IT FOR THEM.” – Douglas Adams
“BUT FAT CAT ON THE MAT KEPT AS A PET HE DOES NOT FORGET.” – J R R Tolkien
“IF THERE’S ONE SPOT OF THE SUN SPILLING ONTO THE FLOOR, A CAT WILL FIND IT AND SOAK IT UP.” – Louis Wain
“NOTHING MAKES A HOUSE COZIER THAN A CAT.” – Gladys Taber
“DOGS ARE NICE BUT THEIR LOVE IS GIVEN FREELY. WITH CATS YOU HAVE TO EARN IT, AND I’M A GIRL WHO LOVES A CHALLENGE.” – Lissa Warren
“CATS ARE SMARTER THAN DOGS. YOU CAN’T GET EIGHT CATS TO PULL A SLED THROUGH SNOW.” – Jeff Valdez
“IT’S GOING TO FREEZE — THE CAT’S DANCING.” – Colette
“KITTIES HAVE BIRTHDAYS, TOO. MAKE A CAKE FOR YOURSELF AND GIVE THE KITTY SOME REAL LIVE FRESH DEAD SHRIMP.” – Max Thompson
“IN THE MIDDLE OF A WORLD THAT’S ALWAYS BEEN A BIT MAD, THE CAT WALKS WITH CONFIDENCE.” – Rosanne Amberson
“I AM ONE OF THE MOST FANATICAL CAT LOVERS IN THE BUSINESS. IF YOU HATE THEM, I MAY LEARN TO HATE YOU.” – Raymond Chandler
“WHEN A MAN LOVES CATS, I AM HIS FRIEND AND COMRADE, WITHOUT FURTHER INTRODUCTION.” – Mark Twain
“CATS ARE VERY FUNNY, AND HAVE THE ODDEST WAYS OF SHOWING THEY’RE GLAD TO SEE YOU. RUDIMAC ALWAYS PEED IN OUR SHOES.” – W H Auden
“A MOUSE IN THE PAWS IS WORTH TWO IN THE PANTRY.” – Louis Wain
“SHE HAD WHITE CAT HAIR ON HER DARK SUIT. SHE WAS A DEDICATED CAT HUGGER.” – Lilian Jackson Braun
“A MEOW MASSAGES THE HEART.” – Stuart McMillan
“I MADE UP FOR MY DOG-LESS BOYHOOD BY BRINGING HOME KITTENS. ALWAYS THE LONELY, LEFTOVER LITTLE KITTEN THAT NOBODY ELSE WANTED. LIKE HUNTER, A GENTLE AND LOVING (WITH ME) STUB-TAILED GREY MANX CAT, WHO LIKED TO BRING ME MICE FROM THE HORSE BARN NEXT DOOR.” – Brian Alan Burhoe
“WHEN YOUR CAT DROPS A DEAD OR DYING ANIMAL AT YOUR FEET, IT’S ACTUALLY THE UTMOST COMPLIMENT. YOUR CAT IS ESSENTIALLY FEEDING YOU AS ONE OF ITS OWN.” – Daniel Martin
“MY CAT DOESN’T TALK AS RESPECTFULLY TO ME AS I DO TO HER.” – Colette
“FINDING A CAT — OR HAVING A CAT FIND YOU — CAN CHANGE YOUR WORLD AS MUCH AS MARRIAGE, LOVE, DEATH, OR EVEN WINNING THE LOTTERY CAN, AND SOMETIMES MORE.” – Kinky Friedman
“THE FACT OF POONA BEING AT A LOOSE END AND DECIDING TO CLOCK IN AND TAKE POT-LUCK I CAN UNDERSTAND, FOR LONG ISLAND IS FULL OF STRAY CATS WALKING THROUGH THE WET WOODS WAVING THEIR WILD TAILS.” – P G Wodehouse
“YOU WILL ALWAYS BE LUCKY IF YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH STRANGE CATS.” – Old Yorkshire saying
“THE CLOCKS IN OUR HOUSE WERE SUPERFLUOUS; WE MARKED OUR TIME BY THE CAT.” – Lissa Warren
“THE CAT IS THE ANIMAL TO WHOM THE CREATOR GAVE THE BIGGEST EYE, THE SOFTEST FUR, THE MOST SUPREMELY DELICATE NOSTRILS, A MOBILE EAR, AN UNRIVALED PAW AND A CURVED CLAW BORROWED FROM THE ROSE-TREE.” – Colette
“PEOPLE WHO LOVE CATS HAVE SOME OF THE BIGGEST HEARTS AROUND.” – Susan Easterly
“A KITTEN IS THE MOST IRRESISTIBLE COMEDIAN IN THE WORLD. ITS WIDE-OPEN EYES GLEAM WITH WONDER AND MIRTH. IT DARTS MADLY AT NOTHING AT ALL, AND THEN, AS THOUGH SUDDENLY CHECKED IN PURSUIT, PRANCES SIDEWAYS ON ITS HIND LEGS WITH RIDICULOUS AGILITY AND ZEAL.” – Agnes Repplier
Cats Quotes: Loving & Funny Cat Quotes For Feline Fanciers
“CATS LIKE DOORS LEFT OPEN — IN CASE THEY CHANGE THEIR MINDS.” – Rosemary Nisbet
“THE REAL OBJECTION TO THE GREAT MAJORITY OF CATS IS THEIR INSUFFERABLE AIR OF SUPERIORITY.” – P G Wodehouse
“IN ANCIENT TIMES, CATS WERE WORSHIPPED AS GODS; THEY HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN THIS.” – Terry Pratchett
“CATS, AS YOU KNOW, ARE QUITE IMPERVIOUS TO THREATS.” – Connie Willis
“NEVER TRY TO OUTSTUBBORN A CAT.” – Robert A Heinlein
“CATS DON’T FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS; THEY TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED. THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO BE FED, WATERED, STROKED ON DEMAND AND SUPPLIED WITH A LAP AND A CLEAN COMMODE.” – Lilian Jackson Braun
“I WRITE SO MUCH BECAUSE MY CAT SITS ON MY LAP. SHE PURRS SO I DON’T WANT TO GET UP. SHE’S SO MUCH MORE CALMING THAN MY HUSBAND.” – Joyce Carol Oates
“FUNNY FACE IS MY ATTACK CAT, AND ANYONE WHO MIGHT TRY TO HARM ME WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH HIM. HERE, PRETTY KITTY. THAT’S A GOOD BOY.” – Vivian Gilbert Zabel
“THE NAMING OF CATS IS A DIFFICULT MATTER.” – T S Elliot
“THE NAME YOU CHOOSE WILL AFFECT PEOPLE WHO HEAR IT IMMEDIATELY, GIVING THEM A POSITIVE IMPRESSION — WONDERCAT, SWEET TOOTH — OR PERHAPS A NEGATIVE ONE — HELLCAT, SHREDDER.” – Michelle Ryan
“OVER THE YEARS MY SISTER AND I CAME UP WITH HUNDREDS OF NAMES FOR THIS VERY SPECIAL CAT. AND OUR CAT GAVE US MANY INCIDENTS OF LAUGHTER, FUNNY MOMENTS AND HAPPY MOMENTS IN A HOME ENVIRONMENT WHICH WAS MOSTLY NOT VERY HAPPY.” – Joe Caruso
“CATS ARE INTENDED TO TEACH US THAT NOT EVERYTHING IN NATURE HAS A PURPOSE.” – Garrison Keillor
“IF ANIMALS COULD SPEAK, THE DOG WOULD BE A BLUNDERING OUTSPOKEN FELLOW; BUT THE CAT WOULD HAVE THE RARE GRACE OF NEVER SAYING A WORD TOO MUCH.” – Mark Twain
“AS I LISTENED TO HIS GENTLE PURRING IN THE DARK, IT FELT GOOD TO HAVE HIM THERE. HE WAS COMPANY, I GUESS. I’D NOT HAD MUCH OF THAT LATELY.” – James Bowen
“ONE SMALL CAT CHANGES GOING INTO TO AN EMPTY HOUSE TO COMING HOME!” – Pam Brown
“I MADE EYE CONTACT WITH HER, CLOSED MY EYES BRIEFLY, WISHING FOR HER TO COME OUT. THEN OPENED MY EYES AGAIN. AND THE CAT BLINKED BACK AT ME, SLOWLY. SHE ALLOWED ME TO MOVE HER TO SAFETY. YEARS LATER I HEARD THAT SLOWLY BLINKING THEN LOOKING AWAY IS A POWERFUL FORM OF CAT COMMUNICATION.” – Mieshelle Nagelschneider
Cats Quotes: Loving & Funny Cat Quotes For Feline Fanciers
“I WISH I COULD WRITE AS MYSTERIOUS AS A CAT.” – Edgar Allan Poe
“FRIDAY THE 13TH. PICTURES OF BLACK CATS ARE POPPING UP EVERYWHERE. BLACK CATS HAVE BEEN DOUSED WITH A WITCHES’S BREW OF SUPERSTITION. LET’S GET REAL. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE LOVE AND SHARE THEIR HOMES WITH BLACK CATS. CATS PROVIDE COMPANIONSHIP, LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE, REDUCE STRESS. TRUTH IS CATS MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. SO IF YOU SEE A BLACK CAT TODAY, CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY.” – Becky Robinson
“ALWAYS THE CAT REMAINS A LITTLE BIT BEYOND THE LIMITS WE TRY TO SET FOR HIM IN OUR BLIND FOLLY.” – Andre Norton
“HOW MANY MORE SENSES HAVE CATS THAN HUMANS?” – Marguerite Steen
“THE CAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE MOON. LIKE THE MOON, IT COMES TO LIFE AT NIGHT, ESCAPING FROM HUMANITY AND WANDERING OVER HOUSETOPS WITH ITS EYES BEAMING OUT THROUGH THE DARKNESS.” – Patricia Dale-Green
“A BLACK CAT CROSSING YOUR PATH SIGNIFIES THAT AN ANIMAL IS GOING SOMEWHERE.” – Groucho Marx
“DOGS COME WHEN THEY’RE CALLED; CATS TAKE A MESSAGE AND GET BACK TO YOU LATER.” – Mary Bly
“I LIKE CATS. WHEN I MEET A CAT, I SAY, ‘POOR PUSSY!’ AND STOOP DOWN AND TICKLE THE SIDE OF ITS HEAD; AND THE CAT STICKS UP ITS TAIL IN A RIGID, CAST-IRON MANNER, ARCHES ITS BACK, AND WIPES ITS NOSE AGAINST MY TROUSERS; AND ALL IS GENTLENESS AND PEACE.” – Jerome K Jerome
“CATS HAVE INTERCEPTED MY FOOTSTEPS AT THE ANKLE FOR SO LONG THAT MY GAIT, BOTH AT HOME AND ON TOUR, HAS BEEN COMPARED TO A MAN WADING THROUGH LOW SURF.” – Roy Blount, Jr
“TO ERR IS HUMAN, TO PURR IS FELINE.” – Robert Byrne
“AND THE BEHAVIOR OF THE CAT WAS SOMEWHAT PECULIAR. IT WAS SOON NOTICED THAT WHEN THERE WAS WORK TO BE DONE THE CAT COULD NEVER BE FOUND. SHE WOULD VANISH FOR HOURS ON END, AND THEN REAPPEAR AT MEAL-TIMES, OR IN THE EVENING AFTER WORK WAS OVER, AS THOUGH NOTHING HAD HAPPENED.” – George Orwell
“ONE CAT JUST LEADS TO ANOTHER.” – Ernest Hemingway
“A CATLESS WRITER IS ALMOST INCONCEIVABLE. EVEN ERNEST HEMINGWAY, MANLY FOLLOWER OF THE HUNTING TROPHY AND THE BULLFIGHT, LIVED WAIST-DEEP IN CATS. IT’S A PERVERSE TASTE, REALLY, SINCE IT WOULD BE EASIER TO WRITE WITH A HERD OF BUFFALO IN THE ROOM THAN EVEN ONE CAT; THEY MAKE NESTS IN THE NOTES AND BITE THE END OF THE PEN AND WALK ON THE TYPEWRITER KEYS.” – Barbara Holland
“CATS NEVER STRIKE A POSE THAT ISN’T PHOTOGENIC.” – Lillian Jackson Braun
“RUSTY IS ALWAYS UP FOR PLAYTIME, AT TIMES A GOLDEN BLUR, AT TIMES LAZY AND FULL OF LION-LOUD PURRS. HE’S MY BEST BUD.” – Brian Alan Burhoe
“TO BATHE A CAT TAKES BRUTE FORCE, PERSEVERANCE, COURAGE OF CONVICTION — AND A CAT.” – Stephen Baker
Cats Quotes: Loving & Funny Cat Quotes For Feline Fanciers
“IF YOU WANT TO WRITE, KEEP CATS.” – Aldous Huxley
“I BELIEVE CATS TO BE SPIRITS COME TO EARTH. A CAT, I’M SURE, COULD WALK ON A CLOUD WITHOUT COMING THROUGH.” – Jules Verne
“PERHAPS IT’S BECAUSE CATS DON’T LIVE BY HUMAN PATTERNS, DON’T FIT THEMSELVES INTO PRESCRIBED BEHAVIOR, THAT THEY ARE SO UNITED TO CREATIVE PEOPLE.” – Andre Norton
“THE ONLY THING I ENVY ABOUT A CAT IS ITS PURR. IT’S THE MOST CONTENTED SOUND IN THE WORLD.” – Lucy Maud Montgomery
“I LOVE THEM, THEY ARE SO NICE AND SELFISH. DOGS ARE TOO GOOD AND UNSELFISH. THEY MAKE ME FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE. BUT CATS ARE GLORIOUSLY HUMAN.” – Lucy Maud Montgomery
“AUTHORS LIKE CATS BECAUSE THEY ARE SUCH QUIET, LOVABLE, WISE CREATURES AND CATS LIKE AUTHORS FOR THE SAME REASONS.” – Robertson Davies
“THE CAT JUMPS UP ON THE BED AND TRIES TO GET ONTO MY HEAD. IT’S HIS WAY OF TELLING WHETHER OR NOT I’M DEAD. IF I’M NOT, HE WANTS TO BE SCRATCHED; IF I AM — HE’LL THINK OF SOMETHING.” – Margaret Atwood
“THEIR PITIFUL HUNGRY MEOWS MELTED MY HEART. SOMEONE HAD TO HELP THEM!” – Liz Barton
“THE CAT WAS BEING HARASSED BY MONKEYS IN NEIGHBOURING CAGES. SHE LOOKED AT ME IMPLORINGLY: PLEASE! TAKE ME HOME. SHE KEPT HER CLAWS SHEATHED AS I STROKED HER AND AS I WALKED OUT THE DOOR, SHE NUZZLED ME.” – Pierre Berton
“A CAT HAS ABSOLUTE EMOTIONAL HONESTY: HUMAN BEINGS, FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, MAY HIDE THEIR FEELINGS, BUT A CAT DOES NOT. – Ernest Hemingway
“IT’S HARDER TO UNDERSTAND A CAT THAN A DOG. BUT IT’S FUN TRYING.” – Brian Alan Burhoe
“I LOVE CATS BECAUSE I ENJOY MY HOME; AND LITTLE BY LITTLE, THEY BECOME ITS VISIBLE SOUL.” – Jean Cocteau
“THE CAT DOESN’T OFFER SERVICES. THE CAT OFFERS ITSELF.” – William S. Burroughs
“MY CAT IS COMPLETELY BLIND. I AM WATCHING HER NOW, SWEET-PEA THAT IS, CIRCLING THE KITCHEN FLOOR AND BUMPING INTO THE KITCHEN CHAIRS. SHE IS KIND OF LIKE A FURRY BALL IN A PINBALL MACHINE…SHE BUMPS INTO SOMETHING AND THEN JUST TURNS AND MOVES ON…IT MAKES ME SMILE — ALTHOUGH I KNOW IT’S JUST NOT THAT FUNNY. I THINK I LAUGH BECAUSE WHAT I REALLY FEEL LIKE DOING, IS CRYING.” – Jann Arden
“WHEN ZOE DIED, IT WAS REALLY EASY TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE HOW MUCH YOU COULD MISS A SWEET, GENTLE CAT THAT WAS NOTHING BUT A BALL OF UTTER LOVE.” – Neil Gaiman
“WHY ALMOST ALWAYS CATS? WHY DO DEAD CATS CALL UP SUCH LUDICROUS TEARS?” – Margaret Atwood
“CATS LEAVE PAW PRINTS ON OUR HEARTS!” – Old English memorial stone
“ANOTHER CAT? PERHAPS. BUT A FAMILY CAT IS NOT REPLACEABLE LIKE A WORNOUT COAT. EACH NEW KITTEN BECOMES ITS OWN CAT, AND NONE IS REPEATED. I AM FOUR CATS OLD, MEASURING OUT MY LIFE IN FRIENDS THAT HAVE SUCCEEDED BUT NOT REPLACED ONE ANOTHER.” – Irving Townsend
Cats Quotes: Loving & Funny Cat Quotes For Feline Fanciers
“AS EVERY CAT OWNER KNOWS, NO ONE OWNS A CAT.” – Ellen Perry Berkeley
“OF ALL THE CATS THAT HAVE OWNED ME, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ONE LIKE MY WHITE TOM KITTEN, FOR SWEETNESS, INTELLIGENCE AND AFFECTION.” – Marguerite Steen
“AH, MY FURRY FELINE LOVES — SHISHI, NIBO AND IRA — JUST THINKING ABOUT ALL THIS MAKES ME WONDER: EXACTLY WHO HAS TRAINED WHOM!” – Rima Savage
“KITTENS BELIEVE THAT ALL NATURE IS OCCUPIED WITH THEIR DIVERSION.” – F A Paradis de Moncrif
“THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE THE PRESENCE OF A CAT IN THE HOUSE TO MAKE YOU FEEL AT HOME, WHETHER IT’S A RUSTIC CABIN OR ROYAL PALACE. ” – Theresa Mancuso
“CATS ARE LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN ON EARTH, THEIR PURRING NOT UNLIKE THE STIR OF ANGEL WINGS.” – Theresa Mancuso
“A CAT DOESN’T KNOW WHAT IT WANTS AND WANTS MORE OF IT.” – Richard Hexem
“TWENTY-SEVEN CATS AT ONE TIME HINTS AT MONOMANIA. BUT IN MANY CASES IT’S SIMPLER. IF YOU LIKE CATS AND HAVE SOME, YOU GET KITTENS. AND IF YOU LIKE KITTENS AND ENJOY HAVING THEM ABOUT, THEY GROW UP — AND YOU GET MORE KITTENS.” – Paul Gallico
“FAR AHEAD, PICKED UP BY THE HEADLIGHTS, ARE TWO OTHER LITTLE HEADLIGHTS, LUMINOUS, LIKE SEQUINS SEWN IN THE DARKNESS OF THE HEDGEROW. CAT.” – Marguerite Steen
“UTTERING HIS HAPPY PRR-OO-OO, HE WILL TROT INTO THE KITCHEN, HANG FOR A MOMENT ROUND THE NECK OF THE BLACK ONE, OR BITE HER EAR, AND FLING HIMSELF INTO THE LAST ANTICS OF THE DAY.” – Marguerite Steen
“AT THAT PRECISE MOMENT TWO BROWN NOSES LIFTED, FOUR BROWN EARS SWIVELED, TWO SETS OF WHISKERS TWITCHED. SOMETHING WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.” – Lilian Jackson Braun
“OF ALL OUR SUNNY WORLD, I WISH ONLY FOR A GARDEN SOFA WHERE A CAT IS SUNNING ITSELF.” – Edith Södergran
“IT IS NOT A GOOD OMEN TO MEET A LOT OF CATS WHEN ONE SETS OUT ON A JOURNEY, SO THE LIEUTENANT SPAT THREE TIMES FOR EACH CAT, AS HIS MOTHER HAD TAUGHT HIM TO DO.” – Selma Lagerlöf
“THE HOT NOONDAY SUN FEELS WARM AS A BIG SOFT CAT COVERING YOU.” – Charlotte Zolotow
“THERE WAS A NERVOUS DISTINCTION IN ALL SHE DID THAT SUGGESTED A WELL-BORN PERSIAN CAT.” – Émile Zola
“IF YOU WANT A LOVING WIFE — FIND A CRAZY CAT LADY!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
“PEOPLE WHO HATE CATS WILL COME BACK AS MICE IN THEIR NEXT LIFE.” – Faith Resnick
“I THINK I’LL COME BACK AS A CAT.” – George Ney
“Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
The eight cat paintings on this page are by Julius Adam, a favourite artist of ours. German-born Adam (1852-1913) was known as Katzen-Adam (“Cat Adam”) because of his popular tabby-centered artwork. After an early career in Rio de Janeiro working in the family business as a landscape photographer (his father, Julius Senior, was a renowned photographer), he returned to Germany, settling in Munich, where he created his famous cat art. His most popular canvases featured kittens in a country home setting.
Along with his contemporaries — Holland-born Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (known as the Queen of Cat Artists) and Parisian native Louis Eugène Lambert — Adam created a popular genre that reflected a nostalgia for the passing rural life of the late 19th Century, in reaction to the new ugly industrialized cities.
For more, see Katzen-Adam – Julius Adam.
(Left: Julius Adam’s “Cats Playing in a Basket” Oil on Canvas)
Just SCROLL UP to relive that wonderful untamed playfulness of Adam’s cats!
NOTE: Those who wanted to know the story behind my quote “I made up for my dog-less boyhood by bringing home kittens…” can find it at Happy Birthday, Farley Mowat! Tribute to a Hero.
– Cat Quotes Compiled by Brian & Mary Lee Burhoe
Sources Note: If you haven’t met all of the authors quoted here, most can be found by Googling their name with “writer” after it. Some, who’ve written wonderful works on our beloved felines — such as Lissa Warren, Liz Barton, Vivian Gilbert Zabel, Michelle Ryan, Mieshelle Nagelschneider — can be found by adding “cats” to the name search.
Cats Quotes: Loving & Funny Cat Quotes For Feline Fanciers
Keywords: black cat quote, Caturday, cat art, cat love quotes, cats quotes. Cat quotes. Cheshire cat, crazy cat lady, cute cat names, cute cats, famous authors quotes. Friday 13th quote, funny cat quotes, Julius Adam II, Katze Zitate. Literary cat quotes, lol cats, names for cat, P G Wodehouse cat quotes, writers cat quotes.
