"In the beginning, God created man, but seeing him so feeble, He gave him the cat."
- Warren Eckstein
"A home without a cat- and a well-fed, well-petted and properly revered cat- may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?"
- Pudd'nhead Wilson
"If animals could speak the dog would be a a blundering outspoken fellow, but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much."
- Mark Twain
"A cat is more intelligent than people believe, and can be taught any crime."
-Mark Twain Notebook, 1895
"I simply can't resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course."
- Abroad with Mark Twain and Eugene Field, Fisher
"Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the leash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat."
- Mark Twain Notebook, 1894
"You can keep a dog; but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals."
- George Mikes from "How to be decadent
"Dogs come when they're called. Cats take a message and get back to you."
- Mary Bly
"For a man to truly understand rejection, he must first be ignored by a cat."
- Anon
"I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul."
- Jean Cocteau
"There are two means of refuge from the misery of life - music and cats."
- Albert Schweitzer
"There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat."
- Tay Hohoff
" God made the cat in order that humankind might have the pleasure of caressing the tiger."
- Fernand Mery
"There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat."
- Tay Hohoff
"Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. "
- Jeff Valdez
"Way down deep, we're all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them."
- Jim Davis
"There is, incidentally, no way of talking about cats that enables one to come off as a sane person."
- Dan Greenberg
"The smallest feline is a masterpiece."
- Leonardo da Vinci
"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats."
- English Proverb
"Beware of people who dislike cats."
- Irish Proverb
"You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats."
- Colonial American Proverb
"With the qualities of cleanliness, affection, patience, dignity, and courage that cats have, how many of us, I ask you, would be capable of becoming cats?"
- Fernand Mery
"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
- Winston Churchill
"I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior."
- Hippolyte Taine
"A meow massages the heart."
- Stuart McMillan
"No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens."
- Abraham Lincoln
"Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God."
- Unknown
"Time spent with cats is never wasted."
- Unknown
"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
- Unknown
" No heaven will not ever be Heaven be; Unless my cats are there to welcome me."
- Unknown
" How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven."
- Robert A. Heinlein
"Dogs have owners, cats have staff."
- Unknown
"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this."
- Anonymous
" There are many intelligent species in the universe. They are all owned by cats."
- Anonymous
"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
"One cat just leads to another."
- Ernest Hemingway
"The cat has too much spirit to have no heart."
- Ernest Menaul
"As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat."
- Ellen Perry Berkeley
"People who hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life."
- Faith Resnick
"One reason we admire cats is for their proficiency in one-upmanship. They always seem to come out on top, no matter what they are doing, or pretend they do."
- Barbara Webster
"I have noticed that what cats most appreciate in a human being is not the ability to produce food which they take for granted--but his or her entertainment value."
- Geoffrey Household
"As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind."
- Cleveland Amory
Cat Quotes
Cat History
Cats have always been a source of fascination for mankind throughout history. Today cats have become one of the world's most popular pets perfectly suited to the lifestyle of our day. They are beautiful, enigmatic and easy-to-care for pets. But where and when did the domestic cat originate? This page will give you some insight into this question.
It has been about 4000 years since the first cats were domesticated. The Ancient Egyptians were the first to keep and use cats to control vermin and other pests to protect stores of food. In Ancient Egypt, the cat was revered as a hunter and worshiped as gods and goddesses. The ancient Egyptians imposed the death penalty for killing cats and cats were also mummified before being buried.
Other ancient civilisations later began to domesticate the cat and took tame felines to Italy where they slowly spread around Europe. Eventually, they arrived in the New World with the Pilgrims. The shorthaired domestic cat spread across the world from Egypt while longhaired cats came later from Turkey and Iran. The domestic cat also spread from India to China and Japan.
Except for a short period of persecution in the Middle Ages when cats were associated with the devil, by the eighteenth century cats had become popular household pets world wide.
The wild cats of today such as Lions and Tigers descended from early carnivores called miacids. From there the modern wild cat developed into three main types; the European wild cat, the African wild cat and the Asiatic desert cat. The domestic cat is thought to have evolved from the African wild cat because of its tabby markings.
The non-pedigree domestic cat, the Moggie
Domestic cats today still take many characteristics from their wild ancestors. The arresting eyes, body shape, feeding and grooming habits are the same along with the ability to pounce into action at any given moment. It is this link that makes the domestic cat so fascinating around the world.
The non-pedigree domestic cat, the Moggie is the most popular house pet today with the black and white Moggie being the most popular followed by the black cat followed by the Tabby cat. There are also 36 recognised breeds of pedigree cats around the world with the Siamese cat being the most popular. Most homes today that keep pets have at least one cat in residence.
Cat Facts
Did You Know?
It has been scientifically proven that owning cats is good for our health and can decrease the occurrence of high blood pressure and other illnesses.
Stroking a cat can help to relieve stress, and the feel of a purring cat on your lap conveys a strong sense of security and comfort.
The ancient Egyptians were the first civilisation to realise the cat's potential as a vermin hunter and tamed cats to protect the corn supplies on which their lives depended.
Sir Isaac Newton is not only credited with the laws of gravity but is also credited with inventing the cat flap.
A cat has more bones than a human being; humans have 206 and the cat has 230 bones.
A cat's hearing is much more sensitive than humans and dogs.
The cat's tail is used to maintain balance.
Cats see six times better in the dark and at night than humans.
Cats eat grass to aid their digestion and to help them get rid of any fur in their stomachs.
A healthy cat has a temperature between 38 and 39 degrees Celcius.
Cats have the largest eyes of any mammal.
The female cat reaches sexual maturity at around 6 to 10 months and the male cat between 9 and 12 months.
A female cat will be pregnant for approximately 9 weeks or between 62 and 65 days from conception to delivery.
The average litter of kittens is between 2 - 6 kittens.
Ailurophile is the word cat lovers are officially called.
Purring does not always indicate that a cat is happy. Cats will also purr loudly when they are distressed or in pain.
All cats need taurine in their diet to avoid blindness. Cats must also have fat in their diet as they are unable to produce it on their own.
In households in the UK and USA, there are more cats kept as pets than dogs. At least 35% of households with cats have 2 or more cats.
When a cats rubs up against you, the cat is marking you with it's scent claiming ownership.
About 37% of American homes today have at least 1 cat.
Milk can give some cats diarrhea.
The average lifespan of an outdoor-only cat is about 3 to 5 years while an indoor-only cat can live 16 years or much longer.
On average, a cat will sleep for 16 hours a day.
A domestic cat can run at speeds of 30 mph.
The life expectancy of cats has nearly doubled over the last fifty years.
Blue-eyed, white cats are often prone to deafness.
The cat's front paw has 5 toes and the back paws have 4. Cats born with 6 or 7 front toes and extra back toes are called polydactl.
An adult cat has 30 teeth, 16 on the top and 14 on the bottom.
There are approximately 60,000 hairs per square inch on the back of a cat and about 120,000 per square inch on its underside.
Cats and kittens should be acquired in pairs whenever possible as cat families interact best in pairs.
In multi-cat households, cats of the opposite sex usually get along better.
The first official cat show in the UK was organised at Crystal Palace in 1871.
Cat Part I : Am I Ready for a Cat?
Thinking of adopting a new cat? There are a number of factors to consider before rushing into a decision that you may regret later. The fact is, too often pets acquired by impulse quite often don't work out, and this is especially true with cats, who often have their own agendas. It's not the same as buying a used car, which can be returned if it doesn't run right. Rather, you could compare it to adopting a baby. Children have needs you'd expect to fill. Cats have needs too. An adopted cat would be wholly dependent on you to fill those needs. Here are some questions to consider:
1. Can I afford to care for a cat?
"Cats are pretty independent and don't cost a lot to care for," you may think. That's a common misconception in folks who have never shared their home with a cat. The truth is that cats are not as independent as you might imagine. When we first domesticated them centuries ago, humans took on the responsibility for their care. Yes, there are feral cats that still exist in alleys, parks, and drainage ditches, but they lead a miserable life.
Your cat, should you choose to adopt one, will live a better life, thanks to the nourishing food, toys, and veterinary care, which will include routine exams and lab tests, vaccinations, teeth cleaning, as well as emergency care for accidents or illness.
2. Are my kids too young for a cat?
Tots usually love kitties, but if you bring a very young kitten into your home you may find them loving it to death--literally. Alternately, the kitten could inflict some painful scratches. You'd be better off either getting an older cat that's been around children, or waiting a couple of years.
This may not be a deal-breaker, though, if you are prepared to take on the majority of the daily chores, and to teach your kids how to help, based on their abilities to understand and to learn. Love for cats can be a great motivator!
3. Can I handle potential damage to my valuable furniture?
Is your silk Queen Anne chair or your new off-white carpet extremely important to you? What if a cat vomits on that carpet, or scratched the arms of that chair?
Face it, cats need scratching exercise, and guess where they'll head first, lacking an approved scratching surface? A good scratching post and regular nail clipping is a must. So is a clean litter box and the necessary training for kitty to use it.
It is critical that you are willing to make the commitment to provide your cat with the necessities, and to put your cat ahead of furniture and other inanimate objects. Stuff happens. Are you willing to live with it? Or will you consider "getting rid of the cat" at the first sign of trouble?
4. Couldn't I just declaw the cat?
In a word: NO. Claws are cats' most valuable tools for defense, and vitally necessary for exercise, balance, and climbing. Declawing is actually the surgical removal of the first knuckle of each toe. Whether done with a guillotine tool or by laser, it is extremely painful, dangerous to the cat and patently inhumane. You may find declawed cats at the shelter, and they are usually there because they turned to biting or spraying after being declawed.
If declawing is your only solution to having a cat, and you're not willing to take your chances with a previously declawed cat, you should consider a pet you can cage or admire in an aquarium, and leave that cat for someone who will love ALL its parts.
5. Can I commit to the care a cat needs?
This is a serious consideration, even if you're planning this adoption for your kids. Pets are fine for teaching children responsibility, but there should always be an adult around to supervise and make sure the necessary jobs are done every day.
If this will be your first cat ever, or if it's been awhile since you had a cat, you might consider reading through this tutorial on cat care. It covers all the bases, including cat-proofing your home, litter-box management, proper feeding, veterinary care, even playing with your cat. Cats are a ton of fun and companionship, but they do carry a price, in the terms of time.
6. Do I have time to be "family" to a cat?
Contrary to popular opinion, cats are very social animals and love attention from their humans. If all works well, you and your cat will form a bond which will last for a lifetime. A lonely, neglected cat will soon find all kinds of mischief with which to amuse herself. Also contrary to popular opinion (among cats), you don't have to be a slave to her, but at least minutes a day of play time and petting will make the difference between a happy cat and a grumpy, destructive cat.
7. How much veterinary care is really necessary?
If you're acquiring a new family member (and this is how you should view your new arrival), she will come with health care needs and their attendant costs. You wouldn't neglect your children's health and neither will you want to neglect kitty's medical needs. Along with regular checkups, she'll need vaccinations and tooth-cleaning. She may need to be spayed, if that hasn't yet been done.
As your cat ages, she may develop one or more chronic diseases, which can be expensive. Fortunately, veterinary insurance is available, which is another option you should consider.
8. Do I really want an indoor-only cat?
There are too many hazards to the outdoor life for cats to list here, however they far exceed any benefits you may perceive of outdoor life for cats. Lets start with your cat's potential life span.
On the plus side, cats can live very happily indoors. These cats pictured here are much safer watching birdies on TV than chasing them outdoors.
9. Is my place really big enough for a cat?
This is a frequently asked question by readers. The easy answer is that a cat can live very comfortably in a studio apartment, given the right conditions. Coco Bear, pictured here, lives quite contentedly with her pal, Raleigh, in a small condominium.
