One is never sure, watching two cats washing each other, whether it’s affection, the taste or a trial run for the jugular. —Helen Thomson

Cats aren’t predictable. One minute they are getting along. The next they are fighting. And then the next they are cuddled up to each other fast asleep. The cats I’ve lived with have proved that to me time and time again. I remember that with Sir Socks and Spot. They would play together. They would bathe each other. They’d wrestle and then they’d sleep together quietly.

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. —Anonymous

Why did we stop worshipping cats? They kill the rodents which could kill us with deadly diseases. They can be kind and loving to us. They can adopt us as honorary cats. Yet, too many want to claim cats are solely evil and don’t deserve such high esteem from us. There are cats who still take care of rodents around the world in different places. They deserve our respect, if not our worship.

You own a dog but you feed a cat. —Jenny de Vries

Dogs can be so complacent compared to cats. They don’t mind having owners. They just want to keep us happy. Cats refuse to be owned by anyone. They let us feed them, but we can never own them. They don’t care if they make us happy. They just want us to serve them. They know who will serve them and who won’t.

Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well. —Missy Dizick

Of course cats are sneaky and they kill bugs and mice. I’m glad they do. Mice can be dangerous to humans. Bugs can just be annoying. Cats can also be adorable at the same time they are sneaky. Or on a murderous rampage.

When I play with my cat, who knows if I am not a pastime to her more than she is to me? —Montaigne

Cats are not humans. They don’t think like us. They can act differently from us. So, it’s a wonder what they think of us when we interact with them. We may never really know what the cat is thinking. Does it matter whether we completely understand cats and know what they think of us?

After scolding one’s cat one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word. And has filed it for reference. —Charlotte Gray

Cats do understand us perhaps better than we understand them. They have a way of communicating with us that is very clever. I’ve learned about how well cats can talk and how well they can understand us from Sir Socks Le Chat. He trained me so well that I don’t tend to have trouble with cats now. He taught me how to talk to him and he was able to figure out how to talk to me so that I would understand him.

Everything I know I learned from my cat: When you’re hungry, eat. When you’re tired, nap in a sunbeam. When you go to the vet’s, pee on your owner. — Gary Smith

We certainly can learn a lot from cats. They are right to sleep when they are tired and to eat when they are hungry. And when we are upset, there is nothing wrong with letting others know they have gone too far. So, feel free to do as the cats do and feel better about yourself.

The naming of cats is a difficult matter. It isn’t just one of your holiday games. You may think at first I’m mad as a hatter. When I tell you a cat must have three different names… — T.S. Eliot

Cats are special. Ergo they deserve more than one name. A name they can be called anytime. One that is a special endearing name. And one that will tell anyone something very important about the cat.

With their qualities of cleanliness, discretion, affection, patience, dignity, and courage, how many of us, I ask you, would be capable of becoming cats? —Fernand Mery Her Majesty the Cat

Some of us may hope to become cats or at least to be considered honorary cats. Cats are something many do esteem to be, yet they fall short in one way or another. Personally, I’ll settle for being an honorary cat. That comes with complimentary hair cleanings from my favorite cat. That’s good enough for me.

I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior. —Hippolyte Taine

Cats tend to be quiet. Yet, when they are quiet, they are the wisest creatures around. They know how to live with nature without upsetting a balance. They know when to relax and when to hunt. They know when to be serious and when to be playful. We have a lot to learn from watching them. If we watch closely, we might learn their wisdom.