160 Best Cow Quotes, Sayings And Caption Ideas

Whether it is a sacred cow, a holy cow, a cash cow, a farmyard cow, or a powerful memoir in the form of ‘The Cow Book’ by John Connell, authors, activists, celebs, and more have a lot to say about all things related to cows.  

Cow proverbs, funny cow sayings, cow quotes, farming quotes, dairy quotes, cow puns (like "cow-moo-flage," "cowncil," and "cownt"!)  are a fun way to add some humor in life, on Instagram posts, on printed bags, mugs, and more. The more cow quotes you read, the chances of you falling in love with them doubles!

So which are your favorite cow quotes? Don’t have any yet? Look at these cow sayings by Ogden Nash, Samuel Johnson, John Harvey Kellogg, John McNulty, James Boswell, and other authors about these sweet, living, and breathing creatures.

'Cow' is a name given to cattle, which roughly translates to 'owned' (thought to be due to the fact that livestock such as cows have traditionally been owned).

This list provides a variety of cute cow quotes and sayings to keep you inspired and make you think. The sentiment in the cow quote where John Harvey Kellogg states "when dead in the pasture, the cow is carrion but at the butcher's shop its food" has a deep meaning indeed.

Surprisingly, one of the most famous poems by Ogden Nash is ‘The Cow’, which only consists of two lines.

Curious about what other famous people have to say about cows? Read these cow quotes and also check out these country quotesand farm quotes if you love country life!

The Best Cow Quotes

Like all animals, cows have feelings. A variety of cow quotes and animal books offer a mixed sentiment about cows. The ones you like the best will tell you if you are a true cow lover. Enjoy these cow quotes from Samuel Johnson and more!

1. “Even a cow creates ambiguous signifiers. The moo of mystery.”

–Mason Cooley.

2. "I could dance with you until the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows until you come home."

-  Groucho Marx.

3. "There's nothing like sitting back and talking to your cows."

- Russell Crowe.

4. “To my mind, the only possible pet is a cow. Cows love you… They will be your friends forever."

- Bill Bryson.

5. “Cows are gentle, interesting animals.”

- Ingrid Newkirk.

6. "My cow is not pretty, but it is pretty to me."

-  David Lynch.

7. “It doesn't matter how much milk you spill as long as you don't lose the cow.”

- Harvey Mackay.

8. “Hunters will tell you that a moose is a wily and ferocious forest creature. In fact, a moose is a cow drawn by a three-year-old.”

– Bill Bryson.

9. “Buffon… tells us that the cow sheds her horns every two years; a most palpable error…”

- James Boswell.

10. “I have found you and... fallen into such a blunder I suppose he has confounded the cow with the deer.”

- James Boswell.

11. "Moo may represent an idea, but only the cow knows."

-  Mason Cooley.

12. “Who discovered we could get milk from cows and what did he think he was doing at the time?”

-  Billy Connolly.

13. “Cows are amongst the gentlest of breathing creatures…”

-Thomas de Quincey.

14. “No longer diverted by other emotions, I work the way a cow grazes.”                                                  

- Kathe Kollwitz.

15. “Truth, Sir, is a cow that will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bull."

- Samuel Johnson.

16. “Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.”

- Will Rogers.

17. “Cows are my passion… to retreat to a Swiss farm, and live entirely surrounded by cows - and china.”

- Charles Dickens.

18. “All the really good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.”

-Grant Wood.

19. “I never saw a purple cow; I never hope to see one… I'd rather see than be one.”

-  Gelett Burgess.

20. “Sacred cows make the best hamburger.”

-  Mark Twain.

21. “Cease, cows, life is short.”

-  Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

22. “Keep a cow, and then the milk won't have to be watered but once.”

-  Josh Billings.

23. “I don't want any vegetables… I paid for the cow to eat them for me.”

-  Douglas Coupland.

24. “Home is where my cows are.”

– Unknown*

25. “Anybody who plays the stock market not as an insider is like a man buying cows in the moonlight.”

- Daniel Drew.

Famous Cow Quotes

Many believe that cows are like humans, and that the mother cow feels pain when separated from her calf. Some of the most famous cow quotes express this beautiful thought, whereas some other cow quotes articulate how cows are used for human benefit and nothing else.

26. “A branding program should be designed to differentiate your cow from all the other cattle on the range…”

- Al Ries.

27. “You can only milk a cow so long, then you're left holding the pail.”

-  Hank Aaron.

28. “The human body has no more need for cows' milk than it does for dogs' milk, horses' milk, or giraffes' milk.”

- Michael Klaper.

29. “He was so learned that he could name a horse in nine languages; so ignorant that he bought a cow to ride on.”

- Benjamin Franklin.

30. “The cow is of the bovine ilk: One end is moo, the other, milk.”

-  Ogden Nash.

31. “As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists.”

-  Joan Dye Gussow.

32. “... the cow parasite is probably how non-man defines man in his zoology books.”

– Stanisław Lem.

33. “I don't believe that you have to be a cow to know what milk is.”

-  Ann Landers.

34. “I'm a cowboy who never saw a cow.”

- Johnny Mercer.

35. “Thanks cows. I appreciate your tastiness.”

-  Craig Ferguson.

36. “I do believe sometimes discipline is very important. I'm not just lying around like a lazy cow all the time.”

- Bjork.

37. "A dead cow or sheep lying in a pasture is recognized as carrion. The same sort of a carcass dressed and hung up in a butcher's stall passes as food."

- John Harvey Kellogg.

38. “Sacred cows make very poor gladiators.”

-  Nikki Giovanni.

39. “North Dakota State. What do you have to do there to graduate? Milk a cow with your left hand?”

-  Bobby Heenan.

40. “The mere brute pleasure of reading - the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing.”

-  Lord Chesterfield.

41. “If I don't work, I'll be sitting on the couch watching TV, eating popcorn and getting like a cow.”

-  Celia Cruz.

42. “If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?”

-  Steven Wright.

43. “It was jolly in the country. A cow and little pigs to play with and milk warm from the cow.”

-  Georg Brandes.

44. “I guess cows aren't into the four food groups, especially when they are two of them.”

- Anthony Ward Clark.

45. “Scoops of mint ice cream with chips of chocolate cows.”

-  Jim Bishop.

46. “A publisher who writes is like a cow in a milk bar.”

-  Arthur Koestler.

47. “I can drink tea until the cows come home and I love the atmosphere in tea-shops.”

- Zola Budd.

48. “Just because a cow stands in a field all day doesn’t make it a philosopher”

― Vaseem Khan, 'Midnight At Malabar House'.

49. “If I have to, I'll go and direct theater and talk till the cows come home.”                    

- Ridley Scott.

50. "I have a history of saving animals. I started years ago with a cow.”

- Peter Max.

51. “Not every man remembers the name of the cow which supplied him with each drop of milk he has drunk.”

-  Shmuel Yosef Agnon.

52. “I’ve never met a general yet who could milk a cow.”

- Lennart Meri.

53. “If you do not milk the cow fully, it falls sick.”

- Lalu Prasad Yadav.

54. “To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him.”

-  Shunryu Suzuki.

55. “The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream. To eat with apple-tart.”

-Robert Louis Stevenson.

56. “The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries… with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain.”

– Colin Wilson.

57. “Don't have a cow, man.”

-  Matt Groening.

58. “I cannot harness a horse. I am afraid of a cow.”

-  Lyman Abbott.

59. “She always says… that facts are like cows. If you look them in the face hard enough they generally run away.”

– Dorothy L. Sayers.

60. “Custard: A detestable substance produced by… conspiracy of the hen, the cow, and the cook.”

-  Ambrose Bierce.

61. “Since the cruel killing of cows and other animal have commenced, I have anxiety for the future generation.”

-  Lala Lajpat Rai.

62. “Condensed milk is wonderful. I don't see how they can get a cow to sit down on those little cans.”

-  Fred Allen.

63. “I got mouths to feed, unnecessary beef is more cows to breed.”

-  GZA.

64. “It is my custom to keep on talking until I get the audience cowed.”

-  Mark Twain.

65. “Playing golf is like chasing a quinine pill around a cow pasture.”

-  Winston Churchill.

66. “A mind of the caliber of mine cannot derive its nutrient from cows.”                                    

- George Bernard Shaw.

67. “I’m a regular dude from Kansas who grew up with pigs and cows.”

-  Eric Stonestreet.

68. “We say the cows laid out Boston. Well, there are worse surveyors.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson.

69. “It's not socially acceptable to be a complete and utter manipulative cow.”  

-Lena Headey.

70. “Cows is one thing. But one man telling another man where he can go in this country is something else.”

- Robert Duvall.

71. “Going to law is losing a cow for the sake of a cat.”

-  Mark Twain.

72. “This country is so urbanized we think low-fat milk comes from cows on Nutri/System weight-loss plans.”

-  P. J. O'Rourke.

73. “Cows are a lot smarter across the board than bulls.”

-  Thomas Haden Church.

74. “Irreverence is our only sacred cow.”

-  Paul Krassner.

75. “The cow knows not what her tail is worth till she has lost it.”

- George Herbert.

76. “Fortune is beastly - it is only suitable for cows and businessmen.”

-  Irving Stone.

77. “The cow is nothing but a machine which makes grass fit for us people to eat.”

- John McNulty.

Wise Cow Quotes

Thoughtful cow quotes are food for the brain. Nothing changes the fact that all living creatures deserve respect. What you see in life and read in books can trigger your thinking and these cow quotes will work as fuel for your understanding. What will you learn from these wise cow quotes?

78. “As a calf follows its mother among a thousand cows, so… deeds of a man follow him.”

– Chanakya.

79. “Pigs and cows and chickens and people are all competing for grain.”                                    

-Margaret Mead.

80. "Learning is like a cow of desire. It, like her, yields in all seasons.”

– Chanakya.

81. “If you want milk, don't sit on a stool… in the hope that a cow will back up to you.”

- Richard Branson.

82. “Seen from a… perspective of diversity… we have lost out… a cow that serves as a source of sustainable energy.”

- Vandana Shiva.

83. “Men are not so much the keepers of herds as herds are the keepers of men.”

- Henry David Thoreau.

84. "It's no good crying over spilt milk; all we can do is bail up another cow."                          

-Ben Chifley.

85. “… but it is free to milk cows and to build houses, nothing more.”

-  Martin Luther.

86. “Farm animals feel pleasure and sadness, excitement… They are far more… intelligent than we ever imagined.”

- Jane Goodall.

87. “The cow is an exceptionally loving and gentle creature...”

-  Helen Weston.

88. “A curst cow hath short hornes.”

-George Herbert.

89. “It's true: Every time you kill an elk, you're saving some cow's life.”                                  

-  Edward Abbey.

90. “If one has one cow, it is always better not to be too familiar with those who have seven.”

- Phyllis Bottome.

91. “How do we get a pantomime cow on set. Jeez, the rigours of satire.”                              

-Mel Smith.

92. “Knowledge is a sacred cow, and my problem will be how we can milk her while keeping clear of her horns.”                                                                                                  

-Albert Szent-Gyorgyi.

93. “Milk is the only juice in a world of cows.”

- Munia Khan.

94. “Cows are the Devil's handmaidens.”

- Linda Howard.

95. “Who will sell the Cow, must say the word.”

-George Herbert.

96. “Every cow in the world… when they do what they do, you've got more carbon dioxide.”

-  John Boehner.

97. “Don't milk the cow too hard. She will kick you.”

-  Mason Cooley.

98. “Every sacred cow in the business has to do with economics.”

-  Gena Rowlands.

Mahatma Gandhi Cow Quotes

All cow quotes don’t come from the books. Some are spoken, such as these from Mahatma Gandhi that are felt deeply.

99. “Mother cow is as useful dead as when she is alive.”

-  Mahatma Gandhi.

100. “Cow-slaughter and man-slaughter are, in my opinion, two sides of the same coin.”

- Mahatma Gandhi.

101. “The cow is the purest type of sub-human life.”

-  Mahatma Gandhi.

102. “Cow protection means protection of the weak, the helpless… the deaf.”                        

- Mahatma Gandhi.

103. “Every species… has some distinguishing mark… can tell a man from a beast, or a dog from a cow.”

-  Mahatma Gandhi.

104. “The cow can be saved only if buffalo-breeding is given up.”

- Mahatma Gandhi.

105. “Cow protection is the gift of Hinduism to the world.”

- Mahatma Gandhi.

106. “Cow is the source of progress and prosperity.”

- Mahatma Gandhi.

Beautiful Cow Quotes

Do we really love a cow? One way to find it out is when it enters the garden, as Samuel Johnson said!

107. “Kill me but spare the cow.”

- Lokmanya Tilak.

108. “The sweet mellifluous milking of the cow.”

- Sam Walter Foss.

109. "A cow is a very good animal in the field; but we turn her out of a garden."    

-  Samuel Johnson.

110. “It is not an act of kindness to treat animals respectfully. It is an act of justice.”

- Tom Regan.

111. “I absolutely adore cows. They're the most fascinating, gentle and beautiful animals. Their eyes are so amazing...”

–Mary Quant.

112. “Rain or shine, dairy farmers care for their cows 365 days of the year!”

– Unknown*.

113. “The history of agriculture is the history of humans breeding seeds and animals to produce traits we want in our crops and livestock."                                                    

-  Michael Specter.

114. “There’s nothing like sitting back and talking to your cows.”

- Russell Crowe.

115. “Without my cattle, my wallet would be full, my house would be clean, but my heart would be empty.”

– Unknown*.

116. “Butchering your own livestock is not glamorous (especially when some were your four-legged farm friends!).”

– Brenda Knight.

117. “None show more passionate tenderness to their young… I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures.”

-Thomas de Quincey.

118. "… I'm not the one to sort of sit and cry over spilt milk. I'm too busy looking for the next cow."

- Gordon Ramsay.

Funny Cow Quotes

A joke book is always not essential for some humor in life. These funny cow quotes will keep you tickled!

119. “When you see the cows go into McDonalds, you know that their beef burgers are fresh.”  

- Anthony T. Hincks.

120. “A cow's heaven is a flower's idea of hell.”

- Oliver Gaspirtz.

121. “Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character.”

– James Dean.

122. “I can tell a good cowboy by the way he approaches a cow.”

- Henry Green.

123. “Once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger.”  

- Lady Gaga.

124. “Whoever said ‘everything happens for a reason’ has never had a cow step on her foot.”

- Whippoorwill Valley.

125. “You’re a cow, give me some milk or else go home.”

– Bob Dylan.

126. “To country people, cows are mild… all the cattle seem to know.”

– T.S. Eliot.

127. “Scrimshaw on cow horns is only common in Australia, and in the Wild West.”

-Tom Thompson.

128. “Cow-watching turned out to be a mildly pleasant duty.”

– Christian M. Frank.

129. “… man is as much a parasite on the cow as the tapeworm is on man: We have sucked their udders like leeches.”

– Stanisław Lem.

130. “Massages are very cheap in Nairobi, so the cow would be comfortable.”

– Binyavanga Wainaina.

131. “Twenty-five, he was… so it had been a long winter full of cows.”

– Jane Smiley.

132. “I was thinking about the cow thing… Or something like that.”

– Dandi Daley Mackall.

Cow Proverbs And Cow Sayings

Because cows are such useful animals, cow quotes and cow proverbs exist in most cultures. They are as meaningful as any cow quote, all they need is thoughtful reading!

They are great for using in real-life situations too! Most of these proverbs do not have specific authors as they have been traditionally passed down through generations, each generation passing the message onto the next.

133. “Settling a dispute through the law is like losing a cow for the sake of a cat.”

– Chinese proverb.

134. “A good cow may have an ill calf.”

– Scottish proverb.

135. “You master, I master, who milking the cow.”

–Turkish proverb.

136. “Religion is a cow. It gives milk, but it also kicks.”

-  Gautama Buddha.

137. “Win a cat and lose a cow — the consequence of litigation.”

– Chinese proverb.

138. “I own a cow in heaven, but I cannot drink her milk.”

– Congolese proverb.

139. “Building the fence, when the cows are all stole.”

– Thai proverb.

140. “Better a goat that can give milk than a cow that cannot.”

– Estonian proverb.

141. “Who wants yogurt in winter must carry a cow in his pocket.”

- Turkish proverb.

142. “A fool looks for dung where the cow never grazed.”

– Ethiopian proverb.

143. “Cow is the foundation of our economy.”

— Unknown*.

144. “When mother cow is cropping grass, her young one watches her mouth.”

– Nigerian proverb.

145. “The cow knows the cowherd but not the owner.”

– Ethiopian proverb.

146. “A cow is not oppressed by its own hump.”

– Swahili proverb.

147. “The old cow forgets that she was once a calf.”

– Finnish proverb.

148. “For a cow and a calf you need a man and a stable boy.”

– Sicilian proverb.

149. “A cow that has no tail should not try to chase away flies.”

– Guinean proverb.

150. “Everyone is nice till the cow gets into the garden.”

– Irish proverb.

151. “It is difficult to teach a cow to climb a tree.”

– Lithuanian proverb.

152. “Milk belongs to the cow, but the bull cow gets the publicity.”

– Malaya proverb.

153. “All cows are black in the dark.”

– Hungarian proverb.

Cow Quotes From Movies And TV Shows

If you love cows, these cow quotes from movies and TV shows are going to win your heart. What are your favorite cow movie quotes from the silver screen?

154. “The cow hasn't been born yet that can give birth to the bull that can hurt me!”

– Mitch Robbins, ‘City Slickers’.

155. “It’s a moo point. It’s like a cow’s opinion; it doesn’t matter. It’s moo.”

– Joey, ‘Friends’.

156. “Your cow is calling you.”

– Dallas, ‘Thursday’.

157. Roz: “Oh, these are so cute!”

Frank: “Honey, puppies are cute. These are just cheeseburgers with legs.”

– 'Two If By Sea'.

158. “It's time to boldly go where no cow has gone before.”

– Little Bo Peep, ‘Rock ‘N’ Rhyme’.

159. “Mitch Robbins: Those cows trusted us.”

– Mitch Robbins, 'City Slickers’.

160. "I'm going down to Cowtown

The cow's a friend to me..."

- They Might Be Giants, 'Cowtown'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 160 of the best cow quotes, sayings, and caption ideas, then why not take a look at these animal house quotes, funny animal quotes or cheese quotes too?

*Do you know where this quote originated? Please email us to let us know at hello@kidadl.com.