40+ Mark Twain Cat Quotes From The Author Of 'Tom Sawyer'

Oluwatosin Michael
Dec 12, 2023 By Oluwatosin Michael
Originally Published on Mar 02, 2021
Edited by Isobel Murphy
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
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Age: 0-99
Read time: 7.5 Min

Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

He was a hugely famous American writer, humorist, lecturer, entrepreneur, and publisher. But he was also known for his love for cats.

Cats were his favorite animal, who he clearly said that he respected more than people. He loved them for their aloofness to humans. For all the cat lovers out there, here are the best Mark Twain cat quotes to help you express your admiration for cats.

For more famous quotes from the famous author, check out these Mark Twain quotes and 'Tom Sawyer' quotes too.

Cat Lovers Quotes By Mark Twain

Red Maine Coon kitten.

If you are a cat lover, this might be the perfect set of quotes for you. These famous quotes explain why, in Twain's eyes, cats are the best.

1."When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction."

-Mark Twain.

2. "Every waking moment was precious to her; in it she would find something useful to do -- and if she ran out of material and couldn't find anything else to do she would have kittens.

She always kept us supplied, and her families were of choice quality. She herself was a three-colored tortoise-shell, but she had no prejudices of breed, creed, or caste. "

-Mark Twain, ‘Autobiography Of Mark Twain’.

3.

"The worship of royalty being found in unreason, these graceful and harmless cats would easily become as sacred as any other royalties, and indeed more so, because it would presently be noticed that they hanged nobody, beheaded nobody, imprisoned nobody, inflicted no cruelties or injustices of any sort, and so must be worthy of a deeper love and reverence than the customary human king, and would certainly get it."

-Mark Twain.

4."They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course."

-Mark Twain.

5.“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?”

-Mark Twain.

6."Yes, he's your friend, if you like, but you got to treat him like a gentleman, there ain't any other terms."

-Mark Twain.

7.“I simply can't resist a cat, particularly a purring one.”

-Mark Twain.

8.“If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat.”

-Mark Twain.

9.“Whenever he was out of luck and a little down-hearted, he would fall to mourning over the loss of a wonderful cat he used to.”

-Mark Twain.

Mark Twain's Funny Cat Quotes

These are some famous Mark Twain cat quotes to lighten your mood.

10."There is nothing of continental or inter-national interest to communicate about those cats."

-Mark Twain.

11."If it was the table she would squat, and measure the distance, and make a leap, and land in the wrong place, owing to newness to the business; and, part of her going too far and sliding over the edge, she would scramble, and claw at things desperately, and save herself and make good."

-Mark Twain.

12.“ None but the humane treat a cat well.”

- Mark Twain, ‘Winter-End Excursion To The Sutherd’.

13.“Ignorant people think it is the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it is the sickening grammar that they use.”

-Mark Twain.

14."I like a thin book because it will steady a table, a leather volume because it will stop a razor, and a heavy book because it can be thrown at a cat."

-Mark Twain.

15.“I knew a man who grabbed a cat by the tail and learned forty percent more about cats than the man who didn't.”

-Mark Twain.

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

-Mark Twain.

17.“I saw a cat yesterday with 4 legs and yet it was only a yellow cat, and rather small, too, for its size.”

-Mark Twain.

18.“One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.”

-Mark Twain.

19.“While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats.”

-Mark Twain.

Mark Twain's Famous Quotes About Cats

The most famous cat quotes for people who love cats to celebrate their cats with. Will you find your favorite cat love quote among these famous quotes?

20.“Cats are the wildest of the tame and the tamest of the wild.”

-Mark Twain.

21.“That cat will write her autograph all over your leg if you let her.”

-Mark Twain.

22."That's the way with a cat, you know -- any cat; they don't give a damn for discipline. "

-Mark Twain.

23."Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat."

-Mark Twain.

24."...

the person that had took a bull by the tail once had learnt sixty or seventy times as much as a person that hadn't, and said a person that started in to carry a cat home by the tail was getting knowledge that was always going to be useful to him, and warn't ever going to grow dim or doubtful."

-Mark Twain, 'Tom Sawyer Abroad'.

25."They would be as useful as any other royal family, they would know as much, they would have the same virtues and the same treacheries, the same disposition to get up shindies with other royal cats..."

-Mark Twain.

26."Still looking at us in that disconcerting way, she tilted her head first to one side and then the other, inquiringly and cogitatively, the way a cat does when she has struck the unexpected and can't quite make out what she had better do about it."

-Mark Twain.

27."A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test."

- Mark Twain, ‘Winter-End Excursion To The Sutherd’.

28.“One of them likes to be crammed into a corner-pocket of the billiard table -- which he fits as snugly as does a finger in a glove and then he watches the game (and obstructs it) by the hour, and spoils many a shot by putting out his paw and changing the direction of a passing ball.”

-Mark Twain.

29.“If you shamefully misuse a cat once she will always maintain a dignified reserve toward you afterward.”

-Mark Twain.

30."The billowy mountains showed all sorts of dainty browns and greens, blues and purples and black, and the rounded velvety backs of certain of them made one want to stroke them, as one would the sleek back of a cat."

-Mark Twain.

31."He was sure that a royal family of cats would answer every purpose."

- Mark Twain, ‘A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court’.

32."When you could see she was getting her bearings well lodged in her head and was satisfied with the place and the arrangements, she relaxed her intensities, and got to purring a little to herself, and praisefully waving her tail between inspections."

-Mark Twain.

33.“... the cat was there- in sunny weather- stretched at full length, asleep and blissful, with her furry belly to the sun and a paw curved over her nose.”

-Mark Twain.

34."I urged that kings were dangerous. He said, then have cats."

- Mark Twain, ‘A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court’.

35."Keep an eye on her, that's no orthodox cat, she's an imitation, there's a flaw in her make-up..."

- Mark Twain, 'The Mysterious Stranger'.

36.“The man who sets out to carry a cat by its tail learns something that will always be useful and which never will grow dim or doubtful.”

-Mark Twain.

37.“The cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid, will not sit upon a hot stove lid again. Nor upon a cold stove lid.”

-Mark Twain.

38.“A cat is more intelligent than people believe, and can be taught any crime.”

-Mark Twain.

39.“Some people scorn a cat and think it not an essential; but the Clemens tribe are not of these.”

-Mark Twain.

40."You may say a cat uses good grammar. Well, a cat does -- but you let a cat get excited once; you let a cat get to pulling fur with another cat on a shed, nights, and you'll hear grammar that will give you the lockjaw. "

-Mark Twain.

41.“She stopped with the one side, and looked bored, and as if she had only been doing it to put in the time, and wished she could think of something else to do to put in some more time.”

-Mark Twain.

42.“... a cat's plans and a man's are worth about the same. There is much the same shrinkage in both, in the matter of values.”

-Mark Twain.

43."In an hour I taught a cat and a dog to be friends."

-Mark Twain.

44.“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.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Mark Twain cat quotes, then why not take a look at these black cat quotes or [rescue dog quotes] for more famous animal quotes from inspiring people?

 

Main image credit: Fertas / Shutterstock.com

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Written by Oluwatosin Michael

Bachelor of Science specializing in Microbiology

Oluwatosin Michael picture

Oluwatosin MichaelBachelor of Science specializing in Microbiology

With a Bachelor's in Microbiology from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Oluwatosin has honed his skills as an SEO content writer, editor, and growth manager. He has written articles, conducted extensive research, and optimized content for search engines. His expertise extends to leading link-building efforts and revising onboarding strategies. 

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