Jane Hirshfield Quotes

You don't take your cat with you to go bird shopping. Not because the cat isn't polite, but because he's a cat.

My cat did that the other day when he came in from the garden.

Every cat knows some things need to be buried.

If I were asked to think up a new name for temptation, I should recommend the word 'doorknob', because what are these protuberances put on doors for if not to tempt us.

Dogs own space and cats own time.

Woo means the ability to entice someone or something to get what you want. My first solo album was called: All the Woo of the Universe, which was titled by George Clinton.

Cats gotta scratch. Dogs gotta bite. I gotta write.

Cats gravitate to kitchens like rocks gravitate to gravity.

Never try to outstubborn a cat.

Dogs will eat till they die. Cats will leave food in the dish, incomprehensible to a dog.

Cats are unpredictable because they're wild and domestic at the same time. Watching a cat's behavior is like a small window into the wild.

Never bet against a cat.

Bast crouched down and began making weird chittering noises. Uh-oh. She was imitating birds. I'd seen enough cats do this when they were stalking. Suddenly my own obituary flashed in my head: Carter Kane, 14, tragically died in Paris wen he was eaten by his sister's cat, Muffin.

A dog will flatter you but you have to flatter the cat.

Cats are a mysterious kind of folk.

I do not know what the cat can have eaten. Usually I know exactly what the cat has eaten. Not only have I fed it to the cat, at the cat's insistence, but the cat has thrown it up on the rug, and someone has tracked it all over onto the other rug. I do not know why cats are such habitual vomiters. They do not seem to enjoy it, judging by the sounds they make while they are doing it. It's their nature. A dog is going to bark. A cat is going to vomit.

Cats have intercepted my footsteps at the ankle for so long that my gait, both at home and on tour, has been compared to that of a man wading through low surf.

Cats always pick the laps of the people who don't like them.

Cats do not abide by the laws of nature.

Judiciously show a cat milk, if you wish her to thirst for it. Judiciously show a dog his natural prey, if you wish him to bring it down one day.

Cats don't need to be possessed; they're evil on their own.

Many a cat can only be lured in by switching off all the lights and keeping very still. Until the indignant cry of a cat-locked-out comes at the door.

The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the friend who courts her, to honor, or to harass, the unfortunate mortal who shudders at her unwelcome caresses.

He [the cat] wound himself around her legs, purring the purr of ardent desire like a kettle coming to a boil and then bubbling very fast.

The trouble with sharing one's bed with cats is that they'd rather sleep on you than beside you.