--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A kitten is chiefly remarkable for…" description: "\"A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever and generally stopping before it gets there.\" — Agnes Repplier" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/agnes-repplier-1850_cats_a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushi_1581882.png" --- # A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad… ![“A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever and generally stopping before it gets there.” quote by Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/agnes-repplier-1850_cats_a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushi_1581882.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/agnes-repplier-1850_cats_a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushi_1581882.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/agnes-repplier-1850_cats_a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushi_1581882.png) > “A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever and generally stopping before it gets there.” [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cats act wildly without purpose, yet often stop before reaching a goal, illustrating futile effort. **In simple terms:** Cats chase meaningless things and quit early. Key Takeaway Avoid wasted effort on meaningless pursuits. Themes futility playfulness mindfulness Mood lighthearted observational Type humorous philosophical When to use this quote - personal projects - creative work - daily routines - pet care Key Concepts behavioral observation existential humor Questions to Reflect On - Why do we sometimes pursue pointless tasks? - What can we learn from a cat’s sudden stop? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize animal behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Kitten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kitten/) [Pet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pet/) ## Related quotes > [If you're rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off you're probably going to get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/if-you-re-rushing-around-like-a-chicken-with-its-head-cut-off-you-re/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [Time was rushing around me like water around a big wet rock. The only difference is, I was not so durable as stones. Very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/time-was-rushing-around-me-like-water-around-a-big-wet-rock-the-only/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [Kittens can happen to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gallico/kittens-can-happen-to-anyone/) [Paul Gallico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gallico/) > [Kitten is in the animal world what the rosebud is in the garden; the one the most beautiful of all young creatures, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/kitten-is-in-the-animal-world-what-the-rosebud-is-in-the-garden-the/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Some innate capacity - some part of the human genetic endowment - enters into language acquisition. That much is uncontroversial among those who believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/some-innate-capacity-some-part-of-the-human-genetic-endowment-enters/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [A kitten is the most irresistible comedian in the world. Its wide-open eyes gleam with wonder and mirth. It darts madly at nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/a-kitten-is-the-most-irresistible-comedian-in-the-world-its-wide-open/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/our-dogs-will-love-and-admire-the-meanest-of-us-and-feed-our-colossal/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [It is impossible for a lover of cats to banish these alert, gentle, and discriminating friends, who give us just enough of their regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/it-is-impossible-for-a-lover-of-cats-to-banish-these-alert-gentle-and/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [But buds will be roses, and kittens, cats - more's the pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/but-buds-will-be-roses-and-kittens-cats-more-s-the-pity/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“He smiled at me, as innocent as an angel. "I will sit her all day and night. I'll camp out on your porch. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/he-smiled-at-me-as-innocent-as-an-angel-i-will-sit-her-all-day-and/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [“Charlemagne opened his mouth to protest, but immediately snapped it shut and slapped a hand over his nose, a look of disgust on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-hill/charlemagne-opened-his-mouth-to-protest-but-immediately-snapped-it/) [Stuart Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-hill/) > [Sam loved to listen to music and make his own songs, to wear soft velvets, to play in the castle kitchen beside the cooks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sam-loved-to-listen-to-music-and-make-his-own-songs-to-wear-soft/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Consciousness slipped slowly away, as he watched through gaping roof-holes pinprick stars high up, glistening against a purple sky. He thought of his mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-y-sam/consciousness-slipped-slowly-away-as-he-watched-through-gaping-roof/) J.Y. Sam > [I had rather be a Kitten, and cry mew, Than one of these same Meeter Ballad-mongers: I had rather heare a Brazen Candlestick turn'd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-had-rather-be-a-kitten-and-cry-mew-than-one-of-these-same-meeter/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Always enter like a kitten and leave like a lion. But NEVER enter like a lion and leave like a kitten. Always be humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlson-gracie/always-enter-like-a-kitten-and-leave-like-a-lion-but-never-enter-like/) [Carlson Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlson-gracie/) ## More by Agnes Repplier > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Letter-writing on the part of a busy man or woman is the quintessence of generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/letter-writing-on-the-part-of-a-busy-man-or-woman-is-the-quintessence/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [To have given pleasure to one human being is a recollection that sweetens life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/to-have-given-pleasure-to-one-human-being-is-a-recollection-that/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Believers in political faith-healing enjoy a supreme immunity from doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/believers-in-political-faith-healing-enjoy-a-supreme-immunity-from/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Philadelphians are every whit as mediocre as their neighbors, but they seldom encourage each other in mediocrity by giving it a more agreeable name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/philadelphians-are-every-whit-as-mediocre-as-their-neighbors-but-they/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [When the milk of human kindness turns sour, it is a singularly unpalatable draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/when-the-milk-of-human-kindness-turns-sour-it-is-a-singularly/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Conversation in its happiest development is a link, equally exquisite and adequate, between mind and mind, a system by which men approach one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/conversation-in-its-happiest-development-is-a-link-equally-exquisite/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [What monstrous absurdities and paradoxes have resisted whole batteries of serious arguments, and then crumbled swiftly into dust before the ringing death-knell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/what-monstrous-absurdities-and-paradoxes-have-resisted-whole/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [the labors of the true critic are more essential to the author, even, than to the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-labors-of-the-true-critic-are-more-essential-to-the-author-even/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/he-is-your-friend-your-partner-your-defender-your-dog-you-are-his/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/our-dogs-will-love-and-admire-the-meanest-of-us-and-feed-our-colossal/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Erudition, like a bloodhound, is a charming thing when held firmly in leash, but it is not so attractive when turned loose upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/erudition-like-a-bloodhound-is-a-charming-thing-when-held-firmly-in/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [There was no escape from the letter-writer who, a hundred or a hundred and twenty-five years ago, captured a coveted correspondent. It would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/there-was-no-escape-from-the-letter-writer-who-a-hundred-or-a-hundred/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Sleep sweetly in the fields of asphodel, and waken, as of old, to stretch thy languid length, and purr thy soft contentment to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/sleep-sweetly-in-the-fields-of-asphodel-and-waken-as-of-old-to/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [In the stress of modern life, how little room is left for that most comfortable vanity that whispers in our ears that failures are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/in-the-stress-of-modern-life-how-little-room-is-left-for-that-most/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) [Explore all 203 Agnes Repplier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) ## More Cats quotes > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I liked Cats as a kid, now its hard to say. I dont live in New York anymore so dont see so many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-moennig/i-liked-cats-as-a-kid-now-its-hard-to-say-i-dont-live-in-new-york/) [Katherine Moennig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-moennig/) > [“The next day, Trixie pawed Maddie awake, patting her arm gently. “I’m up,” Maddie groaned, blinking sleep out of her eyes. “Mrrow.” Trixie peered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jinty-james/the-next-day-trixie-pawed-maddie-awake-patting-her-arm-gently-i-m-up/) Jinty James > [“So Nikki came aboard as Jaqueline's spare cat, presumably in case our prime cat, Eliza, goes on vacation, takes industrial action, or requests a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-s-wren/so-nikki-came-aboard-as-jaqueline-s-spare-cat-presumably-in-case-our/) Christopher S. Wren > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [When I see things through my eyes, I don't want to ever just be really negative towards someone's performance. There are many ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/when-i-see-things-through-my-eyes-i-don-t-want-to-ever-just-be-really/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Kittens can happen to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gallico/kittens-can-happen-to-anyone/) [Paul Gallico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gallico/) > [“Curiosity killed the cat, but not before teaching her that honey bees are not sweet, tweeting birds are slow to react, mice can serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/curiosity-killed-the-cat-but-not-before-teaching-her-that-honey-bees/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Quin took on the air of someone who has just realized it's time for the yearly visit to the spinster great-aunt in a desperate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fecteau/quin-took-on-the-air-of-someone-who-has-just-realized-it-s-time-for/) [Amy Fecteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fecteau/) > [“Save for the ancient Egyptians, he found, virtually no one kept cats as pets until the latter part of the 1700s. The first people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-mcauliffe/save-for-the-ancient-egyptians-he-found-virtually-no-one-kept-cats-as/) [Kathleen McAuliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-mcauliffe/) [Browse all 3,253 Cats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever and generally stopping before it gets there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Agnes Repplier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushing-about-like-mad-at-nothing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cats" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushing-about-like-mad-at-nothing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/agnes-repplier-1850_cats_a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushi_1581882.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/agnes-repplier-1850_cats_a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushi_1581882.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/agnes-repplier-1850_cats_a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushi_1581882.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever and generally stopping before…” — Agnes Repplier", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Agnes Repplier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A kitten is chiefly remarkable for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushing-about-like-mad-at-nothing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/a-kitten-is-chiefly-remarkable-for-rushing-about-like-mad-at-nothing/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```