--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...with a cat you stand on much the same…" description: "\"...with a cat you stand on much the same footing that you stand with a fine and dignified friend; if you forfeit his respect and confidence the relatio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_with-a-cat-you-stand-on-much-the-same-fo_1991333.jpg" --- # ...with a cat you stand on much the same footing that you… ![“...with a cat you stand on much the same footing that you stand with a fine and dignified friend; if you forfeit his respect and confidence the relationship suffers. The cat, it is well to remember, remains the friend of man because it pleases him to do so and not because he must.” quote by Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_with-a-cat-you-stand-on-much-the-same-fo_1991333.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_with-a-cat-you-stand-on-much-the-same-fo_1991333.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/carl-van-vechten-27250_cat_with-a-cat-you-stand-on-much-the-same-fo_1991333.jpg) > “...with a cat you stand on much the same footing that you stand with a fine and dignified friend; if you forfeit his respect and confidence the relationship suffers. The cat, it is well to remember, remains the friend of man because it pleases him to do so and not because he must.” [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating a cat as an equal friend requires mutual respect; losing that respect harms the bond. **In simple terms:** Respect mutual respect with a cat. Key Takeaway Maintain respect to preserve the relationship. Themes respect friendship animals Mood affectionate thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - pet ownership - companionship - emotional support - relationship building Key Concepts human-animal bond mutual dignity Questions to Reflect On - How do you show respect to a pet? - What does respect look like in non-human friendships? A Different Perspective Cats may not understand human concepts of respect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Purring cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purring-cats/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [The cat, it is well to remember, remains the friend of man because it pleases him to do so and not because he must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/the-cat-it-is-well-to-remember-remains-the-friend-of-man-because-it/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [I have often seen a cat without a grin - but a grin without a cat - remember the cat kept appearing and disappearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/i-have-often-seen-a-cat-without-a-grin-but-a-grin-without-a-cat/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“The cat, I remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-cat-i-remember/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [More often than not, you fall in love with a person you can't really have, while the one who truly loves you remains either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/more-often-than-not-you-fall-in-love-with-a-person-you-can-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In misfortune, which friend remains a friend?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/in-misfortune-which-friend-remains-a-friend/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“When a friend makes a mistake, the friend remains a friend, and the mistake remains a mistake".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/when-a-friend-makes-a-mistake-the-friend-remains-a-friend-and-the/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [There is nothing in the animal world, to my mind, more delightful than grown cats at play. They are so swift and light and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-edwards/there-is-nothing-in-the-animal-world-to-my-mind-more-delightful-than/) Monica Edwards > [Holding up my purring cat to the moon. I sighed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/holding-up-my-purring-cat-to-the-moon-i-sighed/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [At dinner time he would sit in a corner, concentrating; and suddenly they would say, 'Time to feed the cat,' as if it were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-jackson-braun/at-dinner-time-he-would-sit-in-a-corner-concentrating-and-suddenly/) [Lilian Jackson Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-jackson-braun/) > [You cannot look at a sleeping cat and feel tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-pauley/you-cannot-look-at-a-sleeping-cat-and-feel-tense/) [Jane Pauley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-pauley/) > [God has made the cat to give man the pleasure of caressing the tiger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/god-has-made-the-cat-to-give-man-the-pleasure-of-caressing-the-tiger/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I simply can´t resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, outside of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-simply-can-t-resist-a-cat-particularly-a-purring-one-they-are-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The trouble with sharing one's bed with cats is that they'd rather sleep on you than beside you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-trouble-with-sharing-one-s-bed-with-cats-is-that-they-d-rather/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Thought subsides when you pet your dog or you have a purring cat on your chest. Even just watching an animal can take you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thought-subsides-when-you-pet-your-dog-or-you-have-a-purring-cat-on/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [For every house is incomplete without him, and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-smart/for-every-house-is-incomplete-without-him-and-a-blessing-is-lacking/) [Christopher Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-smart/) ## More by Carl Van Vechten > [The cat seldom interferes with other people's rights. His intelligence keeps him from doing many of the fool things that complicate life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/the-cat-seldom-interferes-with-other-people-s-rights-his-intelligence/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Cleanliness in the cat world is usually a virtue put above godliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/cleanliness-in-the-cat-world-is-usually-a-virtue-put-above-godliness/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Is a little experience too much to pay for learning to know oneself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/is-a-little-experience-too-much-to-pay-for-learning-to-know-oneself/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [I've photographed everybody from Matisse to Isamu Noguchi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/i-ve-photographed-everybody-from-matisse-to-isamu-noguchi/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [There is, indeed, no single quality of the cat that man could not emulate to his advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/there-is-indeed-no-single-quality-of-the-cat-that-man-could-not/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [A cat is never vulgar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/a-cat-is-never-vulgar/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [The lack of imagination or invention most people display in naming pussies is almost beyond credence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/the-lack-of-imagination-or-invention-most-people-display-in-naming/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Catnip is vodka and whisky to most cats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/catnip-is-vodka-and-whisky-to-most-cats/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [There are ... two kinds of people in this world, those who long to be understood and those who long to be misunderstood. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-those-who-long-to-be/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Cats have gnosis to a degree that is granted to few bishops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/cats-have-gnosis-to-a-degree-that-is-granted-to-few-bishops/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Note 4. For these and other reasons the cat is also very hard to photograph. The best photographs are instantaneous, as the mere breathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/note-4-for-these-and-other-reasons-the-cat-is-also-very-hard-to/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [As an inspiration to the author, I do not think the cat can be over-estimated. He suggests so much grace, power, beauty, motion, mysticism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/as-an-inspiration-to-the-author-i-do-not-think-the-cat-can-be-over/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [The cat, it is well to remember, remains the friend of man because it pleases him to do so and not because he must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/the-cat-it-is-well-to-remember-remains-the-friend-of-man-because-it/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [An ordinary kitten will ask more questions than any five-year-old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/an-ordinary-kitten-will-ask-more-questions-than-any-five-year-old/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) > [Paris is not a city I should care to approach for the first time after I had passed forty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-van-vechten/paris-is-not-a-city-i-should-care-to-approach-for-the-first-time/) [Carl Van Vechten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) [Explore all 20 Carl Van Vechten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-van-vechten/) ## More Cat quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [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/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [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/) > [If you ask me to tell you anything about the nature of what lies beyond the phaneron… my answer is “How should I know?”……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/if-you-ask-me-to-tell-you-anything-about-the-nature-of-what-lies/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [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 olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [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/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Man wishes woman to be peaceable, but in fact she is essentially warlike, like the cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-wishes-woman-to-be-peaceable-but-in-fact-she-is-essentially/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are videos I used to take at home, pretending to be a newscaster, interviewing the teapot or my house cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wagner/there-are-videos-i-used-to-take-at-home-pretending-to-be-a-newscaster/) [Alex Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wagner/) [Browse all 2,996 Cat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...with a cat you stand on much the same footing that you stand with a fine and dignified friend; if you forfeit his respect and confidence the relationship suffers. 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