---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever an animal is frightened…"
description: "\"“Whenever an animal is frightened, particularly a cat, it runs away to get over its disgrace. In the case of a feline such an experience of disgrace re..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/dhan-gopal-mukerji-49705_animals_whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particu_824697.jpg"
---

#  Whenever an animal is frightened, particularly a cat, it…

![“Whenever an animal is frightened, particularly a cat, it runs away to get over its disgrace. In the case of a feline such an experience of disgrace remains forever in its character and memory. Fear may take some time to teach, but once it has been learned it can rarely be shaken out of a creature…” quote by Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/dhan-gopal-mukerji-49705_animals_whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particu_824697.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/dhan-gopal-mukerji-49705_animals_whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particu_824697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/dhan-gopal-mukerji-49705_animals_whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particu_824697.jpg)

> ““Whenever an animal is frightened, particularly a cat, it runs away to get over its disgrace. In the case of a feline such an experience of disgrace remains forever in its character and memory. Fear may take some time to teach, but once it has been learned it can rarely be shaken out of a creature. In the case of a man, thought can be re-educated and through thought his own character can be recast. But animals who are mostly victims of their own habits, unless we, their man-friends, take infinite pains, are rarely de-habituated. More than man, an animal's character is but the sum total of its habits. These are formed by violent emotions such as fear.””

[Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote compares animal fear and habit to human character, suggesting that while animals are stuck in habits, humans can reshape thoughts and character through deliberate effort.

**In simple terms:** Animals are bound by fear; humans can change through thought.

Key Takeaway

Use reflection to break negative habits.

Themes

psychology behavior habit formation

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

self‑help observational

When to use this quote

- therapy
- education
- personal development
- animal training

Key Concepts

fear conditioning habit loops cognitive restructuring

Questions to Reflect On

- What habits in your life are rooted in fear?
- How can you re-educate your thoughts to reshape character?

A Different Perspective

Changing deep habits requires sustained effort and support.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/)

## Related quotes

> [“things Are of one pattern made; bird, beast, and flower, Song, picture, form, space, thought, and character, Deceive us, seeming to be many things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-k-cowan/things-are-of-one-pattern-made-bird-beast-and-flower-song-picture/)

Laura K. Cowan

> [I thought of the character being real, a living person, not a drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ollie-johnston/i-thought-of-the-character-being-real-a-living-person-not-a-drawing/)

Ollie Johnston

> [I've always thought of myself as a character actor, even though I've played some leading-man roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gets/i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-character-actor-even-though-i-ve/)

[Malcolm Gets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gets/)

> [“My position is for one to be thought of as a CHARACTER is totally different from one having CHARACTER.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/my-position-is-for-one-to-be-thought-of-as-a-character-is-totally/)

[Donavan Nelson Butler, Master Sergeant US Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/)

> [ The \[character\] that I was able to crawl into the most was Lilo from Lilo &amp; Stitch. This was sort of a cartoony-looking girl,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-deja/the-character-that-i-was-able-to-crawl-into-the-most-was-lilo-from/)

[Andreas Deja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-deja/)

> [They didn't accept me theory - not a theory, but just a thought I had about this character. I noticed that this man only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-sharif/they-didn-t-accept-me-theory-not-a-theory-but-just-a-thought-i-had/)

[Omar Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-sharif/)

> [I've always thought of myself as more of a character actress. I've tried to do different things, but I've always been under the radar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-byrne/i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-more-of-a-character-actress-i-ve/)

[Rose Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-byrne/)

> [ I remember working with Jackie Chan on Shanghai Noon \[2000\], and when we were working on the script, I thought that my character thought… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wilson/i-remember-working-with-jackie-chan-on-shanghai-noon-2000-and-when-we/)

[Owen Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wilson/)

> [A character who is thought-out is not born, he or she is contrived. A born character is round, a thought-out character is flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/a-character-who-is-thought-out-is-not-born-he-or-she-is-contrived-a/)

[Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/)

> [It's interesting that some people reading the comics see Scott Pilgrim as a blank slate in that they like to imagine themselves as Scott…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/it-s-interesting-that-some-people-reading-the-comics-see-scott/)

[Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/)

> [“Thought and character are one, and as character can only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance, the outer conditions of a person's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/thought-and-character-are-one-and-as-character-can-only-manifest-and/)

[James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/)

> [There is something out of gear about graded schools and all that. Memory is developed at the expense of what in general we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-orne-jewett/there-is-something-out-of-gear-about-graded-schools-and-all-that/)

[Sarah Orne Jewett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-orne-jewett/)

> [One must be rich in thought and character to owe nothing to books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/one-must-be-rich-in-thought-and-character-to-owe-nothing-to-books/)

[Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/)

> [“My kinfolks thought more about character than about culture. They said culture could be acquired but character had to be formed. Character had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-robertson/my-kinfolks-thought-more-about-character-than-about-culture-they-said/)

[Ben Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-robertson/)

> [ I was surprised by how much of it I was in \[Tron: Legacy\]. I thought the character was just going to register as a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frain/i-was-surprised-by-how-much-of-it-i-was-in-tron-legacy-i-thought-the/)

[James Frain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frain/)

## More by Dhan Gopal Mukerji

> [“Never go to sleep with bad thoughts and torturing memories. They will not help you to wake up whole and fully serene—the two states…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/never-go-to-sleep-with-bad-thoughts-and-torturing-memories-they-will/)

[Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/)

> [“Have you ever heard silence? It is not a stillness which is the absence of sound. Silence is not empty, it is full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/have-you-ever-heard-silence-it-is-not-a-stillness-which-is-the/)

[Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/)

> [“No beast of prey can kill its victim without frightening him first. In fact, no animal perishes until its destroyer strikes terror into its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/no-beast-of-prey-can-kill-its-victim-without-frightening-him-first-in/)

[Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/)

> [“What was most surprising, she was giving him the hardest thing to do first, but by failure at the great one he was learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/what-was-most-surprising-she-was-giving-him-the-hardest-thing-to-do/)

[Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/)

> [“Fear is taught by grown up men and beasts to their young. Once we learn to be afraid, we rarely shake off the habit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/fear-is-taught-by-grown-up-men-and-beasts-to-their-young-once-we/)

[Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/)

> [“Whatever we think and feel will colour what we say or do. He who fears, even unconsciously, or has his least little dream tainted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/whatever-we-think-and-feel-will-colour-what-we-say-or-do-he-who-fears/)

[Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/)

[Explore all 7 Dhan Gopal Mukerji quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/)

## More Animal quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

Mak\_786

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/)

[Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/)

[Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/)

[Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/)

[Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Whenever an animal is frightened, particularly a cat, it runs away to get over its disgrace. In the case of a feline such an experience of disgrace remains forever in its character and memory. Fear may take some time to teach, but once it has been learned it can rarely be shaken out of a creature. In the case of a man, thought can be re-educated and through thought his own character can be recast. But animals who are mostly victims of their own habits, unless we, their man-friends, take infinite pains, are rarely de-habituated. More than man, an animal's character is but the sum total of its habits. These are formed by violent emotions such as fear.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dhan Gopal Mukerji"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particularly-a-cat-it-runs-away-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particularly-a-cat-it-runs-away-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/dhan-gopal-mukerji-49705_animals_whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particu_824697.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/dhan-gopal-mukerji-49705_animals_whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particu_824697.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/dhan-gopal-mukerji-49705_animals_whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particu_824697.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Whenever an animal is frightened, particularly a cat, it runs away to get over its disgrace. In the case of…” — Dhan Gopal Mukerji",
                "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": "Dhan Gopal Mukerji",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Whenever an animal is frightened, particularly...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particularly-a-cat-it-runs-away-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/whenever-an-animal-is-frightened-particularly-a-cat-it-runs-away-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
