--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who…" description: "\"You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.\" — George Mikes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/george-mikes-4493_animal_you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who_3019582.png" --- # You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who keeps people… ![“You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.” quote by George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/george-mikes-4493_animal_you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who_3019582.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/george-mikes-4493_animal_you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who_3019582.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/george-mikes-4493_animal_you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who_3019582.png) > “You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.” [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cats are portrayed as the ones who truly benefit from humans, reversing typical pet dynamics. **In simple terms:** Cats find humans useful, not the other way around. Key Takeaway Recognize the mutual benefits in human‑animal relationships. Themes pet human‑animal relationship humor Mood lighthearted reflective Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - home life - pet ownership - animal behavior Key Concepts symbiosis dependency Questions to Reflect On - Do we truly serve cats or vice versa? - How do cats influence human routines? A Different Perspective Cats also require care and can be burdensome. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cat Keeps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat-keeps-4882034/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Cats Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats-humans-4027444/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Domestic Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domestic-animals-685034/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Keeps People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeps-people-1621661/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-cats-1166864/) ## Related quotes > [“Cats and humans have been partners for over ten thousand years. 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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": "You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Mikes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who-keeps-people-because-cats/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who-keeps-people-because-cats/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/george-mikes-4493_animal_you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who_3019582.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/george-mikes-4493_animal_you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who_3019582.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d4/george-mikes-4493_animal_you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who_3019582.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.” — George Mikes", "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": "George Mikes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can keep a dog: but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who-keeps-people-because-cats/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who-keeps-people-because-cats/#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 } } ] } ```