Cats Quote by Matthew De Abaitua
““And yet, and yet… the cat yawned, eyes closed, and the twitching of its ears resumed. But they did not loop. Not right away. The cat’s data stream was ongoing, and it was a rich seam of data. For a quantified family, being able to slip on a sensesuit and experience what their cat had been up to that day was a selling point of the technology. The mother and daughter were hidden from him. But the cat – white whiskers, tiger-striping, green iris and sharp oval pupils – the cat was open source.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Machine Stops, Matthew De Abaitua, 2023
The quote imagines a future where people can stream a pet’s sensory experience, highlighting both the intimacy and the commodification of animal consciousness.
In simple terms: Tech lets humans feel what a cat feels, but also treats the cat as a data product.
Key Takeaway
Consider the ethics of turning living beings into data sources.
Themes
technology
ethics
human‑animal relationship
privacy
commodification
Mood
curious
uneasy
speculative
Type
fictional
technological
ethical
When to use this quote
- home entertainment
- virtual pet care
- research on animal perception
- marketing tech devices
Key Concepts
surveillance
data streaming
augmented reality
animal consciousness
Questions to Reflect On
- What are the moral limits of using animals for data?
- How does this change our view of pets?
A Different Perspective
The experience may reduce genuine connection, turning empathy into a consumable product.
