--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cats are like insects. They should be…" description: "\"Cats are like insects. They should be left outside to clean up the garbage.\" — Michael Mewshaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/michael-mewshaw-73585_cat_cats-are-like-insects-they-should-be-lef_1929818.jpg" --- # Cats are like insects. They should be left outside to… ![“Cats are like insects. They should be left outside to clean up the garbage.” quote by Michael Mewshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/michael-mewshaw-73585_cat_cats-are-like-insects-they-should-be-lef_1929818.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/michael-mewshaw-73585_cat_cats-are-like-insects-they-should-be-lef_1929818.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/michael-mewshaw-73585_cat_cats-are-like-insects-they-should-be-lef_1929818.jpg) > “Cats are like insects. They should be left outside to clean up the garbage.” Michael Mewshaw ## 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 compared to insects, suggesting they belong outdoors to manage waste, implying they are best kept outside. **In simple terms:** Cats should stay outside to handle garbage. Key Takeaway Keep cats outdoors for cleanliness. Themes animals hygiene boundaries Mood pragmatic critical Type observational advice When to use this quote - urban living - pet ownership - environmental sanitation Key Concepts ecology human‑animal relationships Questions to Reflect On - Do you think cats benefit indoor environments? - What are the risks of keeping cats outside? A Different Perspective Cats can provide companionship and pest control, which this view ignores. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Insects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insects/) [Left out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-out/) ## Related quotes > [Like many insects, flies are most sensitive to green light. This means that they would see their world as 'black and white,' in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dickinson/like-many-insects-flies-are-most-sensitive-to-green-light-this-means/) [Michael Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dickinson/) > [Most of the things at the zoo don't look like us. We're one design that works. Our chimp pals sort of look like us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/most-of-the-things-at-the-zoo-don-t-look-like-us-we-re-one-design/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I think I got people confidence because I was not looking at them like insects that I would film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-think-i-got-people-confidence-because-i-was-not-looking-at-them/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [If you had an alien race that looked like insects, then they would build robots to look like themselves, not to look like people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-j-anderson/if-you-had-an-alien-race-that-looked-like-insects-then-they-would/) [Kevin J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-j-anderson/) > [Vultures are homely, but they clean up all the garbage and that's good. And they're elegant in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-tory-peterson/vultures-are-homely-but-they-clean-up-all-the-garbage-and-that-s-good/) [Roger Tory Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-tory-peterson/) > [“Am thinking … she’s an owl. They like insects. I vote we feed her Roach and run for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/am-thinking-she-s-an-owl-they-like-insects-i-vote-we-feed-her-roach/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“People have no idea of the things that don't happen to them—the lives they're not living, the deaths stalking them—and thank Christ for that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/people-have-no-idea-of-the-things-that-don-t-happen-to-them-the-lives/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“like insects on a rubber sheet, we live in a universe whose true form is hidden from direct view.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/like-insects-on-a-rubber-sheet-we-live-in-a-universe-whose-true-form/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [“The words of Nils Hellstrom. There is another respect in which we must guard against becoming too much like the insects upon whom we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/the-words-of-nils-hellstrom-there-is-another-respect-in-which-we-must/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [It's time to stop pretending I'm ok with things I'm not ok with like all insects and Foster the People.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-behrendt/it-s-time-to-stop-pretending-i-m-ok-with-things-i-m-not-ok-with-like/) [Greg Behrendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-behrendt/) > [The curiosity of cats is, like their affection, of a purity and intensity rarely seen in humans. We would be jaded when faced with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/the-curiosity-of-cats-is-like-their-affection-of-a-purity-and/) [Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/) > [“Cats are like mushrooms, only you'll rarely ever hear me scream, "Get off my pizza!" to a pack of mushrooms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/cats-are-like-mushrooms-only-you-ll-rarely-ever-hear-me-scream-get/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Cats are too independent. They piss me off. They play when they want, and then they turn their back on you. Dogs, you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/cats-are-too-independent-they-piss-me-off-they-play-when-they-want/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [“Stray cats are like two-timing men. He got tired of you and took off. He doesn't find anyone new? He'll come slinking back. By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/stray-cats-are-like-two-timing-men-he-got-tired-of-you-and-took-off/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [You have learned enough to see that cats are much like you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/you-have-learned-enough-to-see-that-cats-are-much-like-you-and-me/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) ## More by Michael Mewshaw > [“Personally I like going places where I don't speak the language, don't know anybody, don't know my way around and don't have any delusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mewshaw/personally-i-like-going-places-where-i-don-t-speak-the-language-don-t/) Michael Mewshaw > [Frederick Buechner brings the reader to his knees, sometimes in laughter, sometimes in an astonishment very close to prayer, and at the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mewshaw/frederick-buechner-brings-the-reader-to-his-knees-sometimes-in/) Michael Mewshaw > [“I'm not scared of dying. I'm scared of living on and on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mewshaw/i-m-not-scared-of-dying-i-m-scared-of-living-on-and-on/) Michael Mewshaw Explore all 4 Michael Mewshaw quotes ## 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. 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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": "Cats are like insects. 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