--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who'll play with cats must expect…" description: "\"Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched.\" — Miguel de Cervantes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/miguel-de-cervantes-715_cats_those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect_29178.png" --- # Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched. ![“Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched.” quote by Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/miguel-de-cervantes-715_cats_those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect_29178.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/miguel-de-cervantes-715_cats_those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect_29178.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/miguel-de-cervantes-715_cats_those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect_29178.png) > “Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched.” [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Engaging with something inherently risky or unpredictable will inevitably lead to negative consequences. **In simple terms:** Risk brings repercussions Key Takeaway Expect consequences Themes risk responsibility cause and effect human behavior animal metaphor Mood cautious reflective Type proverb advice When to use this quote - handling volatile partners - working with unpredictable teams - dealing with mischievous pets - managing risky investments Key Concepts interaction expectation boundaries Practical Applications - advice for personal relationships - guidance for business negotiations Questions to Reflect On - What risks are you overlooking? - How can you mitigate potential fallout? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Cats Expect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats-expect-421287/) [Expect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expect/) [Expect Scratched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expect-scratched-421288/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-cats-421289/) [Scratched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scratched/) ## Related quotes > [“Those who will play with cats must expect to be scratched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/those-who-will-play-with-cats-must-expect-to-be-scratched/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [Journalists often ask me when I go to the field, 'What do you expect to find?' And my answer always is, 'The unexpected,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/journalists-often-ask-me-when-i-go-to-the-field-what-do-you-expect-to/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [I don't know that many chords. I'd be loaded if I knew that many. But that's not my aim. My aim is to move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-montgomery/i-don-t-know-that-many-chords-i-d-be-loaded-if-i-knew-that-many-but/) [Wes Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-montgomery/) > [I usually just stay home and play with my cats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/i-usually-just-stay-home-and-play-with-my-cats/) [Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/) > [If not because of this 'resdung' thingy, a kind of disease which you face watery nose in the morning if you didn't wash the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-ppanther/if-not-because-of-this-resdung-thingy-a-kind-of-disease-which-you/) [Hannah PPanther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-ppanther/) > [“I shot him an unimpressed look. “Do you really think you’ll win me over by having sex with me?” He scratched at the side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/i-shot-him-an-unimpressed-look-do-you-really-think-you-ll-win-me-over/) [karina halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [“the chickens scratched,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-mierke/the-chickens-scratched/) [Sharon Mierke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-mierke/) > [I haven't scratched the surface of what I can become offensively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-gobert/i-haven-t-scratched-the-surface-of-what-i-can-become-offensively/) [Rudy Gobert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-gobert/) > [India is a country with huge potential, and it remains an attractive high priority market for PepsiCo. We believe we have only scratched the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/india-is-a-country-with-huge-potential-and-it-remains-an-attractive/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [To be honest, I still feel like I haven't scratched the surface of where I want to be. If someone asked me for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-hardrict/to-be-honest-i-still-feel-like-i-haven-t-scratched-the-surface-of/) [Cory Hardrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-hardrict/) > [“this chair where i sit and write my poems is beat up and scratched, held together with wire, tape and hope. you figure it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yamrus/this-chair-where-i-sit-and-write-my-poems-is-beat-up-and-scratched/) [John Yamrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yamrus/) > [We were poor, my mother and I, living in a world of doom and gloom, pessimism and bitterness, where storms raged and wolves scratched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-sayrafiezadeh/we-were-poor-my-mother-and-i-living-in-a-world-of-doom-and-gloom/) [Said Sayrafiezadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-sayrafiezadeh/) > [The most effective copyright protection known to man: a scratched CD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-most-effective-copyright-protection-known-to-man-a-scratched-cd/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [On the House Un-American Activities Committee: They'll nail anyone who ever scratched his ass during the National Anthem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/on-the-house-un-american-activities-committee-they-ll-nail-anyone-who/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [My left eye went when I was young. I was working the speed bag, and some steel went in the eye and scratched it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-frazier/my-left-eye-went-when-i-was-young-i-was-working-the-speed-bag-and/) [Joe Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-frazier/) ## More by Miguel de Cervantes > [Beware, gentle knight - the greatest monster of them all is reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/beware-gentle-knight-the-greatest-monster-of-them-all-is-reason/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [He had a face like a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/he-had-a-face-like-a-blessing/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and-another-to-submit-to-it/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“So it appears to me, for when he could and should have wielded his pen to praise the virtues of so good a knight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/so-it-appears-to-me-for-when-he-could-and-should-have-wielded-his-pen/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/too-much-sanity-may-be-madness-and-maddest-of-all-to-see-life-as-it/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Old, that's an affront no woman can well bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/old-that-s-an-affront-no-woman-can-well-bear/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [One should not talk of hatters in the house of the hanged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/one-should-not-talk-of-hatters-in-the-house-of-the-hanged/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [It is courage that vanquishes in war, and not good weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-courage-that-vanquishes-in-war-and-not-good-weapons/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Alas! all music jars when the soul's out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/alas-all-music-jars-when-the-soul-s-out-of-tune/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [I follow a more easy, and, in my opinion, a wiser course, namely--to inveigh against the levity of the female sex, their fickleness, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/i-follow-a-more-easy-and-in-my-opinion-a-wiser-course-namely-to/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Every man is as heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/every-man-is-as-heaven-made-him-and-sometimes-a-great-deal-worse/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Great people create great acts of kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/great-people-create-great-acts-of-kindness/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [One day, in the San Francisco walk, he came upon some badly painted figures and observed that good painters imitate nature but bad ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/one-day-in-the-san-francisco-walk-he-came-upon-some-badly-painted/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Drink moderately, for drunkeness neither keeps a secret, nor observes a promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/drink-moderately-for-drunkeness-neither-keeps-a-secret-nor-observes-a/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Be temperate in your drinking, remembering that too much wine cannot keep either a secret or a promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/be-temperate-in-your-drinking-remembering-that-too-much-wine-cannot/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) [Explore all 386 Miguel de Cervantes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) ## More Cats quotes > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [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/) > [I liked Cats as a kid, now its hard to say. I dont live in New York anymore so dont see so many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-moennig/i-liked-cats-as-a-kid-now-its-hard-to-say-i-dont-live-in-new-york/) [Katherine Moennig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-moennig/) > [“The next day, Trixie pawed Maddie awake, patting her arm gently. “I’m up,” Maddie groaned, blinking sleep out of her eyes. “Mrrow.” Trixie peered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jinty-james/the-next-day-trixie-pawed-maddie-awake-patting-her-arm-gently-i-m-up/) [Jinty James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jinty-james/) > [“So Nikki came aboard as Jaqueline's spare cat, presumably in case our prime cat, Eliza, goes on vacation, takes industrial action, or requests a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-s-wren/so-nikki-came-aboard-as-jaqueline-s-spare-cat-presumably-in-case-our/) [Christopher S. Wren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-s-wren/) > [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/) > [When I see things through my eyes, I don't want to ever just be really negative towards someone's performance. There are many ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/when-i-see-things-through-my-eyes-i-don-t-want-to-ever-just-be-really/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [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 morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [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/) > [“Curiosity killed the cat, but not before teaching her that honey bees are not sweet, tweeting birds are slow to react, mice can serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/curiosity-killed-the-cat-but-not-before-teaching-her-that-honey-bees/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Quin took on the air of someone who has just realized it's time for the yearly visit to the spinster great-aunt in a desperate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fecteau/quin-took-on-the-air-of-someone-who-has-just-realized-it-s-time-for/) [Amy Fecteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fecteau/) > [“Save for the ancient Egyptians, he found, virtually no one kept cats as pets until the latter part of the 1700s. The first people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-mcauliffe/save-for-the-ancient-egyptians-he-found-virtually-no-one-kept-cats-as/) [Kathleen McAuliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-mcauliffe/) [Browse all 3,253 Cats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miguel de Cervantes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect-to-be-scratched/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cats" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect-to-be-scratched/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/miguel-de-cervantes-715_cats_those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect_29178.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/miguel-de-cervantes-715_cats_those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect_29178.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/miguel-de-cervantes-715_cats_those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect_29178.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched.” — Miguel de Cervantes", "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": "Miguel de Cervantes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who'll play with cats must...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect-to-be-scratched/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect-to-be-scratched/#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 } } ] } ```