--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Rats will eat birdfeed for as long as…" description: "\"“Rats will eat birdfeed for as long as they're mazed and fed.”\" — Peter Sotos" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/peter-sotos-30958_hopelessness_rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-th_1535699.png" --- # Rats will eat birdfeed for as long as they're mazed and fed. ![“Rats will eat birdfeed for as long as they're mazed and fed.” quote by Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/peter-sotos-30958_hopelessness_rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-th_1535699.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/peter-sotos-30958_hopelessness_rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-th_1535699.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/peter-sotos-30958_hopelessness_rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-th_1535699.png) > ““Rats will eat birdfeed for as long as they're mazed and fed.”” [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When basic needs are met, individuals may become complacent and lose critical awareness, leading to vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Complacency arises when needs are satisfied without challenge. Key Takeaway Maintain vigilance despite comfort. Themes complacency vulnerability awareness survival instincts Mood cautionary reflective Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - daily routines - financial security - health habits - education programs Key Concepts psychology behavioral economics risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What comforts make you less alert? - How can you stay critical? A Different Perspective Comfort can breed neglect of threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hopelessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopelessness/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“And the rats eat my face. So what.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/and-the-rats-eat-my-face-so-what/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“I smoke cigarettes, sit for hours without food or sleep, and torment myself in every possible way—yet I still call myself a great lover.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devashish-kaushik/i-smoke-cigarettes-sit-for-hours-without-food-or-sleep-and-torment/) Devashish kaushik > [All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/all-who-live-in-tyranny-and-hopelessness-can-know-the-united-states/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [So it can be for us as we allow the stirrings of hope to motivate us to action; and then as we act so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-baxter/so-it-can-be-for-us-as-we-allow-the-stirrings-of-hope-to-motivate-us/) [David S. Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-baxter/) > [“Trees lose their leaves in blizzards like these.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashly-lorenzana/trees-lose-their-leaves-in-blizzards-like-these/) [Ashly Lorenzana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashly-lorenzana/) > [There is the extreme of hopelessness and the inevitability of doom, a deep despair that comes from the sense that our industrial, consuming society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/there-is-the-extreme-of-hopelessness-and-the-inevitability-of-doom-a/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [“Who’s gonna bring the wild animals some hope? If we don’t love them the way they are..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/who-s-gonna-bring-the-wild-animals-some-hope-if-we-don-t-love-them/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [What I learned at home was despair and hopelessness. What I learned at the pictures was don't give up the ship, we have only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/what-i-learned-at-home-was-despair-and-hopelessness-what-i-learned-at/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-a-last-violent-protest-against-the-hopelessness-of-imminent-death/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [A good movie can take you out of your dull funk and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theatre; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/a-good-movie-can-take-you-out-of-your-dull-funk-and-the-hopelessness/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [“If you become so frightened of realities that are not your own, if you take upon yourselves tragedies that do not exist in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/if-you-become-so-frightened-of-realities-that-are-not-your-own-if-you/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“Ümitsizlik özfarkındalık uğruna ödenen bedeldir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mitsizlik-zfark-ndal-k-u-runa-denen-bedeldir/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-dad-was-a-bartender-my-mom-was-a-cashier-a-maid-and-a-stock-clerk/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) ## More by Peter Sotos > [Most of my books have caused distribution and printing problems in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/most-of-my-books-have-caused-distribution-and-printing-problems-in/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [I don't sell enough books to pay for the lawyers, however. And these various problems finally became too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/i-don-t-sell-enough-books-to-pay-for-the-lawyers-however-and-these/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [Im not trying to do conceptual art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/im-not-trying-to-do-conceptual-art/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [“Pornography won’t be enough. Because it never is. Sooner or later, all niggers want to touch the real thing. All dogs want to smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/pornography-won-t-be-enough-because-it-never-is-sooner-or-later-all/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [If you look at the publishers I've worked with, generally, they're a great bunch. Creation is unlike any other publishing house you can think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/if-you-look-at-the-publishers-i-ve-worked-with-generally-they-re-a/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [I don't publish the books to make money, not at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/i-don-t-publish-the-books-to-make-money-not-at-all/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [But, right now, the situation is that almost all of my writing is out of print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/but-right-now-the-situation-is-that-almost-all-of-my-writing-is-out/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [Further, for once, I like the idea that people who think I'm a constant voice for the furthering of the imagination have to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/further-for-once-i-like-the-idea-that-people-who-think-i-m-a-constant/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [Further, I'm obsessed with how language contorts and creates bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/further-i-m-obsessed-with-how-language-contorts-and-creates-bodies/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [The book grew out of the introduction I did for Brady's Gates of Janus. I knew that the writing in that introduction had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/the-book-grew-out-of-the-introduction-i-did-for-brady-s-gates-of/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [My introduction to the Brady book was an attempt to nail the exact same idea since Brady addressed the point. And since I write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/my-introduction-to-the-brady-book-was-an-attempt-to-nail-the-exact/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [And books that were published in much larger numbers than Selfish, Little are hard to find. And publishers who wanted to publish my last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/and-books-that-were-published-in-much-larger-numbers-than-selfish/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [Writing is the one art form that really should allow you to hang yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/writing-is-the-one-art-form-that-really-should-allow-you-to-hang/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [Once again, I think there is little art being done that really owns up to such intense possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/once-again-i-think-there-is-little-art-being-done-that-really-owns-up/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [I'm not trying to do conceptual art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/i-m-not-trying-to-do-conceptual-art/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) [Explore all 17 Peter Sotos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) ## More Hopelessness quotes > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-dad-was-a-bartender-my-mom-was-a-cashier-a-maid-and-a-stock-clerk/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“Ümitsizlik özfarkındalık uğruna ödenen bedeldir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mitsizlik-zfark-ndal-k-u-runa-denen-bedeldir/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“If you become so frightened of realities that are not your own, if you take upon yourselves tragedies that do not exist in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/if-you-become-so-frightened-of-realities-that-are-not-your-own-if-you/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [A good movie can take you out of your dull funk and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theatre; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/a-good-movie-can-take-you-out-of-your-dull-funk-and-the-hopelessness/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-a-last-violent-protest-against-the-hopelessness-of-imminent-death/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [What I learned at home was despair and hopelessness. What I learned at the pictures was don't give up the ship, we have only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/what-i-learned-at-home-was-despair-and-hopelessness-what-i-learned-at/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [“Who’s gonna bring the wild animals some hope? If we don’t love them the way they are..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/who-s-gonna-bring-the-wild-animals-some-hope-if-we-don-t-love-them/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [There is the extreme of hopelessness and the inevitability of doom, a deep despair that comes from the sense that our industrial, consuming society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/there-is-the-extreme-of-hopelessness-and-the-inevitability-of-doom-a/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [“Trees lose their leaves in blizzards like these.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashly-lorenzana/trees-lose-their-leaves-in-blizzards-like-these/) [Ashly Lorenzana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashly-lorenzana/) > [So it can be for us as we allow the stirrings of hope to motivate us to action; and then as we act so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-baxter/so-it-can-be-for-us-as-we-allow-the-stirrings-of-hope-to-motivate-us/) [David S. Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-baxter/) > [All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/all-who-live-in-tyranny-and-hopelessness-can-know-the-united-states/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“I smoke cigarettes, sit for hours without food or sleep, and torment myself in every possible way—yet I still call myself a great lover.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devashish-kaushik/i-smoke-cigarettes-sit-for-hours-without-food-or-sleep-and-torment/) Devashish kaushik > [“You’ve had many ordeals in the past. During these ordeals, life seemed unbearable. You may have collapsed from the exhaustion of hopelessness and curled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-talmage-mathis/you-ve-had-many-ordeals-in-the-past-during-these-ordeals-life-seemed/) [John-Talmage Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-talmage-mathis/) [Browse all 513 Hopelessness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopelessness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Rats will eat birdfeed for as long as they're mazed and fed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Sotos" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-they-re-mazed-and-fed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hopelessness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-they-re-mazed-and-fed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/peter-sotos-30958_hopelessness_rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-th_1535699.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/peter-sotos-30958_hopelessness_rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-th_1535699.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/729/peter-sotos-30958_hopelessness_rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-th_1535699.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Rats will eat birdfeed for as long as they're mazed and fed.” — Peter Sotos", "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": "Peter Sotos", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Rats will eat birdfeed for as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-they-re-mazed-and-fed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/rats-will-eat-birdfeed-for-as-long-as-they-re-mazed-and-fed/#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 } } ] } ```