--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cat-Ideas and Mouse-Ideas. We can never…" description: "\"Cat-Ideas and Mouse-Ideas. We can never get rid of mouse-ideas completely, they keep turning up again and again, and nibble, nibble-no matter how often..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/samuel-butler-823_again-and-again_cat-ideas-and-mouse-ideas-we-can-never-g_2187952.jpg" --- # Cat-Ideas and Mouse-Ideas. We can never get rid of… ![“Cat-Ideas and Mouse-Ideas. We can never get rid of mouse-ideas completely, they keep turning up again and again, and nibble, nibble-no matter how often we drive them off. The best way to keep them down is to have a few good strong cat-ideas which will embrace them and ensure their not reappearing…” quote by Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/samuel-butler-823_again-and-again_cat-ideas-and-mouse-ideas-we-can-never-g_2187952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/samuel-butler-823_again-and-again_cat-ideas-and-mouse-ideas-we-can-never-g_2187952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/samuel-butler-823_again-and-again_cat-ideas-and-mouse-ideas-we-can-never-g_2187952.jpg) > “Cat-Ideas and Mouse-Ideas. We can never get rid of mouse-ideas completely, they keep turning up again and again, and nibble, nibble-no matter how often we drive them off. The best way to keep them down is to have a few good strong cat-ideas which will embrace them and ensure their not reappearing till they do so in another shape.” [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas that persist despite attempts to discard them can be managed by stronger, constructive thoughts that transform them. **In simple terms:** Persistent thoughts need stronger, positive ideas to reshape them. Key Takeaway Cultivate strong, positive ideas to transform lingering thoughts. Themes psychology self‑improvement thought‑management Mood reflective determined Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - habit change - stress coping - creative problem solving Key Concepts cognitive restructuring mindfulness resilience Questions to Reflect On - What lingering thoughts could be reframed by stronger ideas? - How can you nurture “cat‑ideas” daily? A Different Perspective Strong ideas may not fully eliminate old patterns, only reframe them. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Again and again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/again-and-again/) [Best way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-way/) [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cat Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat-ideas-2491545/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Embrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embrace/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-mouse-4754712/) [Ideas Rid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-rid-4754713/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Mice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mice/) [Mouse Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouse-ideas-2491546/) [Rid Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rid-mouse-2491547/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“We can never get rid of mouse-ideas completely, they keep turning up again and again, and nibble, nibble--no matter how often we drive them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/we-can-never-get-rid-of-mouse-ideas-completely-they-keep-turning-up/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [You have to get rid of borders, limits, and classifications; then light comes. We see everything on the screen of our ideas. We must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/you-have-to-get-rid-of-borders-limits-and-classifications-then-light/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [If you find that the reader of popular romances--however uneducated a reader, however bad the romances--goes back to his old favourites again and again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-you-find-that-the-reader-of-popular-romances-however-uneducated-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [You are great young people. I have said again and again, we have the finest generation of young people ever in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/you-are-great-young-people-i-have-said-again-and-again-we-have-the/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [The key to longevity is to keep doing what you do better than anyone else. We work real hard at that. 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Go on closing the chapters that you have read; there is no need to go back again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/don-t-be-unnecessarily-burdened-by-the-past-go-on-closing-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [After this happens again and again, we reach a point were there is nothing but satori, which is what nirvikalpa samadhi is like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/after-this-happens-again-and-again-we-reach-a-point-were-there-is/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Again and again I tell God I need help, and God says, 'Well, isn't that fabulous? Because I need help too. So you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/again-and-again-i-tell-god-i-need-help-and-god-says-well-isn-t-that/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Because when you work with a different team, the expectations are different and then you deliver in a very different way. You look back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/because-when-you-work-with-a-different-team-the-expectations-are/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Samuel Butler > [Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question-for-an-embryo-not-for-a-man/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. 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Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/vaccination-is-the-medical-sacrament-corresponding-to-baptism-whether/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/having-then-once-introduced-an-element-of-inconsistency-into-his/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It is not sufficiently considered in the hour of exultation, that all human excellence is comparative; that no man performs much but in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-not-sufficiently-considered-in-the-hour-of-exultation-that-all/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-oldest-books-are-still-only-just-out-to-those-who-have-not-read/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) [Explore all 355 Samuel Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## More Again and again quotes > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. 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