--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes she could swear that she saw…" description: "\"“Sometimes she could swear that she saw, in Joe Grey's eyes, a judgment far too perceptive, a watchfulness too aware and intense for any cat. Charlie d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/shirley-rousseau-murphy-44289_animals_sometimes-she-could-swear-that-she-saw-i_2269894.jpg" --- # Sometimes she could swear that she saw, in Joe Grey's… ![“Sometimes she could swear that she saw, in Joe Grey's eyes, a judgment far too perceptive, a watchfulness too aware and intense for any cat. Charlie didn't understand what it was about those two [cats]. Both had a presence that set them apart from other felines. Maybe she just knew them better…” quote by Shirley Rousseau Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/shirley-rousseau-murphy-44289_animals_sometimes-she-could-swear-that-she-saw-i_2269894.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/shirley-rousseau-murphy-44289_animals_sometimes-she-could-swear-that-she-saw-i_2269894.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/shirley-rousseau-murphy-44289_animals_sometimes-she-could-swear-that-she-saw-i_2269894.jpg) > ““Sometimes she could swear that she saw, in Joe Grey's eyes, a judgment far too perceptive, a watchfulness too aware and intense for any cat. Charlie didn't understand what it was about those two \[cats\]. Both had a presence that set them apart from other felines. Maybe she just knew them better. Maybe all cats had that quality of awareness, when you knew them.”” [Shirley Rousseau Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-rousseau-murphy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator observes a deep, almost human-like awareness in two cats, suggesting they possess a unique, perceptive presence that sets them apart. **In simple terms:** Cats can seem unusually aware and judgmental. Key Takeaway Notice subtle animal behaviors. Themes animals perception relationships Mood curious reflective Type literary observational When to use this quote - pet ownership - observing animal behavior - writing character description Key Concepts anthropomorphism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do we project human traits onto animals? - What does this say about our need for connection? A Different Perspective Cats may not truly possess human-like judgment; it's projection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Eyes Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-judgment-2657685/) [Felines Maybe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felines-maybe-5256613/) [Intense Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-cat-5256615/) [Maybe Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe-cats-5256614/) [Pets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pets/) [Understand Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-cats-2812136/) ## Related quotes > [“You know, people think mathematics is complicated. Mathematics is the simple bit. It's the stuff we can understand. It's cats that are complicated. 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We are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/occasionally-a-dog-will-be-presented-as-some-training-method-for/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [That moment of heartbreak when your pet jumps off your bed and leaves the room..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-moment-of-heartbreak-when-your-pet-jumps-off-your-bed-and-leaves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is my fish Ariel... she died last dec 27... twas so sad but, life must go on...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mharwhyn/this-is-my-fish-ariel-she-died-last-dec-27-twas-so-sad-but-life-must/) [Mharwhyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mharwhyn/) > [“Lardo was getting on in years, and his big belly tended to slow him down a bit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weeks/lardo-was-getting-on-in-years-and-his-big-belly-tended-to-slow-him/) [Sarah Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weeks/) > [“Yet still, beneath all the marketing and social construction of attitudes and desires and shopping habits, there is a deep yearning for connection. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-pierce/yet-still-beneath-all-the-marketing-and-social-construction-of/) [Jessica Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-pierce/) > [Learn a lesson from your dog. No matter what life brings you, kick some grass over that shit and move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/learn-a-lesson-from-your-dog-no-matter-what-life-brings-you-kick-some/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Pets make the world a better place to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-lyons/pets-make-the-world-a-better-place-to-live/) [Susan Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-lyons/) > [As a child, we lived in flats, and I was never allowed pets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-pigott-smith/as-a-child-we-lived-in-flats-and-i-was-never-allowed-pets/) [Tim Pigott-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-pigott-smith/) > [I still find it absurdly difficult to concentrate on a novel if there's a phone or computer to hand; I have taken to locking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-still-find-it-absurdly-difficult-to-concentrate-on-a-novel-if-there/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## More by Shirley Rousseau Murphy > [“... life wasn't full of problems, it was rich with decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-rousseau-murphy/life-wasn-t-full-of-problems-it-was-rich-with-decisions/) [Shirley Rousseau Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-rousseau-murphy/) > [“May the stars shine bright above you, May the sun warm you, And the world hold you softly. May your thoughts and needs be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-rousseau-murphy/may-the-stars-shine-bright-above-you-may-the-sun-warm-you-and-the/) [Shirley Rousseau Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-rousseau-murphy/) > [“Life, the tomcat thought with uncommon sentiment, is not only challenging, wild sometimes, it can be tender, too. Warm and tender and good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-rousseau-murphy/life-the-tomcat-thought-with-uncommon-sentiment-is-not-only/) [Shirley Rousseau Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-rousseau-murphy/) > [“You prepare as best you can for the bad times- then live every moment with joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-rousseau-murphy/you-prepare-as-best-you-can-for-the-bad-times-then-live-every-moment/) [Shirley Rousseau Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-rousseau-murphy/) > [ “\[At the scene of a murder\] The cats' bloodthirst was normal; it was the way God had made them. 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As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes she could swear that she saw, in Joe Grey's eyes, a judgment far too perceptive, a watchfulness too aware and intense for any cat. Charlie didn't understand what it was about those two [cats]. Both had a presence that set them apart from other felines. Maybe she just knew them better. 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