Cats virtually always underestimate human intelligence just as we, perhaps, underestimate theirs.

I always thought that my canine family tended to view me as the funny-looking two-legged dog who runs the can opener.

It looks like a miniature hippopotamus with badly-fitting panty hose all over.

Cats are a tonic, they are a laugh, they are a cuddle, they are at least pretty just about all of the time and beautiful some of the time.

In Egypt: Under no conditions, under threat of death could anyone kill a cat. People were exceuted for even killing a cat accidentally. And when a cat died, the whole family, and probably their closest friends, went into mourning, the measure of their personal loss signalled by their shaving off their eyebrows.

Try throwing a ball just once for a dog. It would be like eating only one peanut or potato chip. Try to ignore the importuning of a Golden Retriever who has brought you his tennis ball, the greatest treasure he possesses!

It's our mortality that terrifies us, because what we're really seeking is immortality - that is, after all, a fool's errand.