Terry Pratchett? P. G. Wodehouse? Dave Ochs? Dusty Rainbolt? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: Cats project an air of superiority and aloofness according to sharp observers. A humorous remark reflects this viewpoint:
In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this.
The best-selling English fantasy author Terry Pratchett has received credit for this comment, but I am skeptical because I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore the provenance of this quip?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The phrasing of this remark is highly variable; hence, it is difficult to trace. QI has not yet found any substantive evidence that Terry Pratchett crafted this quip. The prominent English humorist P. G. Wodehouse penned a version of the comical observation in 1933. Here is an overview with dates and ascriptions showing the evolution of the quip:
1933: Cats, as a class, have never completely got over the snootiness caused by the fact that in Ancient Egypt they were worshipped as gods. (P. G. Wodehouse)
1991 Apr 22: The Egyptians worshipped cats, and the cats have never forgotten. (Anonymous)
1992: The ancient Egyptians worshiped cats as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. (Hallmark Cards)
1993 Dec 28: Thousands of years ago the Egyptians worshipped cats as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. (Anonymous)
1998 Apr 8: Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. (Anonymous)
1998 Apr 16: In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this. (Anonymous)
1998 May 12: Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. (Tentatively attributed to Terry Pratchett)
2002 Mar 24: Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. (Another tentative attribution to Terry Pratchett)
2004: In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this. (Attributed to Terry Pratchett)
The information above represents a snapshot of current research, and new citations will probably be discovered in the future.
Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.
The earliest match known to QI appeared in a short story by P. G. Wodehouse titled “The Story of Webster” which appeared in the 1933 collection “Mulliner Nights”. The character Mr. Mulliner was an entertaining raconteur of fanciful tales. Mulliner described the disposition of cats. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
“The real objection to the great majority of cats is their insufferable air of superiority. Cats, as a class, have never completely got over the snootiness caused by the fact that in Ancient Egypt they were worshipped as gods. This makes them too prone to set themselves up as critics and censors of the frail and erring human beings whose lot they share. They stare rebukingly.”
The next match appeared in April 1991 within a message from Dave Ochs posted to the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.tv.soaps. Ochs used the phrase “as it has been said” to disclaim credit and to signal that the quip was already in circulation:2
Ok, I can’t resist jumping in…
My wife and I have two cats: a Siamese (Yoko), and a tiger (Frisbee). They are called various things.
Yoko Princess – this is not a compliment, but reflects the fact that she feels she owns the house [as it has been said, the Egyptians worshipped cats, and the cats have never forgotten].
In 1992 Hallmark Cards published “Frisky Business: All About Being Owned by a Cat” with illustrations by Cathy Jellick. QI does not know who wrote the text of the book. The page about feline behavior stated the following:3
Everything About Cat Behavior Explained:
The ancient Egyptians worshiped cats as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.
Terry Pratchett did craft comical lines about cats. For example, a character in the1992 Discworld fantasy novel “Lords and Ladies” compared cats to elves:4
‘Glamour. Elves are beautiful. They’ve got,’ she spat the word, ‘style. Beauty. Grace. That’s what matters. If cats looked like frogs we’d realise what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That’s what people remember.’
Lines like the one above probably facilitated the misattribution of the quip under examination to Pratchett.
In December 1993 David Wren-Hardin included an anonymous instance in a message he posted to the newsgroup rec.pets.cats. Wren-Hardin placed this line in his signature block which was appended to many of his messages:5
Thousands of years ago the Egyptians worshipped cats as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.
On April 8, 1998 “The Vancouver Sun” newspaper of Canada printed an anonymous instance within an article titled “Feline Facts — Part I” which contained a miscellaneous collection of quotations about cats:6
“Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.” – Anonymous
On April 16, 1998 the “Valley Star” newspaper of Los Angeles Valley College in California printed an anonymous version using the phrase “ancient times” which often appears in modern instances:7
In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this.
— Unknown
In May 1998 a conversation thread occurred in a newsgroup dedicated to author Robert Jordan. An individual using the handle Jeena Khan posted an instance of the quip:8
“Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.”
The handle Rob Strong asked about the identity of the creator of the quip:9
Please, Cat, for my sanity, tell me where this quote comes from. I’ve heard it before and can’t remember where it comes from. It’s going to drive me mad until I can remember.
The handle Andrea Lynn Leistra responded by stating that another person had used the saying in a signature block:10
Someone else used to use it as a .sig here a while ago. I don’t know if that’s where you’re remembering it from, or if you saw it the same place the quoters did.
Finally, the handle Paul Raj Khangure tentatively suggested that Terry Pratchett was the creator of the quip:11
It sounds Pratchett-ish?
In August 1998 the “Maine Sunday Telegram” newspaper of Portland, Maine printed an anonymous instance:12
“Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.”
—Anonymous
In 2001 Terry Pratchett published “The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents”, and he included a comment about the relationship between cats and humans:13
Maurice watched them argue again. Humans, eh? Think they’re lords of creation. Not like us cats. We know we are. Ever see a cat feed a human? Case proven.
Pratchett’s 2001 novel also included this passage:14
But cats are good at steering people. A miaow here, a purr there, a little gentle pressure with a claw . . . and Maurice had never had to think about it before. Cats didn’t have to think. They just had to know what they wanted. Humans had to do the thinking. That’s what they were for.
In 2002 the handle Otto Baade posted the quip to the newsgroup borland.public.off-topic, and the handle Owen Green hesitantly suggested that Pratchett was the author. The acronym “iirc” means “if I recall correctly”:15
>> “Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats
>> have never forgotten this.” –Anonymous
Terry Pratchett, iirc.
In 2003 the quip appeared in the revised edition of “And I Quote: The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker”. The statement appeared in a section listing anonymous sayings about cats:16
Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.
In 2004 the quotation collection “The Guide to Laughing at Family” printed the version of the quip using the phrase “ancient times”. This book contained the earliest unequivocal ascription to Pratchett located by QI. Previous attributions to Pratchett expressed uncertainty:17
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
Terry Pratchett (1948- ) British Humorist, Author
In 2005 a message in the discussion group dk.fritid.dyr.kat contained a large list of quotations including the following item:18
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
~Terry Pratchett
In 2006 the calendar book “365 Smiles a Year For Cat Lovers” listed the following for the date labeled July 26th:19
In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
Terry Pratchett
The 2011 biography “Terry Pratchett: The Spirit of Fantasy: The Life and Work of the Man Behind the Magic” by Craig Cabell printed the following without a citation:20
‘In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.’
Terry Pratchett
In conclusion, the core idea of this joke appeared in a short story by P. G. Wodehouse in 1933. The compressed quip formulation may have been derived from Wodehouse’s comments. The quip formulation entered circulation by 1991 with an anonymous attribution. QI has found no substantive evidence that Terry Pratchett created this joke. Yet, Pratchett has written thematically related comical remarks in which cats viewed themselves as superior to humans.
The quip was tentatively attributed to Pratchett in 1998 and 2002. This uncertainty probably indicated faulty memories. The quip was ascribed to Pratchett without reservation by 2004. Thus, the misattribution may have occurred in a two-step process
Image Notes: Illustration of a cat and a flower from Dim Hou at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Kat Day whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Day stated that the quip was not present in any of Terry Pratchett’s books. Many thanks to Andrew Crowther who told QI about the important 1933 P. G. Wodehouse citation.
Update History: On August 11, 2024 the 1992 Hallmark Cards citation was added to the article. On August 12, 2024 the P. G. Wodehouse citation was added to the article, and the article was partially rewritten.
- 1933, Mulliner Nights by P. G. Wodehouse, Chapter 2: The Story of Webster, Start Page 41, Quote Page 43, Herbert Jenkins Limited, London. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎
- Usenet discussion message, Timestamp: Apr 22, 1991, 1:32:19 PM, Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv.soaps, From: Dave Ochs, Subject: AMC: Re: Tan. (Google Groups Search; Accessed August 8, 2024) link ↩︎
- 1992 Copyright, Frisky Business: All About Being Owned by a Cat, Illustrated by Cathy Jellick, Topic: Behavior, Quote Page 41, A Shoebox Greetings Book: Published by Hallmark Cards Inc., U.S.A. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎
- 1992, Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett, Quote Page 119, BCA by Arrangement with Victor Gollancz, London. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎
- Usenet discussion message, Timestamp: Dec 28, 1993, 3:22:12 PM, Newsgroup: rec.pets.cats, From: David Wren-Hardin (uchicago.edu University of Chicago), Subject: **** Cat Search Help Needed ****. (Google Groups Search; Accessed August 8, 2024) link ↩︎
- 1998 April 8, The Vancouver Sun, City Limits: Feline Facts — Part I, Quote Page B3, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1998 April 16, Valley Star: Los Angeles Valley College, Section: Life & Style, Pets!, Quote Page 5, Column 1, Los Angeles, California. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎
- Usenet discussion message, Timestamp: May 11, 1998, 3:00:00 AM, Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan, From: Jeena Khan, Subject: My predictions for PoD. (Google Groups Search; Accessed August 10, 2024) link ↩︎
- Usenet discussion message, Timestamp: May 11, 1998, 3:00:00 AM, Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan, From: Rob Strong, Subject: My predictions for PoD. (Google Groups Search; Accessed August 10, 2024) link ↩︎
- Usenet discussion message, Timestamp: May 11, 1998, 3:00:00 AM, Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan, From: Andrea Lynn Leistra, Subject: My predictions for PoD. (Google Groups Search; Accessed August 10, 2024) link ↩︎
- Usenet discussion message, Timestamp: May 12, 1998, 3:00:00 AM, Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan, From: Paul Raj Khangure, Subject: My predictions for PoD. (Google Groups Search; Accessed August 10, 2024) link ↩︎
- 1998 August 16, Maine Sunday Telegram, Cat Quotes, Quote Page 5G, Column 3, Portland, Maine. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 2002 (2001 Copyright), The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, Chapter 9, Quote Page 162, Corgi Books: Random House Children’s Books, London. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎
- 2002 (2001 Copyright), The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, Chapter 1, Quote Page 23, Corgi Books: Random House Children’s Books, London. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎
- Usenet discussion message, Timestamp: Mar 24, 2002, 10:02:51 AM, Newsgroup: borland.public.off-topic, From: Owen Green, Subject: Cats. (Google Groups Search; Accessed August 8, 2024) link ↩︎
- 2003, And I Quote: The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker by Ashton Applewhite, William R. Evans III, and Andrew Frothingham, Revised Edition, Topic: Pets – Cats – Sayings, Quote Page 342, Thomas Dunne Books: An Imprint of St. Martin’s Press, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2004 Copyright, The Guide to Laughing at Family: GTL Institute Member Handbook, Executive Editor: Shawn Gold, Pets: Insightful Observations on Things Cats Think, Quote Page 275, Handy Logic Press, Los Angeles, California. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎
- Google Groups discussion message, Timestamp: Jun 25, 2005, 9:51:07 AM, Google Group: dk.fritid.dyr.kat, From: Aragorn Elessar, Subject: Kattecitater [ENG]. (Google Groups Search; Accessed August 8, 2024) link ↩︎
- 2006 Copyright, 365 Smiles a Year For Cat Lovers, Date Listed On Page: July 26, Unnumbered Page, FaithPoint Press, Produced by Cliff Road Books. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎
- 2011, Terry Pratchett: The Spirit of Fantasy: The Life and Work of the Man Behind the Magic by Craig Cabell, Chapter 19: A Note About Cats, Quote Page 165, John Blake Publishing, London. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive) ↩︎