We may judge the tone and bias of a civilisation by its relative attitude toward dogs and cats.
…
Mr. Carl Van Vechten, in "Peter Whiffle", holds up the timeless restfulness of the cat as a model for a life's philosophy, and Prof. William Lyon Phelps has very effectively captured the secret of felinity when he says that the cat does not merely lie down, but "Pours his body out on the floor like a glass of water".

H. P. Lovecraft, Cats and Dogs