You've read of several kinds of Cat, <br />And my opinion now is that <br />You should need no interpreter <br />To understand their character. <br />You now have learned enough to see <br />That Cats are much like you and me <br />And other people whom we find <br />Possessed of various types of mind. <br />For some are same and some are mad <br />And some are good and some are bad <br />And some are better, some are worse-- <br />But all may be described in verse. <br />You've seen them both at work and games, <br />And learnt about their proper names, <br />Their habits and their habitat: <br />But <br />How would you ad-dress a Cat? <br /> <br />So first, your memory I'll jog, <br />And say: A CAT IS NOT A DOG. <br /> <br />And you might now and then supply <br />Some caviare, or Strassburg Pie, <br />Some potted grouse, or salmon paste-- <br />He's sure to have his personal taste. <br />(I know a Cat, who makes a habit <br />Of eating nothing else but rabbit, <br />And when he's finished, licks his paws <br />So's not to waste the onion sauce.) <br />A Cat's entitled to expect <br />These evidences of respect. <br />And so in time you reach your aim, <br />And finally call him by his NAME. <br /> <br />So this is this, and that is that: <br />And there's how you AD-DRESS A CAT.<br /><br />Thomas Stearns Eliot<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-ad-dressing-of-cats/
