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Colette
The tomcat in “Pigeons, a Pony, the Tomcat and I” is Kiki’s friend. He used to live with a woman on the same street as Colette, and so he knew of Kiki before the war. The tomcat desperately wants a person to love him and idealizes Colette’s relationship with Kiki. This is in part because the tomcat’s owner put him onto the streets when World War I broke out. In the trenches he befriends a soldier, which gets him some of the attention he craves. Throughout the story, he acts as an interpreter and a voice of reason for Kiki, telling her all about the other animals involved in the war effort. He ultimately convinces her that they should work together to travel back to Paris and to Colette—but the night before they’re supposed to leave, the tom becomes tangled in barbed wire on the battlefield.
The Tomcat Quotes in Only the Animals
The Only the Animals quotes below are all either spoken by The Tomcat or refer to The Tomcat. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Pigeons, a Pony, the Tomcat and I: Soul of Cat
Quotes
I looked more closely at the man driving the mules. He was far too old to fight. The mules showed none of their usual inclination to misbehave and were following him peaceably. “They love him,” I said.
“And he them. I’ve seen a driver refuse to leave his team of battery mules when they became entangled in barbed wire. He died with them.”
“Why are so many of them missing their tails?” I asked.
“When they’re starving, they eat each other’s tails.”
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“Don’t eat any of it,” I said.
The tomcat looked offended at my suggesting he would take the food. “I have my own adopted soldier. But you should eat what he’s offering even if you’re not hungry. You might be the only thing keeping him alive until he’s rotated out of the front line and can get some rest.”
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Get the entire Only the Animals LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Tomcat Quotes in Only the Animals
The Only the Animals quotes below are all either spoken by The Tomcat or refer to The Tomcat. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Pigeons, a Pony, the Tomcat and I: Soul of Cat
Quotes
I looked more closely at the man driving the mules. He was far too old to fight. The mules showed none of their usual inclination to misbehave and were following him peaceably. “They love him,” I said.
“And he them. I’ve seen a driver refuse to leave his team of battery mules when they became entangled in barbed wire. He died with them.”
“Why are so many of them missing their tails?” I asked.
“When they’re starving, they eat each other’s tails.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Don’t eat any of it,” I said.
The tomcat looked offended at my suggesting he would take the food. “I have my own adopted soldier. But you should eat what he’s offering even if you’re not hungry. You might be the only thing keeping him alive until he’s rotated out of the front line and can get some rest.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
