[Ads-l] Quip Origin: Dogs Believe You Are a God. Cats Believe They Are Gods

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The subject line presents a summary of a joke I was asked to
investigate. It has been credited to British political commentator
Christopher Hitchens, U.S. cartoonist Brian Crane, and others. It is
difficult to trace. The earliest full match I found appeared in
"Reader's Digest" magazine in May 1994:

[Begin excerpt]
With a dog, you feed him, you give him plenty of affection, you take
him for walks and he thinks, "Wow, this guy must be a god." With a
cat, however, you feed him, you love him, you care for him and he
thinks, "Wow, I must be a god."
—Contributed by Brian K. Lebowitz
[End excerpt]

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/02/11/dogs-cats/

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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