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I keep vaguely remembering a character in one of Robert Heinlein's books saying something along the lines "there was a special place in hell for child molesters and people who drown kittens."

I just wonder what the actual quote was because it mentions cats and it keeps bubbling up in my memory.

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  • 6
    Searching online for this quote is not for the faint of heart.
    – Gaultheria
    Commented May 16, 2019 at 6:28
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    sounds like something my idol, Baslim the Cripple would say
    – user68762
    Commented May 16, 2019 at 8:00

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Possibly this, taken from Friday (1982), nothing about child molesters though:

"I can't. Mama cat and her kittens. Black Beauty and Demon and Star and Red... I can't".

There wasn't anything to say, so I didn't. The coldest depth of Hell is reserved for people who abandon kittens.

Found... Probably by overkilling it. I searched this site for Heinlein quote cat, found Did Robert Heinlein write about his real-life cats?, googled grumbles from the grave heinlein quote kitten and found the quote. Obviously Heinlein quote kitten worked just as fine in the end...

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    I miss Kitten Smith... too bad about Klendathu.
    – gowenfawr
    Commented May 16, 2019 at 12:34
  • Thank You! I knew this was probably the quote last night, but I like to let answers ride a little while to see if I get confirmation or alternatives. I've read ALL of Heinlein books multiple times and I guess enough years have passed that it's time to start over. It's a wonder that I haven't named any of the cats we've gotten Pilxle. Tanstafl
    – user2609404
    Commented May 16, 2019 at 16:43
  • "Pixel" and not whatever I wrote.
    – user2609404
    Commented May 17, 2019 at 17:58
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There was also a similar line in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. One of the characters in the last chapter meditates on how killing a kitten is the worst thing a person can do.

"Who was writing our story? Was he going to let us live?

Anyone who would kill a baby kitten is cruel, mean cruel. I hate you. I despise you!"

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  • This is the one that immediately came to my mind. The character is actually berating the author of their own story; Heinlein himself.
    – Rob Grier
    Commented Dec 18, 2019 at 0:30

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