There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: This quote is significant because it is the first sentence of the book, and it introduces the novel's themes of loneliness and abandonment.

For cats, a hound is a natural enemy. This is the order of things.
-- Narrator (Chapter 5 paragraph 1)

Importance: Even though cats are generally scared of dogs, the calico cat in the story is drawn to a hound dog because of the loneliness she hears in his howls.

This boy, a boy who sneered at kindness, even from his mother, his mother who loved flowers and birds.
-- Narrator (Chapter 6 paragraph 4)

Importance: Even as a child, Gar Face, the main villain of the novel, was cruel hearted.

Ranger watched over his cat family like the pharaohs watched over the Nile, like the stars watched over the sleeping Earth, like the beach watched...
-- Narrator (Chapter 12 paragraph 17)