«زَيِّ الْقُطَطْ يَاكْلُوا وِيِنْكِرُوا»

The saying condemns ingratitude. It describes people who enjoy what others give them and then deny the favor or turn away from the giver, as if no debt of thanks existed. The cat stands for a creature that eats from your hand yet shows no lasting attachment.

The image rests on a popular belief that cats forget whoever feeds them, unlike dogs, imagined as loyal to their keepers. This is a folk image, not a fact about animals. Calling someone cat-like charges them with deliberately forgetting kindness. A less common variant about cats carrying food off targets greed instead and is a separate sense.

Use it as a pointed remark about people who accepted generosity or support and then acted as if it never happened, such as ungrateful friends, relatives, or beneficiaries. Its plural verbs often frame a group, though it can target one person. Said directly, it can sound sharply insulting.