If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.

Pratchett’s quip hinges on the mismatch between appearance and behavior. Cats can be efficient predators—aloof, sometimes seemingly sadistic in play—yet their cuteness and grace soften our moral judgment. By swapping in an unglamorous animal (a frog), he suggests we would see the same actions as “nasty” rather than charming. The punchline—“Style. That’s what people remember.”—generalizes the point: presentation shapes reputation. In people, art, politics, and storytelling, surface qualities (wit, elegance, charisma) can eclipse substance, allowing cruelty or emptiness to pass as admirable. It’s a comic line with a sharp ethical edge about aesthetic bias.