Dogs eat. Cats dine.

The aphorism contrasts stereotypical animal manners to suggest a broader difference in temperament: dogs are portrayed as eager, undiscriminating, and practical (“eat”), while cats are framed as fastidious, self-possessed, and ceremonious (“dine”). The humor depends on anthropomorphism—projecting human social codes onto pets—to capture how cats often appear to approach food (and life) with selectivity and dignity, whereas dogs seem more straightforwardly motivated by appetite. As a miniature social observation, it also hints at class-coded language: “dine” implies refinement and ritual, turning an everyday act into a performance of taste and status.