What Did Raymond Chandler Have Against Cats?

Found this quote when during my semi-annual re-read of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, where General Sternwood assesses his wayward daughters:

“I think they go their separate and slightly divergent roads to perdition. Vivian is spoiled, exacting, smart and quite ruthless. Carmen is a child who likes to pull wings off flies. Neither of them has any more moral sense than a cat.”

(Emphasis mine).

I wondered if this betokened some distaste of cats on Mr. Chandler's behalf, but thirty seconds of internet sleuthing proved the opposite. He was instead well-known for his love of cats, particularly his black Persian cat, Taki, who Chandler called his "secretary," noting she'd been with him ever since he began to write.

(This letter from Chandler to one of his editors is clearly written by a cat lover).

So it turns out Chandler had nothing against cats — he just saw them as clearly as he did his fellow men.