TOP 10: Cartoon Cats
August 8 is International Cat Day! We here at Great Pop Culture Debate are staunchly pro-kitten, so we decided to whip up a quick Top 10 list of our favorite cats featured in cartoons or animated movies.
But once we started working on it, we realized: this is REALLY HARD! There are so many iconic felines that have graced our screens, and ranking them is basically impossible.
Below find Eric Rezsnyak’s personal Top 10 cartoon cats. Note that we kept it to animated cats that appeared in TV cartoons only; we didn’t include movie cats, so no Simba, no Felix, no Cheshire Cat, no Aristocats, no Puss in Boots, no Cat in the Hat, etc.
Did we miss your favorite? Drop it in the comments. And if you REALLY like this topic, let us know — we think it might make a great episode of the podcast.
Is Lion-O from “Thundercats” actually a cat? It’s debatable. What is settled law is that he was partially responsible for the sexual awakening of many 80s kids. Look at those ARMS. Thundercats HO, indeed…
Honorable Mention: Josie and the Pussy Cats
DEFINITELY not actual cats, but still, Josie and the Pussy Cats are:
-hot
-sweet
-super cool
And I, for one, know that these kitties rule. Hurry hurry!
10. Hello Kitty
I would argue that no character on this list has had a bigger pop-culture impact than Sanrio’s Hello Kitty, actual name Kitty White. But I’m listing her so low because very little of that notoriety is the result of her cartoon appearances. While there have been Hello Kitty animated projects for decades, most of them only aired in Japan — I doubt many Americans have ever watched a Hello Kitty cartoon. And yet, as of 2016, more than 80% of Americans aged 18-23 recognized Kitty. The power of merchandising, as Kitty’s likeness has been licensed for more than 50,000 products in more than 60 countries, with worldwide product sales topping $8 billion as of 2013. Watch out, Snoop Dogg; Kitty has her mind on her money, and her money on her mind. Fun fact: Kitty is not actually a cat herself, but a little girl depicted as an anthropomorphized cat. We love Japan.
9. Commander T’Ana
One of the newest, and least known, characters on this list, Commander T’Ana is the Chief Medical Officer on the USS Cerritos, a supporting cast member on the “Star Trek: Lower Decks” animated comedy series. T’Ana is a Caitian, so like Lion-O, a cat/person hybrid. And she is a hoot. She has no bedside manner to speak of, and leans into profanity frequently. If you ever wondered what your pet cat would be like as a person, the dismissive and acerbic T’Ana is probably the correct answer.
8. Stimpy
Like me, you may be wondering, “Is Stimpy a cat?” Because he has qualities that straddle the cat/dog (not Catdog) divide. And yet, the answer is in his full Christian name: Stimpson J. Cat. Yes, Stimpy of Nickelodeon’s tremendously influential “The Ren & Stimpy Show,” is very much a cat, specifically a dimwitted Manx cat who is hopelessly in love with his irritable chihuahua companion, Stimpy. That’s not supposition; Creator John Kricfalusi has confirmed Ren’s sexuality in interviews. The sweet, astonishingly stupid Stimpy would be higher on this list if “Ren & Stimpy” had continued beyond its 52 episodes, spread out over five years. Still, for such a small animation footprint, Stimpy has had a massive impact on animation as an industry.
7. Tie: Sylvester, Tom
Two of the oldest creations on this list, both tremendously influential for both animators and audiences — but also both essentially doing the same thing. Hanna-Barbera’s Tom, of “Tom & Jerry” fame, debuted in 1940. Sylvester J. Pussycat of “Looney Tunes” debuted in 1945. Both cats have the same schtick, in which they aggressively pursue a smaller, cuter creature (Jerry the mouse for Tom, Tweetie Bird for Sylvester), and then get the absolute shit kicked out of them over and over again when that creature proves far smarter and scrappier. Both Tom and Sylvester are incredibly recognizable, and were direct inspirations for at least one other cat on this list (see No. 5). But since they both basically did the same thing at the same time, I’m listing them together. Additionally, neither cat has been able to recapture their pop-culture power in a violence-wary 21st Century, so No. 7 seems exactly right for both of them.
6. Heathcliff
I’ll be honest, this one feels more obligatory than anything else. I know that Heathcliff was popular. He started in comic strips in the 1970s and then made the leap to cartoons in the 1980s, with two different animated series, the better known being “Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats.” He was voiced in both by animation legend Mel Blanc. What separates Heathcliff from another orange cartoon cat of the 80s is that he’s more social, having adventures in the wild. He’s more active and arguably more dynamic. But to me, he’s a pale comparison to his more popular 80s cat counterpart, which is why I’m putting him at No. 6.
5. Scratchy
Scratchy, one-half of the “The Itchy & Scratchy Show” featured in “The Simpsons,” gets a higher rank than his inspirations Tom and Sylvester because he’s a meta-critique of violence in cartoons. Whereas the horrific abuse waged upon Tom and Sylvester is played straight for laughs, the even more ghoulish fates of Scratchy are ramped up even moreso, to point out how insane it is that these hyper-violent images are created primarily for CHILDREN. There are countless classic “Itchy & Scratchy” shorts at this point, and picking a best is nearly impossible. All of that said, there’s only one real question we should all be asking: Where is Poochie?
4. Tigger
Tigger from the Winnie the Pooh property gets a high ranking because he’s just so damned fun. If this were Dungeons & Dragons, Tigger’s alignment would be chaotic good. He’s a brash, bouncing tiger (or rather, a living stuffed animal of a tiger) who is here for a good time, not a long time. How much fun is Tigger? This iconic quote sums it up: “Tiggers are wonderful things. Their tops are made of rubber, their bottoms made out of springs.” Tigger, you nasty. Also, sign me up.
3. Snagglepuss
On the subject of gay icons, we would be remiss if we did not mention Hanna-Barbera’s Snaggletooth, the bright pink, effete puma who has been queer coded since the 1960s, finally made canon via DC Comics within the past decade. Snaggletooth has largely worked as a supporting character for Yogi Bear, Auggie Doggy, and Huckleberry Hound, but he does have his own quasi-plotline, to make his living space more fabulous. Again: gay. And look at his little collar and cuffs! So fashionable. We stan Snagglepuss, and we never want him to exit, regardless of the stage direction.
2. Cringer/Battle Cat
Listen, I’m an 80s kid. Battle Cat had to be here. You want range? Battle Cat has range. As Cringer, he’s meek comic relief. As Battle Cat, he’s hot shit and he knows it. Battle Cat is arguably the best supporting cast member in the original “Masters of the Universe” cartoon — less annoying than Orko, more interesting than Man-at-Arms, less clueless than Teela — and is both a great friend to He-Man/Prince Adam, and a game changer on the battlefield. A massive green tiger is pouncing on you, and he’s wearing battle armor? Sayonara, sucker.
1. Garfield
Jim Davis’s Garfield is a pop-culture phenomenon, at one point holding the Guinness World Record for the most syndicated comic strip, running in more than 2,500 newspapers. That is astonishing. In the 80s, Garfield was EVERYWHERE — the treasury editions of his comic strips were bestsellers, his stuffed animal with suction cups were in many a car window, and he made the jump to animation with “Garfield & Friends” in 1988. His popularity continues to this day, with Garfield now on at least his second set of animated films. What’s not to love? Garfield is surly, lazy, loves lasagna, and hates Mondays. He is THE relatable icon of our times, and we salute him!
Disagree with our rankings? Which cartoon cats did we forget? Drop a comment below!