List of fictional felines
(Redirected from Fictional cats)
This is a list of fictional cats and felines and is a subsidiary to the list of fictional animals. It includes a limited selection of notable felines from various works, organized by medium. More complete lists are accessible by clicking on the "Main article" link included above each category. For fictional large felids such as lions and tigers, see List of fictional big cats.
In literature[edit]
This section deals with notable cat characters that appear in literature works of fiction including books, comics, legends, myths, folklore, and fairy tales. Any character that appears in several pieces of literature will be listed only once, under the earliest work.
In books[edit]
| Character | Earliest Appearance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cheshire Cat | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Sometimes raises philosophical points that annoy or baffle Alice. It does, however, appear to cheer her up when it turns up suddenly at the Queen of Hearts' croquet field, and when sentenced to death baffles everyone by having made its head appear without its body, sparking a massive argument between the executioner and the King and Queen of Hearts about whether something that does not have a body can indeed be beheaded. |
| Crookshanks | Harry Potter | The pet cat of Hermione Granger. He is described as having a "squashed face", which was inspired by a real cat Rowling once saw,[citation needed] which she said looked like it had run face first into a brick wall, most likely a Persian. Hermione buys Crookshanks from a shop in Diagon Alley out of sympathy, as nobody wants him because of his behaviour and his squashed looking-face. Rowling has confirmed that Crookshanks is half Kneazle,[1] an intelligent, cat-like creature who can detect when they are around untrustworthy people, explaining his higher than normal cat intelligence and stature. |
| Pete the Cat | Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes | Pete started as a book series, and later became an inspiration for a song and its own television series on Amazon Prime.[2] |
| The Cat in the Hat | The Cat in the Hat | The Cat in the Hat is a tall, anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped hat and a red bow tie. The Cat creates chaos when he shows up at the house of Sally and her brother while their mother is out. The children and the fish become very alarmed. Just before the children's mother arrives home the Cat uses a machine to clean up the mess, and then disappears. |
| Snowbell | Stuart Little | Snowbell is a cat belonging to the Little family, of which Stuart is the youngest son. Snowbell has a malevolent attitude toward Stuart, though her behavior is tempered by her familial obligations. When the Little family adopt a bird named Margalo, Snowbell plots to kill her, predicating her departure. Stuart follows, and his pursuit comprises the second half of the story. |
| Speaker-to-Animals | Ringworld and Man-Kzin Wars book series | Member of the Kzinti race of anthropomorphic felines in the Larry Niven collection of books. One of the few to have earned the right to bear a name. |
In comics[edit]
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| Character | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Garfield | Garfield | Garfield is an orange tabby cat born in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant (later revealed in the television special Garfield: His 9 Lives to be Mama Leoni's Italian Restaurant) and immediately ate all the pasta and lasagna in sight, thus developing his love and obsession for lasagna.[3][4] As an adult he is fat and lazy but extremely intelligent and fond of wisecracks in thought bubbles, with his owner Jon Arbuckle serving as a comic foil for him. |
| Heathcliff | Heathcliff | A boisterous and chubby but athletic tabby cat prone to wisecracks, causing physical mischief, chasing mailmen, and overturning garbage cans. Other felines from the strip include: The Catfather.[5] |
| Hobbes | Calvin and Hobbes | The plush Bengal tiger and best friend of the comic's protagonist, Calvin, Hobbes is perceived by Calvin as being a live tiger, but by every other character as a stuffed toy. Hobbes, whose name is an allusion to the English political philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, often tries to be the voice of reason for Calvin during their numerous adventures. |
| Krazy Kat | Krazy Kat | One of the first cats to star in a comic strip; the protagonist of the eponymous strip by George Herriman. Sweet and good-natured and simple, adores the scheming, wily, antisocial Ignatz Mouse even though Ignatz constantly plots against him. |
| Bucky B. Katt | Get Fuzzy | A sarcastic Siamese cat with an inflated ego, Bucky lives in an apartment with his human owner Rob Wilco and a dog named Satchel. Bucky's obsessions include becoming famous, inflicting harm on his roommates for perceived injustices and feuding with Fungo, a ferret who lives next door. Bucky is always drawn with his ears folded back, as if he is constantly in a state of aggressiveness or agitation. |
| Snuffles | Pearls Before Swine | A Himalayan White Cat who likes to hold grenades and throw them everywhere. He is owned by Zebra and is best friends with Guard Duck who likes to make armies and use guns. |
In legends, myths, folklore and fairy tales[edit]
| Character | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maneki-neko | Various folk-stories | A common Japanese sculpture, often made of ceramic, which is believed to bring good luck to the owner. The sculpture depicts a cat (traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail) beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed—many times at the entrance—in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, and other businesses. Some of the sculptures are electric or battery-powered and have a slow-moving paw beckoning. |
| Puss | Puss in Boots | Originally titled Le Maître Chat or Le Chat Botté, this French fairytale is about a cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth and the hand of a princess in marriage for his penniless and low-born master. |
| Cat-sìth | Various folk-stories | A fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its breast. |
| The White Cat | La Chatte Blanche | The White Cat is a character of the Animal Bride cycle of stories (ATU 402). It is present in a variant of the story: French literary fairytale La Chatte Blanche, penned by Madame d'Aulnoy. The character also features as a cameo in Tchaikovisky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty, during Aurora's wedding in Act III. |
| Señor Don Gato | Children's song | A cat who is sitting on a roof when he discovers that his true love has agreed to marry him. In his excitement, he falls off and injures himself. The veterinarian is unable to save him and he dies. However, as his funeral procession passes through the market, the scent of fish from the market is so strong that he returns to life. |
In media[edit]
This section deals with notable cat characters that appear in media works of fiction including film, television, animation, and puppetry. Any character that appears in several pieces of media will be listed only once, under the earliest work.
In film[edit]
| Character | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Bigglesworth | Austin Powers | A parody of Blofeld's cat from James Bond films |
| DC | That Darn Cat! | A wily, adventurous Siamese tomcat who lives with two young women, suburbanite sisters Ingrid and Patti Randall, whose parents are traveling abroad at the time of the story. In the 1997 remake the cat is a grey and white tabby. |
| Filby | Primer | Aaron’s cat. When missing, called by name by Aaron and Abe during the fountain scene.[6] Filby is most likely named after a character in the science fiction novel, The Time Machine, written by H.G. Wells in 1894.[6][7] |
| Jake | The Cat from Outer Space | A cat-like alien. His real name is Zunar-J-5/9 Doric-4-7. |
| Puss in Boots | Shrek 2 | A cat from the Shrek franchise, voiced by Antonio Banderas in English, Italian, and Spanish in the following films: Shrek 2 and Far Far Away Idol in 2004, Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek Forever After (2010), Puss in Boots (2011), Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012), and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022). Puss was voiced by Eric Bauza in the six-season series The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and by Andé Sogliuzzo and Christian Lanz in the video games. Sogliuzzo also voiced Puss in the series of one-minute web videos by DreamWorks in which Puss gives advice to viewers. |
| Pyewacket | Bell, Book and Candle | Siamese cat and familiar of Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak), who is a witch |
| Smarf | Too Many Cooks | An anthropomorphic cat puppet used in the short, a parody of various other puppets used in sitcoms. |
In television[edit]
Puss in Boots is the DreamWorks character from Shrek 2 and Puss in Boots of 2011 who appears in the streaming television series, The Adventures of Puss in Boots (2015-2018). Voiced by Eric Bauza, this is a six season series that streamed on Netflix. It is a spin-off of the 2011 movie and movies of the Shrek franchise.
On television, the movie, Puss in Boots (2011) was streamed on both Amazon and Netflix. The DreamWorks version of Puss in Boots is a cat from the Shrek franchise, who is also the protagonist of Puss in Boots (2011). Puss in Boots was voiced by Antonio Banderas in English, Italian & Spanish in the following films: Shrek 2 & Far Far Away Idol in 2004, Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek Forever After (2010), Puss in Boots (2011), Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012), & Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).
Puss was voiced by Eric Bauza in the six-season series, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and by Andé Sogliuzzo[8] & Christian Lanz[9] in the video games. Sogliuzzo also voiced Puss in the series of one-minute web-videos by DreamWorks wherein Puss gives advice to viewers.
| Character | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Cat | Red Dwarf | A Felis Sapiens which evolved from a domestic housecat, is played by Danny John-Jules in the BBC TV science fiction sitcom. |
| Spot | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Data's Somali cat seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation.[10] Later appearances of Spot show an orange mackerel tabby with no reason given for the significant change. Spot's gender is usually given as male, but Spot is a female in the episode "Genesis" and gives birth to a litter of kittens. Spot is a male in Star Trek Generations. |
On stage[edit]
The stage musical Cats features many feline characters known as Jellicle cats.
In animation[edit]
| Character | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "Baby Puss" | The Flintstones | A saber tooth tiger housecat that is seen in the beginning of the episodes going with the Flintstones and Dino to the movies; a running gag is at the end of the episode Fred puts the cat out, who runs back inside and puts Fred out. Rarely seen outside this role in the series except three episodes. |
| Cake | Adventure Time | A gender/species swapped version of "Jake the dog" from the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time |
| Felix | Felix the Cat | A black cat and "one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history."[11] |
| Gumball Watterson | The Amazing World of Gumball | A 12-year-old anthropomorphic blue cat, who is the titular character |
| MC Skat Kat | Opposites Attract | Anthropomorphic cat rapper and leader of the Stray Mob that sings and dances with Paula Abdul. |
| Leo | Blinky Bill’s Extraordinary Balloon Adventure | |
| Susie McCallister | Summer Camp Island | |
| Stimpy | The Ren & Stimpy Show | A dimwitted and happy-go-lucky rotund Manx cat with red and white fur, white gloves, a large blue nose. |
| Sylvester | Looney Tunes | Black and white cat who commonly carries out predatory schemes on Tweety and Speedy Gonzales. |
| Tom | Tom and Jerry | A gray/blue cat who has a love-hate relationship with Jerry Mouse. |
In video games[edit]
This section deals with notable characters who are prominently featured in various video game titles, either as main characters or notable supporting characters.
Puss in Boots is in the Shrek series of video games and some of his own. The Adventures of Puss in Boots, the TV series includes an episode that is an interactive video game called Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale. Puss was voiced by Eric Bauza in the six-season series, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and by Andé Sogliuzzo[8] & Christian Lanz[9] in the video games. Sogliuzzo also voiced Puss in the series of one-minute web-videos by DreamWorks wherein Puss gives advice to viewers.
Puss in Boots was in games related to the Shrek franchise movies. Puss in Boots (video game) Andre Sogliuzzo is the voice of Puss in Boots in Puss in Boots: The Video Game. There is an interactive video / game with Eric Bauza as Puss In Boots, called Puss in Book that is part of the TV series. There is a web series with Andé Sogliuzzo (2014-2015) and Christian Lanz (2015-2016) playing Puss in Boots in one-minute webisodes giving everyday advice to his fans.
| Character | Game | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big | Sonic Adventure | Dreamcast | A large, purple anthropomorphic cat with yellow eyes and long ears. Big is laid-back[12] and easygoing, which is reflected in his speech.[13] Strong but gentle[13] and a little slow,[14] he lives a normally peaceful life in the jungle with his best friend "Froggy".[13] He loves fishing, and he is never without his favorite rod and lure.[12] |
| Blinx | Blinx: The Time Sweeper | Xbox | A young Time Sweeper who is main protagonist of Blinx the Time Sweeper. He's featured as a support character in Blinx 2. His enemies mostly include Time Monsters and the Tom Tom Gang. |
| Bubsy | Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind | Sega Genesis | An anthropomorphic bobcat who aims to take on aliens that stole much of the world's (including his) yarn balls.[15] |
| Cait Sith | Final Fantasy VII | PlayStation | Cait Sith (ケット・シー, Ketto Shī, pronounced Kett Shee)[16] is a robotic talking cat who is friendly, but often unreliable[17] and speaks with a Scottish accent. In Final Fantasy VII, he rides on the back of an unnamed robotic moogle. |
| Judd | Splatoon | Wii U | A gray and white cat who determines the winning team in Turf War battles. Prior to the events of Splatoon, Judd was cryogenically frozen and placed inside a capsule that allowed him to stay alive while all other land mammals perished due to rising sea levels. He is accompanied by his smaller clone, Lil' Judd, in Splatoon 2 and 3. |
| Kabegami | Ōkami | PlayStation 2, Wii, PlayStation 3, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | Kabegami (壁神?; God of Walls) is the Celestial brush god of Catwalk. She is depicted as a cat sitting vertically on a painting with a large koi at the top of the frame, and her constellation is found after feeding a hungry cat at the top of a very high tower known as Catcall Tower, from which the cat's echoing meows can be heard. Statues of Kabegami are also found in many places across Nippon, and they are a key element of using the Catwalk ability. |
| Morgana | Persona 5 | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 | A black cat serving as the mentor of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts with the code name Mona. |
| Mr. Midnight | Fran Bow | Windows | A yellow-eyed black cat who is owned by the titular Fran Bow and was given to her as a gift from her parents. He goes missing throughout the first chapter of the game. |
| Popoi | Puyo Puyo Fever | PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Xbox | |
| Spitz | WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$ | Game Boy Advance | A yellow cat with a Bronx accent serving as a taxi driver in Diamond City. |
| Talking Tom | Talking Tom | Android | A grey cat who repeats sounds in a high-pitched voice. |
In advertising and animatronics[edit]
| Character | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chessie | Mascot of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and later the Chessie System | Appeared with the slogan "sleep like a kitten". |
| Crusty the Cat | Animatronic character at Chuck E Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre | One of the original Pizza Time Players and was present at the original Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California. He was replaced by Mr. Munch in 1978.[18] |
| Hector the Cat | Mascot created to aid the teaching of road safety to children in Australia | Currently the mascot of Northern Territory Department of Transport to teach road safety to children |
| Mimsie the Cat | Mascot of the MTM Enterprises logo | |
| Morris the Cat | Mascot for 9Lives cat food | Appeared on packaging and many television commercials. |
| Walter (AKA Walter the cat) | Star of 3 Chevrolet truck commercials | Played by six gray, domestic shorthair tabby cats, "Walter" appeared in three Chevy Silverado TV commercials in 2021 and 2022. The first one, entitled "Cat", aired during the 2021 Summer Olympics. The sequel, called "Walter in Winter," was broadcast during the 2022 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI (both as a 30-second spot and a 60-second spot).[19][20] Ad-makers and reporters say that Walter the cat does things people would expect of a dog, but he is a cat, so he showed what cats can do. That included herding cows, swimming and fetching a stick from a lake, digging a skier out of the snow, and chasing a mailman. Walter co-starred with John Hoogenakker.[19][21][22][23][24] Walter also appeared with Chris Pratt for the same truck in 2022.[24][25] |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Rowling, J. K. "J. K. Rowling's Official Website". Crookshanks. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
- ^ Petski, Denise (February 13, 2017). "Amazon Greenlights Kids Series 'Pete The Cat' & 'Costume Quest'". Dateline. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Garfield". Garfield.com. December 14, 1984. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
- ^ Phil Roman (Director), Lorenzo Music (Voice). Garfield: His Nine Lives [Television production] (Television (Original), VHS). Fox Home Entertainment. 1988 (television), 1993 (VHS)
- ^ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated History of Cartoon Animals. New York, USA: Prentice Hall. p. 117. ISBN 0-13-275561-0.
- ^ a b Tim S (5 May 2009). "The Primer Universe: The Time Machine". The Primer Universe. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ "Free Study Guide for The Time Machine by H. G. Wells-Book Summary (Characters)". Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Andre Sogliuzzo". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ a b "Christian Lanz". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ Fiona Kelleghan (2005), "Cats", The Greenwood encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy, vol. 1, Greenwood Press, pp. 105–107, ISBN 978-0-313-32951-7
- ^ Cart, Michael (31 March 1991). "The Cat With the Killer Personality". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ a b Sega (1999). "Characters: Big the Cat". Sonic Adventure Instruction Manual. Sega.
pp. 28
- ^ a b c Sega (2004). "Team Rose". Sonic Heroes Instruction Manual. Sega.
pp. 11
- ^ Sega of America. "Big's official character profile from Sega of America". Sega of America. Archived from the original on 2005-03-05. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Rodger Swan (March 28, 2007). "Bubsy in Claw Encounters of the Furred Kind". Sega-16. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ^ Smith, Dave (2008-03-25). "Final Fantasy VII: Top 10 Characters". IGN. IGN Entertainment. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- ^ "Character Description page", Final Fantasy VII Game Manual (PAL Version ed.), p. 6
- ^ "Showbiz Pizza.com Crusty the Cat".
- ^ a b "Cat Enjoys Dog Days Of Winter For Chevy Silverado, Commonwealth//McCann". SHOOTonline. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ "Watch Lil Nas X Win a Dance-Off Against Sam Elliott in Doritos' Super Bowl 2020 Commercial". People.com. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ Walter The Cat Chevy Commercial. WE LOVE CATS & DOGS.
- ^ Draper, Don (2022-05-28). "Who is the actor in the Chevy cat commercial?". AdvertisingRow.com | Home of Advertising Professionals, Advertising news, Infographics, Job offers. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- ^ "Walter the Chevy Cat is Back, and More Doglike Than Ever".
- ^ a b "Chevrolet: 2022 Chevy Silverado - Walter in Winter • Ads of the World™ | Part of The Clio Network". Ads of the World™. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ Putzer, Mark (2021-09-22). "What Do Chris Pratt, a Cat, a Steer, and a Chevy Silverado ZR2 Have in Common?". MotorBiscuit. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
Further reading[edit]
- Rogers, Katharine M. (2001). The Cat and the Human Imagination: Feline Images from Bast to Garfield. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-08750-1.
