Cats Are Mean: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:garfield2 3383.jpg|link=Garfield (Comic Strip)|
{{quote|''"If cats looked like frogs, we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are."''
|'''[[Terry Pratchett]]'''|''[[Lords and Ladies]]''}}
Cats get a bad rap.
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{{examples}}
== Played straight or exaggerated ==
=== [[Advertising]] ===
* A Subaru ad in the U.S. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5nyEd8BTZA shows a cat cutting a dog off in a parking lot.]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6CcxJQq1x8 Why do cats stare when you're pouring milk?] [[Tim Curry]] has the answer, for good measure.
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===
* Kamineko, that cat who keeps attacking Sakaki in ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]''. In the cat's defense, Sakaki seems to have an aura that makes [[Animals Hate Her|cats hate her]], with one exception; Mayaa is the antithesis of this trope: a wild-born Iriomote cat who not only is the first cat to permit Sakaki to pet it, but, at first meeting, actively seeks her affection, proving utterly devoted to Sakaki. To drive home this point, Mayaa later drives off Kamineko and a small horde of cats in her defense.
** The fact that Kamineko gathered up the cats just to attack Sakaki and Chiyo-Chan seems to point to the conclusion that it was just a jerk.
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* In ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'', Tailmon was originally introduced as the [[Big Bad]]'s [[Right-Hand-Cat]], beating the shit out of all seven of the protagonists' Digimon with little effort in their first encounter and mercilessly hunting down the eighth Chosen. Of course, she then turned out to have a [[Freudian Excuse]], did a [[Heel Face Turn]], became the partner of Hikari Yagami (whom she found she simply couldn't kill when they first met), and became decidedly...not mean.
* Even ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' is in on this. Meowth is famous for being the third member of the Team Rocket Trio, Giovanni is regularly seen with a Persian [[Right-Hand-Cat|by his side]], and a recent episode showed a member of Team Galactic in possession of an especially mean Purugly.
** Meowth's behavior isn't necessarily because ''he's' a Meowth, however. Meowth's backstory has him trying to impress a female Meowth he was in love with by, over a period of months, painstakingly learning how to walk on two legs and speak a human language.
** Mewtwo was rather nasty for a while during ''[[Pokémon: The First Movie|Pokémon the First Movie]]''. He tried to cause [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. Mewtwo was more of a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]], though. He simply felt clones were being oppressed and wanted to start war against the natural-born Pokémon. Likewise, Mew (Yes, ''[[Cute Kitten|Mew]]'') was just as bad in the Japanese version) it believed that Mewtwo was [[Fantastic Racism|inferior]] and shouldn't be allowed to live just because he was a clone. Neither are evil, though, just ''very'' stubborn in their beliefs. The dub alters the two to represent a more [[Black and White Morality]], with Mewtwo being more knowingly malicious and Mew's motives being more benevolent.
** May's Skitty is a downplayed example. She has a mischievous streak, but she isn't mean outside of that.
* Shampoo's transformation shape in ''[[Ranma ½]]'' is a cat, and she uses that to her advantage several times.
** Others have also used Shampoo's transformation to their advantage - namely, as an easy way to torment Ranma. Genma uses her to frighten Ranma so he can't beat the old bastard up in the first Nekoken story. Akane uses Shampoo's transformation to force Ranma into agreeing to throw his second official duel with Mousse in the manga...and in an anime-exclusive OAV, she splashes Shampoo so that Ranma will run headfirst into a wall with her because Shampoo mockingly pointed out that Akane didn't have the skills to face the OAV's [[Villain of the Week]].
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* In [[GoLion]]/[[Voltron]], Jaga The Blue Cat is an able and wicked familiar for Honerva/Haggar, likely blinding Shirogane/Sven before he was killed/disabled. Add to that, the Space Mice are definitely justified in fearing being devoured by this monster, who came from a world where it was bathed in Human blood. On the minus side, any sighting of the Blue Cat told the force that something was up, so its ability to spy (ala Laserbeak) was later limited.
* In [[Apocalypse Meow]], the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army are portrayed as cats, while the American soldiers are portrayed as rabbits.
* In ''Kodomo no Jikan'', Kuro is often drawn with cat ears or as an humanoid black cat. Kuro is a [[
* ''Go Go Itsutsugo Land!'' features a grumpy cat who often indirectly causes trouble for the characters.
* Averted with Blair in ''[[Soul Eater]]''. In fact, this may be part of the reason why Maka and Soul both mistake her for a human. She's generally friendly towards the people she meets, though her lack of modesty causes some people grief.
* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'', Johan's Crystal Beasts are on the good guys' side, but Amethyst Cat is a clear example of [[Good Is Not Nice]]. The first time she's seen, in Johan's exhibition duel with Judai, she taunts Judai and mentions how "tasty" he looks. Of course, seeing as her effect as a card is one which makes her a direct-attacker, being "nice" likely wouldn't work.
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* The definitive example might well be Art Spiegelman's comic ''[[Maus]]'', a narrative of the author's father's struggle to survive the Holocaust wherein the Nazis are drawn as cats and Jews as mice.
** But that's [[Justified Trope]] in the ''other'' cat stereotype is that they hunt mice, and it makes a good analogy for the Holocaust.
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* Roque Ja (or "Rock Jaw") from ''[[Bone]]'' may not be TOTALLY evil, but he is definitely not on the side of the protagonists.
=== [[Film]] ===
* For Disney animated movies, see the Western Animation folder below.
* In the ''[[An American Tail]]'' movies, all the cats (except Fievel's friend Tiger) are bad guys, looking to exploit and/or eat the heroic, downtrodden mice. The second movie included a good-natured dog, voiced by [[Jimmy Stewart]].
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*** What is very interesting about this is that, in the scene where Mrs. Fitzgibbon is hanging out the laundry and Dragon is sleeping near the back step (a scene which takes more of an omniscient camera view than the first-person view of the mice), he doesn't come across nearly so horrifying. Part of this may be due to him being drugged at the time, but it also comes across as him seeming a normal cat here but a monster in all his other scenes [[Fridge Brilliance|because that is how a cat would look and sound to a mouse]].
** Played straight again in the sequel, to an extent, anyway. Troy and Muriel are more [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|anthropomorphic and bumbling]] than Dragon, what's more, they have been experimented on by the [[Big Bad]] into doing his evil deeds. They ironically seem to be the only villains to meet their demise at the end of the film.
* The only
* In the show within a show in ''[[Bolt]]'', all cats are the servants of Dr. Calico and aren't just mean, they're downright villainous.
** The cats who play Dr Calico's pets are pretty mean outside set, enjoying taunting Bolt and exploiting his belief that the show is real for their own entertainment.
** Subverted with Mittens (see below).
* The Hungarian movie ''[[The Cat Trap]]'' presents the cats as international gangsters, while the mice run the police and the Secret Service/MI5 organization, complete with their own James Bond.
** According to [[IMDb]], it was translated as ''Cat City'' in English. ''Cat Trap'' is the literal translation.
** The only feline character in
** And then the sequel introduced [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Moloch]], a [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] demonic cat...
* ''[[Cats and Dogs]]'' rode this trope into the ground, with evil cats using a mouse army to take over the world, while the dogs are secret agents bent on saving it; this has apparently been the state of affairs for the entirety of human history, bordering on [[Exclusively Evil]].
** Subverted in the sequel, fortunately. It turns out that good cats do
* ''[[Babe]]'' likewise features good-hearted dogs (even Rex turns out to be a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]). Naturally, there is a scheming cat, although the story gives a suspiciously noticeable disclaimer that there are many perfectly nice cats in the world.
** Babe does contain its share of unpleasant dogs. There's the dog who works for the sheep rustlers and the trio of stray dogs who attack the flock (admittedly, none of these dogs are given any kind of character and are portrayed more as [[Dogs Are Dumb|mindless beasts]], who are following orders/acting upon instinct). On top of which, even the motherly Fly has her dark side, and treats the sheep pretty coldly throughout the film. What makes Babe so effective as a "sheep pig" is that, unlike the dogs, he is willing to treat the sheep as his equals.
* Played incredibly straight with the Cat Beast from ''[[9|Nine]]''. Not an actual cat, per se (more of a cybernetic steampunk jaguar-thing), but it's still
* In ''[[Scary Movie]] II'', a mean cat goes so far as to attack the heroine with a broken bottle.
* ''[[The Incredible Shrinking Man]]'': when Scott Carey shrinks to six inches and has to live in the dollhouse, guess what animal breaks his dollhouse apart and tries to eat him?
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** Ditto Stephen King's ''[[Sleepwalkers]]'', assuming it's not the very same film.
* [[Adaptation Expansion|Unlike in the books]], in the live-action film of ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', the White Witch had [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|white Siberian tigers]] among her group, presumably to go with [[An Ice Person|her magic's theme]].
* The 2011 Korean horror film,
* The cougar from ''[[Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey]]''. For the aversion, see below.
=== [[Literature]] ===
* [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] personally liked cats (case in point: ''The Adventures of Tom Bombadil''), but because of the mythological tropes that he consciously used, the only times they appear in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' are as minions of evil forces - most notably, as Queen Berúthiel's feline spies. Sauron himself was even originally conceived as a "Prince of Cats", and the Eye of Sauron is described as "cat-like" a few times.
* Played straight with Greebo, Nanny Ogg's cat in the same setting as [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents]]''. He is a nasty, foul-tempered force of nature (though Nanny thinks he's an adorable little kitten). This is a cat who once ate a vampire while it was in bat form.
* The book ''Grumpy Old Men: A Manual For The British Malcontent'' contains a long, particularly surreal, and rambling rant about cats. An extract:
{{quote|Here's a clue about cats: tigers. Are tigers bastards? Yes. And what are tigers? Just big cats. Therefore cats are tigers only smaller. Therefore they are bastards. Here's another clue. Lions. What do lions do? Lie around all day and then, when they're bored, jump a giraffe and eat it. Cats don't even do that. Ever see a cat jump a giraffe? No. Why? Because we've cossetted them and welcomed them into our homes and invented cat food, just for the idle bastards.}}
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* In the novel ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', Alex is attacked by a bunch of furious cats when attempting to rob a woman's house.
** But then, considering Alex is a [[Villain Protagonist]], the cats could be considered heroic vigilantes.
* The [[Paul Jennings]] short story
* The ''novel'' ''[[Stuart Little]]'' plays this absolutely straight (in contrast to the film), with Snowball the cat attempting to trick the family into thinking Stuart has decided to act like a mouse instead of a human. Later, he convinces an alleycat friend of his to try and kill Stuart's love interest, Margot the sparrow. Book Snowball is actually quite the [[Card-Carrying Villain]].
* Lady Jane in [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[Bleak House]]''.
{{quote|'''KROOK:''' Hi! show 'em how you scratch. Hi! Tear, my lady!}}
* In
* Played straight, sort of, in [[Diana Wynne Jones]]'s ''[[Chrestomanci]]'' books.
** In ''Charmed Life'', the main character's fiddle is turned into a very irritable cat ({{spoiler|who turns out to be an embodiment of one of the protagonist's nine lives.}} Oops.)
** ''In The Lives Of Chrisopher Chant'', Christopher steals and later befriends the embodiment of this trope, an ill tempered cat named Throgmorten who delights in frightening and tearing up just about everyone but Christopher.
* [http://essays.quotidiana.org/belloc/them/ This essay] even touches on the problem of their [[Cute Kitten|corrupting kittens]].
* A glass cat is a [[Brown Note]] [[Cosmic Horror]] in ''Cat In Glass'' by Nancy Etchemendy.
* Mogget in the ''[[Old Kingdom]]'' series takes this to epic [[Deadpan Snarker]] heights. And that's with his collar on; without it, you should probably start running. [[Sealed Evil in a Teddy Bear|Fast]]. Of course, Mogget only ''looks'' like a cat, but there was probably a reason for picking that shape.
* [[Robert E. Howard]]'s thoughts on the matter are evident in the title of his tract about cats, [http://users.rcn.com/shogan/howard/thoughts/beast.htm The Beast from the Abyss].
* ''[[The Jungle Book (novel)|The Jungle Book]]'' gives us both Shere Khan and Bagheera. The former, a tiger, is a major villain who hates humans with a passion and vows to someday kill Mowgli.
* One of the eponymous ''[[Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark]]'' is about a cat. That should be enough to tell you all about that cat.
* In ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'', there is Mr. Filch's cat Mrs. Norris.
** Later in the series, though, we see Dolores Umbridge's fluffy cat Patronus, which is undeniably evil simply because
** Subverted with Crookshanks, who Ron initially sees as evil because of his hatred of Scabbers the rat. In the end, it is revealed that he had good intentions all along and even helped the human protagonists with things they wouldn't otherwise have been able to do (get into The Shrieking Shack for the big reveal).
* In the ''Avatar'' trilogy, Kelemvor Lyonsbane was cursed to become a gigantic, man-eating panther whenever he performed a good deed without receiving a reward for it. (This, of course, [[Dramatic Irony|was not the original intention of the curse]]--[[Laser-Guided Karma|it was meant to force his evil ancestor to do good deeds and never be rewarded for it]], lest he turn into the evil panther. Somehow, through the passage of time, the spell reversed. [[Blessed with Suck|Sucks to be Kelemvor]].) If I recall correctly, it changed with the evil ancestor's children. The curse found no sins to punish in a newborn baby, and so it inverted itself. Or some other ridiculous explanation.
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* Subverted and played straight in ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]''. There is one not so nice cat named Ginger in ''[[The Last Battle]]''.
* In the ''[[Alcatraz Series]]'', the narrator claims that "Kittens are cute so that they can draw you in, then pounce on you for the kill. Seriously. Stay away from kittens."
* In [[Saki (author)|Saki]]'s short story
* Prim's cat Buttercup from ''[[The Hunger Games (novel)|The Hunger Games]]'', a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] in feline form.
* In ''[[Who Cut the Cheese?]]'' by Stilton Jarlsberg, a cat tears up all the rats in CheesyUniverse.
* In ''[[Little Witch Academia: The Nonsensical Witch and the Country of the Fairies]]'', The {{color|red|red}} trio--the [[Protagonist]] Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, the [[Nice Girl]] Lotte, and the mushroom lover Sucy--was warned that they should absolutely ''not'' enter the Country of the Fairies. Because this is Akko we're talking about, she ignored the warning and entered the Country of the Fairies (Akko has a history of not following instructions). What did she find? Cats. A group of cats who are not nice. When they saw the trio, they immediately lunged at the trio to claw and scratch them. The cats only stopped because their soon-to-be-king Feoras ordered them to. The dogs are somehow even worse.
=== [[Live-Action TV]] ===
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' plays with this trope in spades: the Dilgar were a basically race of Nazi-like humanoid felines responsible for massive genocide and experimentation on sentient beings. However, they ended up extinct when their sun went nova, as they had been forced back to their homeworld.
* ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'': when Nora gushes about her many cats, another character asks her:
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* A demonic-looking lion shows up in ''[[The Teletubbies]]'', along with [[Everything's Worse with Bears|a similarly demonic-looking bear.]]
=== [[Music]] ===
* ''[[Pet Shop Boys]]'' "I Want A Dog", which first appeared as a b-side on their single "Rent" and was later remixed by Frankie Knuckles for their album "Introspective", extols the virtues of dogs as loyal, affectionate defenders whilst containing the lyrics, "Don't want a cat/Scratching its claws all over my habitat/Giving no love and getting fat."
** Interestingly, other PSB songs ("Suburbia" and "I'm Not Scared") use dogs to depict more sinister forces.
* The Timbuk 3 song ''Facts about Cats'':
{{quote|''Cats will be cats, and cats will be cruel
''Cats can be callous, and cats can be cool
''Cats will be cats, remember these words
''Cats will be cats, and cats eat birds }}
=== [[Newspaper Comics]] ===
* Catbert from ''[[Dilbert]]'' is probably the living embodiment of this trope. After so many of his fans, independently, named the character, Scott Adams wanted a reason to keep the character, and came up with Catbert being hired as the Director of Human Resources. His rationale was that a cat was ''perfect'' for HR...and would bat you about before downsizing you. Of course, Dogbert isn't much better.
** In fact, ''Dog''bert is often shown to have the personality traits of a typical cartoon ''cat''.
* [[Garfield]] is a strange case. He'll squash sentient spiders without a second thought, he'll kick Odie off the table, and he'll verbally abuse Jon (although [http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/2002/ga021102.gif Jon doesn't know]... [http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/1992/ga920121.gif or does he?]), but, at least in the [[Garfield and Friends|series]] and animated specials, he's a hero who will go out of the way to save his friends. If anything, he's a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]].
* Add "proudly ignorant" and you have Bucky Katt from ''[[Get Fuzzy]].'' And he doesn't chase mice.
*
** According to Dog, Horse's mother was a one-eyed, hook-handed alleycat, and his father a [[Improbable Species Compatibility|Barracuda]].
** Horse himself believes he is the son of a Leather Jacket.
*** And not just any leather jacket: one of the jackets of the local biker-gang (owners of his mother). Ah Horse, the only animal who could give Major the pig-dog what-for.
* Berke Breathed's [[Bloom County|Bill the Cat]] is much too versatile a character to be placed under this trope. However, a Sunday ''Outland'' strip features Bill and Opus, lounging in a kiddie pool, while Opus rambles on...Lampshading this trope, he asks Bill his opinion on the stereotype of dogs being faithful, unconditional creatures while cats are mean, selfish, and narcissistic...all the while, Bill is setting up wires attached to a machine to electrocute the unsuspecting Opus. He changes his mind at the end, though.
* Snuffles from [[Pearls Before Swine]]. Played for laughs.
* In ''[[Peanuts]]'', there's Snoopy's arch-enemy - [[The Unseen]] neighbour cat [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|World War II]], who appears to be nothing but a mindless brute... and ''appears'' is the key word, since he tends to have a weird sense of humor that he displays by ripping holes in Snoopy's doghouse in funny and ironic shapes. For example, after Snoopy tells him that he "wouldn't know a fiddle from a bass drum", he rips a hole in the doghouse shaped like a violin.
** What makes this concept even funnier is that Snoopy (who, being a dog, should really be the bane of a cat's existence) is genuinely terrified of WWII, and moments after taunting him
* ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'': Sgt. Louise Lugg's cat Bella has a tough, nasty attitude, and is extremely pampered.
* [[Heathcliff]] is so feared by the dogs in the neighborhood that the animal control people has deputized him; the dogcatcher often doesn't even need a net, because Heathcliff can convince the strays to turn themselves in. Naturally, mice are afraid of him too, but he lets them live, [[A God I Am| so long as they worship him and give him offerings]], such as cheese.
===[[Oral Tradition]], [[Folkore]], Myths and Legends===
* The Icelandic ''Jólakötturinn'', or Yule Cat, is described as a horrible creature that eats children with no new clothes for Christmas.
===
*
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]''
** [http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/magic_single_card.asp?cn=Mirri,%20Cat%20Warrior&sn=Exodus Like this]: a [[Catgirl]].
* A frequent joke in ''[[Dungeons
** Gleefully [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html this OOTS strip].
* In the ''[[Ravenloft]]'' setting, there’s the ''Cat of Felkovic'', a powerful ''[[Living Statue| figurine of wondrous power]]'' – in this case, a tiny onyx statuette of a cat that can turn into a living sabre tooth tiger. The Cat is actually [[Holy Hand Grenade| a potent ally of Good]], created to [[Vampire Hunter| hunt and fight vampires]]. But no mistake, when actually fulfilling this purpose, it’s [[Good Is Not Nice| very]], ''[[Pay Evil Unto Evil| very]]'' [[Knight in Sour Armor| mean.]]
* The Cat Lord of the Beastlands - from the ''[[Planescape]]'' setting zigzags the Trope, as it depends on how much you like cats and how much ''they'' like ''you''. He's friendly and generous to cat-lovers. However, the Mouse Lord considers him a cruel monster, and those who abuse cats or ally themselves with [[Arch Enemy| the Dog Lord]] will find that "mean" does not even begin to describe him...
===[[Theatre]]===
* Even apart from cats' reputation in folklore, this is [[Older Than Radio]]; in Maurice Maeterlink's 1908 play ''L'Oiseau Bleu'' (later filmed as ''[[The Blue Bird]]''), the children are aided by a dog and a cat. Guess which one betrays them?
* The opera ''The English Cat'' by Hans Werner Henze: the cats are running the Royal Society For the Protection of Rats (!), but behind the charitable facade, they are all for money and fame—and they don't mind getting red in the claws.
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* In Edmond Rostand's ''Chanticler'', the farm's treacherous cat plots with the Blackbird and the predators of the night against the titular rooster.
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* ''[[Chrono Cross]]'' might be one of the most exaggerated examples; Lynx, the main villain, is a six foot tall anthropomorphic panther.
* One of [[Earthworm Jim (video game)|Earthworm Jim]]'s enemies is the aptly named Evil the Cat, who the creators describe as evil in its purest form. He rules the planet Heck, which, as you can probably guess, is Evil's vision of what Hell is.
** His [[Animated Adaptation]] [[Earthworm Jim (animation)|counterpart]] is slightly more complex, liking to balance [[Villains Out Shopping|the odd movie night]] and [[Affably Evil|romantic affair]] with the duties of [[Kick the Dog|torturing and killing innocents]] and [[For the Evulz|attempted complete destruction of the universe]].
* All the cats in the game ''[[Cave Story]]'' are enemies; one boss, Monster X, even turns into a cat after it's defeated. There are NPC dogs in the game that are your allies.
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The
* The [[Carmen Sandiego]] series has Carmen's pet cat, Carmine, who shows up every now and then to taunt the players in certain games or lie on Carmen's lap.
* The cats of ''[[Pokémon]]
** Glameow and Purugly of ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]'' are built around this trope.
** To a lesser extent, Persian from ''[[Pokémon Red and Blue]]''.
** Possibly [[Invoked Trope]] with a cat named Purrloin from ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]''. It's fairly adorable, but its title is the "Ill-Natured Pokémon", able to make off with people's belongings and [[Karma Houdini|get away with it]] due to its charming nature. Its evolution, Liepard, isn't much better.
* Bad Cat was the last and hardest obstacle in the original ''[[Glider]]'' (much like a [[Final Boss]], except that the ''Glider'' games never had [[Boss Battle]]s).
* Mike, [[Cute Witch|Yoriko's]] [[Simple Staff|kitty staff]] in ''[[Arcana Heart]]''. [[Evil Weapon|Actually a sealed Demon King whose head looks like a kitty's]]. Will attack anyone who mocks him, anyone who looks at him funny, anyone he thinks mocked him or looked at him funny, and dogs.
* ''[[Dragon Age: Origins]]'' in the DLC quest “The Stone Prisoner”, the antagonist is Kitty, a Desire Demon that has possessed a cat and enthralled a young child. Naturally, if the player’s party includes the tamed mabari war hound you rescued and befriended, it will not like Kitty at all.
* The Kilrathi, from ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]]''. Launching unprovoked attacks on peaceful ships and dropping bioweapons on helpless planets (among other things) generally doesn't count as "playing nice".
* In ''[[The Witcher|The Witcher 3]]'', cats don't seem to like Geralt much at all, hissing and scowling whenever he comes near them.
* In ''[[Dragon Age]]'', a demon takes the form of a cat and tries to possess a little girl. The PC can save the girl or let the demon go on its merry way.
* ''[[Fur Fighters]]''' main antagonist is a massive cat. He leads an army of dumb bears which you can't help but feel are being taken advantage of.
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*** And she was hungry.
* ''[[Purple]]'' features a cat-shaped type of demons who attack player by throwing explosive thread-balls at him.
* In ''[[
{{quote|'''Kokonoe''': Hmmm. I have to say, I kind of like the way your voice sounds right now... Are you crying? Is this the result of a suppressed fight-or-flight response constricting your airway?
'''Hazama''': No, this is *Sneeze* *Sneeze* I'm just allergic to—*Sneeze*
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* According to the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHFMTB3f4V8 trailer], someone on ''[[The Sims]] 3 : Pets'' development team is definitely a dog person. During the trailer, dogs see off burglars, share the odd, bemused [[Aside Glance]] with the viewer, and rescue Little Timmy from Bullies. Cats? They eat the pet fish, give their owners the runaround at bathtime, and shred the furniture, hissing and spitting all the while and never bothering to make eye contact. The only ones they seem to like are the horses.
* ''[[Dark Souls]]'' has the [http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dark-souls-trophies-guide-screenshot-cheshire-cat.jpg Great Felines] - huge, [[Glasgow Grin]]-sporting monstrosities that make disturbing, yowling noises (basically, they sound like very, ''very'' angry housecats) and are capable of devouring the player character in ''one gulp''.
=== [[Web Animation]] ===
* [[
** Oddly enough, though, he also manages to be completely adorable while doing so.
* Black Kitty from ''[[Goodbye Kitty]]''.
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* ''[http://www.pvponline.com PvP]'' has the aptly named "Scratch Fury, Destroyer of Worlds" (they let the teenaged intern name him). Scratch is a house cat owned by Skull the Troll, who was zapped by [https://web.archive.org/web/20120111133851/http://www.pvponline.com/2004/02/12/thu-feb-12/ an intelligence machine]. Once he gained human intelligence, he became increasingly power-mad and megalomaniacal, plotting world domination and general enslavement of humanity ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110717224634/http://www.pvponline.com/2004/05/29/sat-may-29/ and usually being foiled by his cat instincts]). The author, as a response to people telling him how much like their cats Scratch was, broke the trend when his cat instincts actually caused a plan to work - his cat desire to kill birds and small animals and his human intelligence resulted in Scratch going on a minor animal killing spree culminating in the brutal murder of a [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717194244/http://www.pvponline.com/2006/10/05/oct-5-2006/ junkyard dog]. The author's response was how many of ''your'' cats have beaten a junkyard dog to death with a nail board?
* An unusually crude example can be found in ''[http://www.errantstory.com Errant Story]'' - the main character, Meji, is a sorceress who has a flying, talking cat by the name of Ellis as her familiar. The 'talking' bit is the clincher, though, since his use of language could make sailors blush - he's constantly making crude suggestions, sexual references, and inappropriate jokes. For obvious reasons, Meji regularly applies a fireball or thunderbolt to him, but since he's [[Made of Iron]], it doesn't really deter him to any significant degree...
* Spark, the talking cat from ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'', is the main character's pet and familiar. Though he's obviously a protagonist and very devoted to Dominic, Spark can still be a mischievous and downright self-absorbed little bastard at times.
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20130501012000/http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2008-04-16 He has his moments.]
* Eben from ''[http://www.twolumps.net Two Lumps]''.
* Neko from [https://web.archive.org/web/20130723021523/http://nekothekitty.smackjeeves.com/comics/939963/735-and-it-s-working/ Neko the Kitty Comics].
* ''[[Lackadaisy]]'': this may or may not count, considering [[Word of God]] has stated that the characters are more "humans in cat form" than straight up anthropomorphized cats, but every single character in Lackadaisy has at least one semi-psychotic trait. Rocky is [[Crazy Awesome]] bordering on [[Psychopathic Manchild]], Freckle is [[Ax Crazy]], Mordecai is a [[Four Eyes, Zero Soul|cold-blooded]] [[Psycho for Hire]], Viktor is a [[Retired Badass]] with a tendency of [[Overprotective Dad|beating the hell]] out of Ivy's various boyfriends, Nina has shades of [[My Beloved Smother]] mixed with [[Mama Bear]], and even gentile Mitzi has a well hidden [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|ruthless streak]].
* The Evil in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''. Kittens who are literally the spawn of [[Satan]], and which have a tendency to [[Killer Rabbit|kill people]] if they don't get their milk.
* ''[[Something
** Early in the strip, Choo Choo was shown ''smothering'' a kitten, much to the girls' horror, but he has mostly regressed to just panty-stealing and being a background character recently. Twitchy Hug was assassinated mainly because he was getting increasingly psychotic—he killed a hooker in a throwaway gag strip, was seen dragging a body through the house in another strip, and was about to attack Davan when he was killed himself. He also had Mickey-Jesus' head in a jar on top of the fridge.
** In strips where Choo Choo Bear answers the [[Fourth Wall Mail Slot]], he's shown to have utter contempt for the readers, the other characters, and the cartoonist. Of course, he also wears a smoking jacket and talks instead of going "Murr!". And is a recurring character in [[Sadist Show|Something Positive]].
*** This is not the same Choo Choo Bear. The cast page lists in-universe Choo Choo Bear and the anthropomorphic Choo Choo Bear separately, and explicitly says they're not the same character. Of course, the smoking jacket Choo Choo Bear still fits the trope.
** In [https://web.archive.org/web/20130511033418/http://somethingpositive.net/sp09022011.shtml these] [https://web.archive.org/web/20130726092702/http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp09052011.shtml two] strips, Choo Choo's son, Woogie, claims that all cats are evil, soulless monsters forged in "hell's hate furnace" that condition their "owners" to associate abuse with love.
* ''[[Sinfest]]'' features the cat Percival, who, while not overtly malicious, is certainly arrogant. Percival and his [[Dumb Is Good|friendly but stupid]] dog companion, Pooch, live with a human whom Pooch calls "Master", while Percival contemptuously calls him "the man".
** Percy has a soft spot for Pooch, though, sneaking in and patting him comfortingly when he's ill.
* ''[[Adventurers!]]''. Not direct, but when the word "Cat" comes up in a game of [https://web.archive.org/web/20100606024240/http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/20020815.html evil Scrabble], you know someone's saying something.
** Well, you can't see the rest of the word...there could be [[You Do NOT Want to Know|an "s" there]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121018181235/http://www.nerdcomics.com/sdjc/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/attackcat.gif Based on a true story.]
* ''[[Questionable Content]]'' has Mieville, Dora's cat, which ''seems'' nice enough, but always seems to suggest murder as an option. He also likes to take catnip and watch ''The Wizard Of Oz''.
** The "murder" thing was Dora projecting. Since then, however, Mieville ''has'' demonstrated that he is sufficiently evil (or at least sufficiently creepy) to render even Pintsize catatonic...[[A Worldwide Punomenon|*
* Mecha takes on the form of a cat in ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20170802124754/http://www.revenant-braves.schala.net/ Circumstance of the Revenant Braves]''. Initially, he appears to be a decent individual, but we soon find out that his ethics and motivations are at least somewhat [[Anti-Hero|questionable]].
* ''[[Faux Pas]]'' has 144 cats considering Randy the red fox their personal toy. They take turns in dropping him in an old well, tying him up, or [http://www.ozfoxes.net/cgi/pl-fp1.cgi?998 turning him into a giant yarn ball].
* ''[[Captain SNES]]'': [http://www.captainsnes.com/2010/02/26/608-bright-future/ "I thought about giving Blue a happy ending, but then I remembered something. Cats are jerks."]
* ''[[The Perpetual Aquarium]]'': [http://www.neopets.com/~Arryion#\] Cartoon Has Cloudie the Kadoatie (i.e., cat on neopets), who lives this trope (although somewhat understandably at times). Snowie, another kadoatie, is a bit of a subversion.
* ''[[Living With Insanity]]'' has a cat who isn't just mean, she helped the robot head attempt world domination and enjoys [http://www.livingwithinsanity.com/index/?p=100 castrating trekkies].
* Feep of ''[[Little Tales]]'' seems to be the devil incarnate, once throwing up on a priest who blessed her,
* [[Bob and George]] [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/051015 here].
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** Lita pretty much belongs to Gary now.
** Of course, Gary is allergic to cats (though he is apparently on medication).
* ''[[The
** Mr Scruffy has proven his true alignment by mercilessly (and gorily) slaughtering a level 1 commoner gladiator. (Okay, one might argue he was trying to defend his owner and was unaware the latter was in no danger at all).
** And, later... poor, poor [[Meaningful Name|YukYuk]]: the kobold might have had retribution coming... but that is '''''Evil'''''. But, again, you could lay that mainly at Belkar's door. Maybe.
* ''[[Eerie Cuties]]'' has "[http://www.eeriecuties.com/strips-ec/most_cross_indeed! Mr. Boodles]", the cat [http://www.eeriecuties.com/strips-ec/the_villagers_were_sad... of a pretty nasty vampire queen]. Layla's werecat boyfriend Kade is one of the friendliest people in the cast, however.
* [[Squid Row]] ruins one of Randie's paintings,
* ''[[Purple Pussy]]'' will break off your fingers and jam a cigarette in your eye just for giggles.
* In ''[[Off White]]'', a snow leopard causes trouble for a group of sledders because it was offended at them for intruding into its territory.
* ''[[Karate Bears]]'' have a sidekick, Kat, [http://www.karatebears.com/2011/01/karate-kat-with-scimitar.html who is very cruel on occasion.]
* [http://dissonance.comicgenesis.com/d/20111128.html This] ''[[Dissonance]]'' comic shows how cruel cats are when they act cute. Cats are morbidly playful.
=== [[Web Original]] ===
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uehtn3TOBMg This video] is a case of "Kittens are Mean". Warning: [[Cute Kitten|you may]] [[Squee]] a little when one of the kittens growls at its grandma.
* In the animated short ''[http://www.vimeo.com/6898451 Yellow Cake]'', cats aren't just mean, they're [[Anvilicious|imperialist]] bastards!
* Played straight with [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo&NR=1 "The Mean Kitty Song"], until the last verse.
{{quote|{{spoiler|The one big thing I forgot to mention/was that he wasn't fighting./He just wanted attention.}}}}
* Steve Cash's ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjZrUn03kXI Talking Kitty]'' videos on youtube.
* ''[[Ask That Guy With The Glasses]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20130925082628/http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/ask-thatguy/5588-ask-thatguy-episode-33 episode 33]: Question? How can I kill my family and frame the cat?
* The hovercat from ''[[Water Human]]''. As the name implies, it's an unholy union of cat and hovercraft which speaks in [[Creepy Monotone]]. And crushes people.
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131017023931/http://trollcats.com/ Trollcats]'' is pretty much Cats Are Mean [[X Meets Y|meets]] [[Refuge in Audacity]].
* In the ''[[Orion's Arm]]'' setting, the Queen of Pain is exactly what you'd expect to get if you took a terrified, furious, half-dead cat, uplifted it five times in a row, and gave it the body of an Eldritch Abomination.
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* Rumor has it that [[Walt Disney]] hated cats (and praised mice and dogs, the two mortal enemies of cats). Among the ways cats are portrayed in [[Disney]] animation:
** In [[Classic Disney Shorts]], the regular antagonist of Mickey Mouse (and Co.) is Peg-leg Pete, a rather large, imposing bully-of-a-cat. The anthropomorphic dog, Goofy, is amiable, simple-minded, and good-natured, and Pluto is just... [[Furry Confusion|a dog]]
** Peg-leg Pete later becomes Black Pete in the Disney films, the boorish villain.
*** The 1937 short ''The Worm Turns'' both supports and subverts this. Mickey is a chemist who creates a courage formula which turns weak characters into courageous ones, which means they [[Took a Level
** In the ''[[Alice Comedies]]'' Disney made before creating Mickey, Pete is a non-descript bearlike creature. Alice is also accompanied by a non-villainous cat named Julius.
*** In ''[[House of Mouse]]'', there is some proof that Pete is a cat, as evidenced by Mickey telling Pluto that Pete's the only cat he's allowed to chase.
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* [[Chuck Jones]]' Claude Cat was eventually recast as a mean antagonist to the much cuter Frisky Puppy and/or Pussyfoot the Kitten.
** He even changes appearance in the recasting, going from soft and rounded to scraggly and angular like Wile. E. Coyote.
* Garfield, of ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'', is portrayed somewhat like this, making him a sort of [[Anti-Hero]]; however, he's less cruel and nasty than lazy and cynical. And it's shown that he has a [[Freudian Excuse]] in that his fellow pet Odie is dumb and his owner Jon is lame. He does ''try'' (and fail) to catch the non-talking birds in his universe, but unlike other cats, he won't chase mice unless Jon forces his paw. Even then, he won't eat them, even under orders from ''The Kitty Council''.
** The comics version of Garfield is an outright bastard about killing spiders, though. This may be intentionally deconstructing the Cats Are Mean trope, though, since most humans have no compunction about acting the exact same way toward arthropod vermin.
*** There have also been a few instances in the comics where Garfield devoured sentient, talking houseplants while they begged for mercy. At least the spiders can run away...
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* Played straight with Ren and Stimpy in the ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]'' episode, "Who's Stupid Now?", as a consequence of the [[Personality Swap]] plot.
* An episode of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' involved a [[The Faceless|faceless Bond-style villain]] who was, in fact, being mind controlled by his [[Right-Hand-Cat]], the TRUE villain.
* ''[[Swat Kats]]'' takes place on an alien planet inhabited by anthropomorphic cats. Thus, some of them are good and some evil. The [[Rogues Gallery]] of villainous cats in the series includes Dark Kat ([[Big Bad]] crime boss), Doctor Viper (a half-reptilian [[Mad Scientist]]), the Metallikats ([[Outlaw Couple]]), married gangsters brought [[Back
* Mr. Jinks, the enemy of Pixie and Dixie.
* The werecats in ''[[Scooby
* Kitty, the psychotic [[Devil in Plain Sight]] cat from ''[[Taz-Mania]]''.
* An episode of ''[[King of the Hill]]'' deals with this trope. Hank signs up to care for the pet of an army commander, assuming immediately that "Pet" means "Dog". When he's assigned a cat, named Duke, Hank is portrayed as cheated and humiliated for it. Further, Duke himself is mean and ill-tempered, making life a living hell for his good-natured caretakers. Bill meanwhile, winds up taking care of a dog through the same program, who winds up not only being loyal and well-behaved, but makes Bill successful with the opposite sex. Subtle.
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* Brutus, the bully's cat from ''[[Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown]]'', is a great example, always trying to eat Woodstock until {{spoiler|Snoopy decks him.}}
* In ''[[The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs]]'', [[Captain Obvious|dogs are the heroes]], so cats are often the villains.
* ''[[Mighty Mouse]]'' cartoons used "Cats are Evil" as their main premise, seeing as the hero was a mouse. One that stood out was his [[Arch Enemy]], Oil Can Harry.
* The recent ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "That Darn Katz!"
* Ravage from ''[[Transformers]]'' is a Decepticon leopard/puma.
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* [[Krypto the Superdog]] has to deal with [[Big Bad|Mechanikat]], [[Cute Is Evil|Snooky Wookums]], and [[Femme Fatale|Isis]].
** Even his feline [[Sidekick]], Streaky, can come across as a bit of a jerk sometimes. Though if you lived with a girl like Andrea, you'd probably have the same personality...
* In
* Played straight in the [[Sports Cartoons]] that used to air on Nickelodeon during commercial breaks. The blue cat, in every cartoon except for one, is an unfair cheater who almost always gets his come-uppance by either the hippopotamus or the pig.
* In ''[[The Smurfs]]'', [[Big Bad|Gargamel]] has a ''really'' nasty cat named [[Names To Run Away From Really Fast|Azrael]], who views the Smurfs the same way most cats do mice.
* In one ''[[Underdog]]'' story, Overcat, an [[Evil Overlord]] who ruled a whole planet of cat people, wanted to invade Earth for their milk, [[Serious Business|as it was a staple of their diet and the wells they got it from had run dry]]. This guy was not only mean, but was nearly a match for Underdog as far as physical strength and super-powers went - rare for the series, considering most ''Underdog'' villains tended to be [[Mad Scientist]]s and others who relied on diabolical technology.
* Taken [[Up To Eleven]] with [[Meaningful Name| Dexter]] in an episode of ''[[DC Super Hero Girls]]''. This evil kitty is ''so'' mean he becomes [[The Power of Hate| a Red Lantern.]]
* In ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'', Kringer/Battle Cat avert this Trope, but Panthor plays it straight. He even tends to snarl or roar at Skeletor's other henchmen if they so much as come close to him. There was even one epsiode of the 2000 series where Kringer disguised [[Paper-Thin Disguise| (badly)]] as Panthor was able to get past Whiplash and Merman because they were afraid of Panthor.
=== [[Real Life]] ===
* Many cats' tendency to get overstimulated when they are being petted has given the cats a bad reputation for being "crazy". You're petting the cat, minding your own business, when the cat suddenly scratches or bites you—what happened? Well, many cats can only take so much petting before it overloads their little feline brains. Fluffy has been getting steadily more annoyed with you for quite some time and telling you to stop in what he thinks are no uncertain terms. Unfortunately, you may not be as good at reading feline body language as Fluffy thinks you are; so he thinks you're being rude and you think he's being crazy—all in all, not such a nice arrangement. (Hint: a tense cat will twitch its tail, open its eyes wide, and tense its muscles.)
* It doesn't help that cats retain most of their ancestors' predatory and hunting instincts, while dogs are more scavengers, like their forebears, the coyote and jackal. If well-fed, a cat doesn't especially need to kill, but will do so out of sport, which isn't good news for the local bird, mouse, and possum populations. The mother cat trains her children to hunt fairly young, often by offering them her still-bloody kills, so they get the taste for fresh meat when they're barely off the nipple.
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* As briefly mentioned in the [[Stephen King]] example above, it was once believed that cats will steal the breath of babies. In real life, particularly territorial cats (especially those who have been the sole animal in the house) will sometimes exhibit aggression towards new infants brought into the home, perceiving them as potential invaders or rivals (the beloved pet has suddenly found itself receiving far less attention and affection with the arrival of this new, squishy, hairless creature)
** Sometimes, however, they will accept the baby into the family and take care of it, which may lead them to become [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n18IjyMbt9g&feature=related overprotective spawns from hell].
* Author Elizabeth Bear's "Presumptuous Cat"/"Cat vs. Monkey" posts are a hugely anticipated [http://matociquala.livejournal.com/tag/presumptuous+ cat feature]{{Dead link}} of her blog.
* ''[[Cracked.com]]'' shares with us the [https://web.archive.org/web/20131104110546/http://www.cracked.com/article/226_6-adorable-cat-behaviors-with-shockingly-evil-explanations/ 6 Adorable Cat Behaviors With Shockingly Evil Explanations!]
** "Evil" probably isn't the right word, though, for things like wanting to teach humans to hunt, or not liking humans' smell...hey, wouldn't the former be more [[Mentors|mentorly]] anyway?
* While cats are (were?) said to be "false" and "untrustworthy", experts say that the opposite is true, too: cats are comparably easy to read and don't lie about their feelings. Cat purrs = happy (or trying to help some broken bones heal. You should be able to tell which). Cat gets twitchy = nervous. Cat hisses = angry. Ever heard of a case where a cat acts friendly with purring and all and then attacking unprovoked without any warning?
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==
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===
* Mayaa from ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]''
* ''[[Chi's Sweet Home]]'' is all about this. A curious little kitten shares her take on day to day events.
* Happy from ''[[Fairy Tail]]''.
* Viral from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' starts off as mean. Gainax has stated that he is a Beastman comprised of cat and [[Everything's Even Worse with Sharks|shark]] genetics. {{spoiler|Subverted in that he's just following orders, and he does a [[Heel Face Turn]] later.}}
* A subversion exist in ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''. Kero can be annoying and far too smug, sometimes seems like a [[Dirty Coward]], and has a bad temper that can lead to old-style comedic catfights at the drop of a hat. But he's also unequivocally a hero, [[Cute Kitten|utterly adorable]] and [[Tastes Like Diabetes|sweet]] most of the time, has a hilarious addiction to video games, his most memorable trait is being a [[Big Eater]], and his [[Transformation Sequence|true form]] is [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|incredibly awesome]] and badass ([[The Worf Effect|most of the time]]). His counterpart, Spinel Sun, is ''set up'' to look like this trope, since he works for the [[Big Bad]] of Season 2, but in actuality, he's quite sophisticated, charming, and
* All of the incarnations of Leomon in any of the ''[[Digimon]]'' series are always a heroic and awesome [[Badass|Bad Asses]] and consistently complete [[Heroic Sacrifice]]s.
* Kyo, from ''[[Fruits Basket]]''. Basically hated by his own family for being the cat of the zodiac, he is also saddled with a curse that {{spoiler|turns him into a hideous and apparently horrible smelling demon should he ever not wear his magical bracelet. The curse stems from the cat of the zodiac legend disagreeing with God. Turns out, he [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|didn't want to live forever.]]}} His charming personality doesn't exactly help either. {{spoiler|Of course, he gets the girl in the end.}}
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* Averted in ''[[Outlaw Star]]'': The [[Catgirl]] Cop is on the good guys' side in spite of being slightly antagonistic towards them.
* Meowth from ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' is debatable, as the Team Rocket Trio are [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|so pathetic that the viewer may actually feel sorry for him.]] Also, he does have some [[Pet the Dog|moments where he displays his nicer side]], such as making sure a Skitty he met got to May since [[Genre Savvy|he knew its life would consist of getting sent flying a daily basis.]]
** The dub of ''[[Pokémon: The
* ''[[Kimba the White Lion]]'' inverts this trope with [[The Messiah|its hero]] and [[Heartwarming Orphan|his girlfriend]], but plays this trope straight with [[Evil Overlord|Claw]] and [[Manipulative Bastard|Cassius]].
**
* Played straight and then subverted in ''[[The Borrower Arrietty]]''. Sho's cat, Niya, at first, is mean and predatory towards Arrietty, but he ultimately makes peace with her.
* ''[[Digimon Xros Wars]]'' gives us Bastemon, a friendly catlike Digimon who, despite being some kind of royalty, eager joins Xros Heart.
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* Subverted in the ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' comics by Mirage. Klunk (Michaelangelo's cat) is very kind and friendly.
** However, in [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IDW]], a mutant cat, Old Hob, is a their first major enemy. {{spoiler|He mutated after trying to ''eat'' Raphael.}}
* Seemingly played straight with the Red Lantern's [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|blue]] house cat, but subverted in a recent spotlight on Dex-Star which explains ''why'' [[Start of Darkness|he's so angry]]. {{spoiler|A gang of thieves killed his human, and he wants revenge on them. Yep, a cat with loyalty.}}
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* Subverted ''hard'' in ''[[Billy the Cat]]'', where the eponymous character, who ironically started as a mean and vicious brat, ends up being reincarnated as a cat, and becomes actually a better person while being a cat. Almost all real cats portrayed around him are portrayed as at worst neutral, and at best friendly. The only exception is the villain, Sanctifer, and even he is revealed to have a [[Freudian Excuse]] later in the serie.
=== [[Film]] ===
* Danny and Sawyer from ''[[Cats Don't Dance]]''
* Rajah the nice tiger from ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' (no relation to the similarly-named tiger from the first act of [[Miscellaneous Disney Shorts|''Goliath II'']]).
* Subverted with all the lions of ''[[The Lion King]]'' and the two sequels, except Scar and Zira. And of course, the hyenas, though they're largely [[Affably Evil]].
* Subverted with Bagheera from ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]'', though this is hardly Disney's invention.
* Walt's story men were able to get a real feline protagonist into ''[[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Pinocchio]]''. True, Figaro was a cute, unrealistically obedient kitten who took a lot of crap from an old man and a goldfish, but still, good cat!
** That said, [[Canon Immigrant|after gaining a star role in some of the]] [[Classic Disney Shorts]], Figaro was portrayed [[Took a Level in Jerkass|as a slightly meaner-spirited character]], usually acting as an antagonist for Pluto. That said, due to [[Tastes Like Diabetes|the
** On the other hand, ''Pinocchio'' also has Gideon, a mute but otherwise very anthropomorphic cat who tries his best to help the evil talking fox J. Worthington Foulfellow in his schemes to encourage children to be irresponsible and endanger themselves. But Gideon is not so much actually mean as just dumb.
* ''[[Oliver and Company]]'' strongly subverts this (if not inverts it) with Oliver the cat portrayed primarily as [[The Woobie]], with probably the fewest wrongdoings of any character, with the possible exception of Jenny, another woobie. Even questionable morality is mostly on the part of the dogs and, of course, [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|the human characters]] (except Jenny). This approach is very unusual for a Disney movie.
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* The Disney animated feature ''[[The Aristocats]]'' both subverts and supports this trope. The elegant, refined Duchess and her rambunctious-yet-lovable kittens are as nice as you can hope; they're even friends with a mouse named Roquefort. Then there's Duchess' boyfriend O'Malley, the alley cat, and his pals, Scat Cat and his jazz band, all of whom are "a little rough around the edges." While Scat Cat's gang are definitely good guys, at one point, they capture Roquefort and toy with him, clearly intending to eat him. Roquefort survives only because he blurts out that he knows O'Malley. The film features a pair of dogs, who don't treat each other quite as well.
** Historical note: ''The Aristocats'' was the first film produced after Walt's death.
* On the other hand, ''[[101
* The titular hero of ''[[Bolt]]'' sees all cats as servants of Dr. Calico early on (though the actor felines portraying the cats aren't actually evil), though he eventually grows to become friends with Mittens. Mittens herself fulfills this trope at first, behaving like a Mafia don toward the local pigeons, bullying them into bringing her food scraps in exchange for not getting eaten, [[Defrosting Ice Queen|but soon starts to drift away from it as the film progresses]]. She turns out to be a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] and a [[Broken Bird]] whose relationship with Bolt leads them to become [[Fire-Forged Friends]].
** It's addressed in a surprisingly mature way. When Bolt realizes that this trope simply ''isn't true'' (at least, not to [[Exclusively Evil|the extent]] he's been trained to think), it's the first major step in his [[Character Development]]. And while it's only [[Subtext]], it's implied a few times that Mittens suffers from [[Fantastic Racism]] as a result of this perception.
** Furthermore, it's implied that Mitten's behavior before meeting Bolt was a [[Jerkass Facade]] to stay alive, i.e. she only bullied the birds because {{spoiler|she's declawed and can't hunt}}.
* Tigger from ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'' is a subversion. While he can be a nuisance, it's never his intention to be a jerk. In fact, Rabbit (who people would assume is innocent because he's...a rabbit) has more jerk moments than he does.
* Alex the lion from ''[[Madagascar]]'' and his parents from the sequel.
* Subverted with Tiger from ''[[An American Tail]]''.
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*** [[Don Bluth]] said once in an interview about the production of ''An American Tail'' that "We knew that if we were going to say "all cats are bad," we wanted to have at least one good one...and that's Tiger."
* The German-animated film ''[[Felidae]]'' is a rather unusual example, since, apart from Gustav and Pretorious, all of the main characters are cats. It's a case of cats acting like bastards towards other cats.
** Also, it's both played with
* Subverted with Tigress from ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'', especially during the end credits, where she not only loosens up enough to do her own imitation of Shifu, but is seen [[Animal Stereotypes|lying on her back, flipping and twirling the training dummy with her paws]]. Apparently, peace coming to the valley helped her mellow out quite a bit.
** Averted with Mei Ling from ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]: Secrets Of The Furious Five''.
* It is suggested that Orion in ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'' actually cared about or had some loyalty towards his owner.
* The sequel to ''[[Cats and Dogs]]'' shows that there are heroic cats. They're just more subtle about their work. Though the villain double-subverts this, she at least possess a [[Freudian Excuse]] for her attitude.
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* [[Adaptation Expansion|Unlike in the books]], the live-action film of ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'' had Aslan's followers include leopards and cheetahs.
=== [[Literature]] ===
* [[Diana Wynne Jones]]'s ''Castle in the Sky'' (sequel to ''[[Howl's Moving Castle (novel)|Howl's Moving Castle]]'') features a black cat who generally makes herself a nuisance to the main character, putting her and her kitten's needs before anything else. Later in the book, {{spoiler|she is revealed to be Sophie, the protagonist of the first book, and the kitten is her and Howl's son, Morgan}}.
* Partially subverted in Patricia Highfield's short story "[http://books.google.com/books?id=I1O8LKN74VYC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=%22ming%27s+biggest+prey%22&source=bl&ots=2V8z8pfGaU&sig=ayR3yLCfirVQlHWvkXEcl7358Mk&hl=en&ei=wvlGTJujKYP-8Abtrtn-BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CC0Q6AEwBA Ming's Biggest Prey]"—Teddie is abusive to Elaine, and tries to drown Ming, but Ming clearly resents anyone and everyone who takes Elaine's attention away from him.
* In the fourth of Christopher Stasheff's ''[[A Wizard in Rhyme]]'' books, the manticore that menaces the hero (who eventually [[Captain Obvious|gives him the name 'Manny']]) at first seems to be this trope, but then pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]] and ends up being a stalwart and brave companion (though there are [[Running Gag|a number of instances]] of his predatory nature being used as the basis for jokes.)
* ''[[Petaybee]]'': [[Playing with a Trope|while the cats are on the good side]], they are portrayed as belligerent at best and vicious at worst.
* Reversed in ''[[The Cat Who Went to Heaven]]'', a novel written in 1930 by Elizabeth Coatsworth and based on Buddhist folk tales. A painter is commissioned by some Buddhist monks for a painting glorifying all the animals blessed by Buddha at his death. According to classical Buddhism, the cat rejected Buddha and was not included.<ref>in many other tales, cats are depicted as demonic</ref> Nevertheless, the painter had recently adopted a stray cat, and having loved the animal, could not imagine Heaven not accepting cats. To the outrage of the monks, he includes a small white cat in the painting, and his own cat dies of happiness at the same time. The next day, by miracle, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|the painting of Buddha has changed]] [[Tear Jerker|to him blessing the cat personally]].
* In the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], the cats of Ulthar are sentient and helpful to those who deserve it, but also cryptic and very dangerous. In the novella ''Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath'', the cats help hero Randolph Carter and make war with the evil zoogs. In the short story "The Cats of Ulhar", they slaughter a pair of villains out of revenge. Lovecraft himself was a cat-lover who believed that they are connected to ancient mysteries.
** Lovecraft has a somewhat more obvious aversion in the early story "The Rats in the Walls", where the cat's agitation and natural animosity with the rats (here clearly an evil force) makes them good and very useful for the suspense.
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* In ''The Cat Who Wished To Be A Man'', by [[Lloyd Alexander]]. The eponymous cat, Lionel, begs his master (a wizard who gave him speech in the first place) to turn him into a human. Lionel is one of the kindest, nicest, and most generous humans in the book, especially compared to the villainous and tyrannical local ruler, bent on bleeding the town dry with outrageous taxes and fines.
** Lloyd Alexander has played this trope in many of his books.
* Diane Duane's ''[[Young Wizards|Feline Wizards]]'' novels star heroic cats.
* Heroic (but possibly [[Deadpan Snarker]]) cats are the main characters of the ''Carbonel'' trilogy by Barbara Sleigh,
* Similarly, the ''[[Warrior Cats]]'' series by Erin Hunter.
* Subverted and played straight in ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]''. Aslan the [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Golden Lion Jesus]], while [[Good Is Not Nice|"not tame"]], is most definitely the head Good Guy. He also disguises Himself as a domestic cat once in order to comfort Shasta. There are other good cats, such as other lions and leopards.
* Bagheera from ''[[The Jungle Book (novel)|The Jungle Book]]'' is a wise and loyal ally to Mowgli - although he is also known to be a ferocious and deadly hunter.
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** There's also the white kitten Eureka, brought to Oz by Dorothy in one of the books, with whom the Glass Cat has an ongoing rivalry; like the Glass Cat, Eureka is somewhat bratty, but not evil.
* The cat from ''[[The Last Unicorn (novel)|The Last Unicorn]]'' ultimately helps Molly, even though he is a bit of a jerk about it.
* Subverted in the ''[[Amelia Peabody]]'' series, where the cat Bastet (always referred to as "the cat Bastet" in full) and her daughter, Sekhmet, are somewhat snarky in behavior, but about as useful and familiar-like as cats can be in non-fantasy fiction.
* Mostly averted in [[Tad Williams]]' ''[[Tailchaser's Song]]''. Cats are described as being catlike, but not in a mean or selfish way; they're just cats. The bad guy's a cat, [[Captain Obvious|of course]], but mostly an [[Eldritch Abomination]].
* Subversion: Maurice, the talking cat from [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[
* You would expect that the book series ''[[Redwall]]'' would ''only'' obey this trope, since mice are about half the cast. Oddly enough, it doesn't. The first cat we ever meet, Squire Julian, spits the mouse hero out when he accidentally falls into his mouth, complaining that he doesn't eat rodents anymore; Julian is more of a resigned noble than anything else. His ancestor, Gingivere (seen in the later-released but chronologically earlier ''Mossflower''), is genuinely a good, kind soul, and his father Verdauga has his good side. On the ''other'' hand, Gingivere's sister, Tzarmina, is that book's [[Big Bad]] (and kills their father, framing Gingivere for it), and their uncle Ungatt Trunn is the villain in the book ''Lord Brocktree''. It's about an even split.
** It's worth noting that Julian is one of the few actually described as a cat, rather than a wildcat. This might simply be because he appears in the first book and Jaques didn't think to realize domestic cats wouldn't be around in a world without humans, but nonetheless, it paints a much less feral image.
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** Subverted in ''[[Coraline (novel)|Coraline]]'' - the cat is snarky, overtly cool towards the main character, and hates being picked up or 'played with', but genuinely seems to care about the girl and is her main ally against the Other Mother. He points out that the tendency of cats to play with their food sometimes lets it escape, which rarely happens to humans' food.
** Neil ''does'' write nice things about Bast, the Egyptian Goddess of Cats.
** In the short story "The Price" in Gaiman's ''Smoke and Mirrors'' anthology, the cat, though scarred, grizzled, and usually bleeding profusely, is actually defending the family from [[Satan]], who keeps trying to sneak into the house. The introduction implies that the cat is a guardian angel, of sorts.
* Partially subverted in ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]'': while the leopard-man's behavior is sinister and a puma hybrid kills {{spoiler|Moreau himself}}, it's the ''hyena'' [[Biological Mashup]] that's the true beastman villain of the piece. ([[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|Even cats have better press than some species...]])
* In the sequel anthology to ''[[Watership Down]]'', a couple of cats aren't villains: in one story, a peaceful cat becomes a temporary ally of the hero, and in another, a group of rabbits gang up on and [[Family-Unfriendly Death|gruesomely]] kill a harmless cat, which [[Downer Ending|leads to their whole warren being exterminated]].
* In ''[[The House of Night]]'', cats are friends and allies to the Changing [[Phantasy Spelling|vampyres]]. They roam the House of Night freely and main character Zoey's cat Nala is a source of comfort and aid to her.
* ''[[The Cat in the Hat]]'' is a trickster subversion.
* In ''[[The Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'' (the novel upon which [[101 Dalmatians|the Disney movie]] is based), Cruella de Vil's cat is portrayed as a sympathetic character who helps the dogs save their puppies and trashes her owner's fur collection as revenge for Cruella killing her kittens. In addition, the colonel has a female cat lieutenant, Willow (changed to the male Sgt. Tibbs in the film, who was obviously ready to die protecting the puppies. Fortunately Pongo and Perdita arrive in a classic [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment to save the day.).
* In the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' series, the treecats of Sphinx are sentient, empathically bonded to their humans, loyal to a fault, and fully capable of obliterating anything that dares threaten them or their human charges. (Nimitz, Honor's treecat, sees enemies in two forms: those that have been properly dealt with and those that are still alive.)
* In ''[[Snot Stew]]'', POV Character [[Cute Kitten|Kikki]] is a [[Shrinking Violet]], subverting the stereotype. Her brother, Toby, starts out more mischievous, but [[Took a Level in Jerkass|becomes more of a jerk]] as the plot kicks in. {{spoiler|And pays for it, too.}}
* Subverted in ''[[
** [[Reasonable Authority Figure|Professor]] [[Good Is Not Nice|McGonagall]] is a cat Animagus.
* Inversion: In R.A. Salvatore's ''Drizzt'' books, the heroic magical panther Guenhyvar is often seen fighting large and nasty canine monsters.
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** There are two black cats in this story: there is the hanged one (who was rather friendly than heroic) and the second one, found by the protagonist later, who was a bit scary (when he was found he only had a white spot that begun to become larger and gallows-shaped). Eventually, he tried to escape from the protagonist who wanted to kill him when he was drunk, which led to making the protagonist kill his wife when she tried to save the cat. Then, he alerted policemen when they were investigating her disappearance and searched in the protagonist's basement (the corpse was behind the wall that the man made after killing her, but he hadn't noticed that the cat was also there).
** Here, cats aren't really evil, or cruel, or mean, so much as bodies for poetic justice to walk around in.
* ''The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her To Fly'', by Luis
* In [[Robert Westall]]'s ''[[The Cats of Seroster]]'', the cats are far from evil; they spend most of the book attempting to save the city they live in by convincing a young man to become a hero. They do have some bad moments, but mostly manage to avoid this trope.
* Subverted thoroughly in [[Michael Ende]]'s ''[[The Night of Wishes]]'': Mauritzio di Mauro, [[Right-Hand-Cat|devoted pet of the evil sorcerer planning the world's undoing]], is, in fact, a spy sent out to stop him. Too bad he is so naive, incompetent, and inclined to believe the best about everybody in the world that he long since was discovered and duped into believing that the man truly was good.
* Also subverted in Ende's ''[[The Neverending Story (novel)|The Neverending Story]]'' in the character of the lion Grograman. Yes, [[Walking Wasteland|all land around him is turned into scorching deserts]] and no one can touch him without being burnt to a crisp, [[Blessed with Suck|but this is an involuntary part of his nature]] and not a sign of malice or inner evil. When Bastian, protected by the AURYN, is able to speak with him, Grograman comes across as a quite personable, even friendly, beast, as well as rather melancholic due to his enforced solitude, ignorance about his origin, and [[Taken for Granite|painful]] [[Fate Worse Than Death|(daily)]] [[Transformation Sequence]]. The scenes where Bastian discovers the truth about him and sits with him so he won't be alone are genuine [[Tear Jerker
* Subverted numerously in Tamora Pierce's ''Tortall'' series.
** In the ''Song of the Lioness'' quartet and the ''Beka Cooper'' books, Faithful (AKA Pounce) is the Cat constellation sent to help the heroines.
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* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prospero's Daughter]]'' trilogy, Miranda's familiar, Tybalt the Prince of Cats.
=== [[Live-Action TV]] ===
* Salem, from ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'', who was a warlock turned into a cat for trying to take over the world. He's given up on the world domination, but is still the snarker and comes up with several get-rich-quick schemes.
* ''My Cat From Hell'' is a more of a show about Jackson Galaxy showing cat's owners how to treat a cat so the cats are not "mean" to others. Often, he shows how cats interact with their environment and how to "communicate" with the cat.
=== [[Newspaper Comics]] ===
* Subverted by ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]''; Hobbes the stuffed (?) tiger is more or less Calvin's moral center.
** When he isn't pouncing on Calvin. One of the comic books is entitled ''Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat''.
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* Given his experiences with World War I, [[Peanuts|Snoopy's]] reaction to Frieda getting a cat was understandable...as was his surprise to see Fabian, an incredibly laid-back cat that dangled from her arms, when he showed up.
{{quote|''"That's'' a cat?!?"}}
* ''[[Krazy Kat]]'', where the antagonist is, instead, Ignatz Mouse.
=== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ===
* In a Japanese folk-tale "The Boy Who Drew Cats", a young boy's favorite thing to draw is the domestic cat, and one night, he happens upon an abandoned temple. Bored, he covers the walls with pictures of cats and goes to sleep. Sometime in the night, a demon spots him (the demon being the reason the temple was abandoned—it had eaten everyone there) and gives chase. The boy hides, hears a horrible commotion, and, come morning, peeks out of his hiding place: all that remains of the demon are a few bones, and every single one of his cat-pictures has a smear of red around its mouth. The story does imply that while the cat-spirits he created were certainly mean, they came to life to protect him and fight the wicked goblin, making this a clear example of [[Dark Is Not Evil]] and possibly [[Good Is Not Nice]].
* Subverted with [[Androcles' Lion]], where the titular lion is grateful to someone who helped him. Very big nice cat!
===
* Mostly subverted in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''[[Cats]]''. The young cats just want to play and have fun. The older cats devote themselves to looking after the younger cats. It's suggested that Grizabella led a less than exemplary life, but she regrets how her misspent youth has alienated her. Eventually, she is forgiven by the other cats.
=== [[Toys]] ===
* Inverted with the ''[[Purr Tenders]]'', who are all bright and friendly and [[I Just Want to Be Special|just want to be special]]. By contrast, the nasty bulldog Ed-grr hated them all just because they were cats and wanted to see them miserable.
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* Subverted in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]''. While two of the Ronso do appear as [[Those Two Guys]] to follow and menace the party, and end up being bosses, the race in general is made of [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|proud warrior race guys]] who are noble, honorable, and heroic, and one of them is a member of your party. Every other one encountered as an NPC is polite, mild-mannered, and friendly.
* Played and subverted with Blaze The Cat of the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series. Despite her [[Grumpy Bear|cold and somewhat temperamental nature]], she is a well
* Subverted with Felicia of ''[[Darkstalkers]]'', who is very friendly and amiable. Other catwomen tend to subvert this trope as well (as long as you don't bully Felicia).
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]'', the cats are harmless and even cute goofballs who like a good game, and one kitty even helps save someone's life.
* ''[[Dragon Age]]'' may have given us the Demon Cat, but it also gave us the Resurrection Kitty, Ser Pounce-a-lot, Anders' cute companion who had the nifty trick of reviving all unconscious party members. Mind you, it wasn't until [[Dragon Age 2|the sequel]] that we really began to miss Ser Pounce's [[Morality Pet|anti-crazy]] effect on [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|Anders]]...
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
*
** Exception to the "good cats don't eat humanized mice": in When they're stuck in the wild, he finally manages to catch a mouse to eat. As he and Agatha discuss things for a whole page, that mouse is in Krosp's hand looking scared to death and quite humanized. When Agatha says there's enough food to last for a while and she won't eat a mouse yet, the mouse looks relieved. The next panel, the mouse's head is missing; Krosp has eaten it.
** Also, he seems to bring up being a cat for the sake of appearances. He does give the following line, though:
{{quote|'''Krosp:''' "Is this one of those situations that involves 'ethics'? 'Cause I'm a '''cat''', you know. I've never been very '''good''' at those.}}
** Also, [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041015 this] strip.
* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Cucumber Quest]]'', Queen Cordelia, has cat ears, which is noted as highly suspicious considering everyone else has rabbit ears.
* Bec in ''[[Homestuck]]'' is a [[Big Friendly Dog]] whom Jade loves dearly. His alpha counterpart, Godcat, is fickle and mysterious and Jane feels very ambivalent about him.
=== [[Web Original]] ===
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo Mean Kitty] plays with this; Sparta is quite aggressive but Mr. Safety says right out that he's not fighting, he's just showing love.
* There was a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ux_Ob5raQ video] reviewed by [[Ray William Johnson]] that subverts this trope hard. Two lion(esse)s snuggle with a man who seem unsure whether he should be aroused or weirded out by it.
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* Subverted with Mepps from ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (animation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]''; he is one of Fat Cat's henchmen, but he isn't actually mean.
** Averted with the several hundred kittens in "Catteries Not Included", who become kitten-napping victims, and at least one just wants to get back to his humans.
* Inverted in ''[[Goof Troop]]''. Goofy's cat, Waffles, is nicer than Pete's dog, Chainsaw.
* Ortensia from the ''[[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]]'' cartoons (she was called Sadie back then) and ''[[Epic Mickey]]''.
* Tillie the tiger cub from the [[Classic Disney Short]] ''Elmer Elephant''
* Sort of inverted in the 1950's ''[[Felix the Cat]]'' TV series. Felix is the protagonist while Rock Bottom the dog is the bumbling sidekick of the [[Affably Evil]] Professor.
* Julius the cat from the ''[[Alice Comedies]]''
* The cats from ''[[Top Cat]]''. While the main character is a con artist, he's also a pretty decent guy. His gang is even more of a subversion - while they generally obey him, they won't hesitate to refuse to help him whenever he tries something truly immoral (like the time he tried to sell Dibble's birthday presents).
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* Tigger of ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'', while hardly "mean" per se, is one of the more rambunctious and egotistical residents of the Hundred Acre Wood compared to his mostly far more docile friends.
* Partially subverted with Shere Khan in ''[[Tale Spin]]'' and averted with the [[Dumb Is Good]] [[Cloudcuckoolander]] lion, Wildcat.
* Tom from ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' is almost always treated as [[Designated Villain|the villain]], forever chasing (and [[Failure Is the Only Option|failing to catch]]) a smaller, cuter, and usually innocently depicted animal, even though the "innocent" mouse usually initiates the trouble. Jerry is always the [[Designated Hero]], even when he is being a parasitic eating-machine that appears victimized when he's prevented from stealing food from Tom or his owners.
** It didn't help that nearly half the shorts involved another bigger animal siding with Jerry and helping him antagonize Tom and steal more food. Heck, sometimes the ''very people who ordered Tom to go after Jerry in the first place'' side with the mouse in the end. Then again, it's very wrong to say there weren't points where Tom was picking on Jerry [[It Amused Me|for the sheer fun of it]] (or enjoying his job a bit too much).
** Which make the occasional instances where Tom wins all the sweeter.
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** "Cat vs. mouse" cartoons from lower-rung studios, like [[Herman and Katnip]] and Little Roquefort, make [[Tom and Jerry]] cartoons look positively even-handed and lack their artistry or nuance.
* Sylvester from ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' is a (bit) more [[The Fool|buffoon-like]] than even Tom of ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'', to the extent that he can even be endearing. Tweety Pie may seem innocent and plays up the cute angle, but is, to some extent, a [[Devil in Plain Sight]], despite being the hero, as he has a real malicious streak (especially in the very early Tweety shorts, like A Tale Of Two Kitties). When Sylvester appears in shorts without Tweety Pie, he is sometimes the hero.
** Sylvester arguably came off as [[Designated Villain|the most sympathetic ''Looney Tunes'' antagonist]], given that, unlike others that were [[For the Evulz|directly antagonistic]] or criminals, most of Sylvester's actions didn't exceed past that of a normal cat (in some cases, he was established as half-starved and desperate for food). It's worsened in that, similar to the ''Tom and Jerry'' example, the universe seems skewed to punish Sylvester, when not
*** It's important to note that Sylvester is somewhat of a toned-down version of the most famous ''Looney Toons'' canine - [[Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|Wile E. Coyote
** His son, Sylvester Jr, while [[Bratty Half-Pint|rather snobbish and condescending to his father's bumbling]], is pretty tame as well.
* Parodied in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'''. The [[Show Within a Show]] "[[The Itchy and Scratchy Show]]" features a subversion - Itchy and Scratchy magnifies the degree of sadism with which Jerry treated Tom. Itchy and Scratchy just removes the "he started it" justification. Scratchy the cat is [[Dumb Is Good|dumb and nice]], believing Itchy to be his friend, while Itchy conspires to kill him for no reason whatsoever. Sometimes, Scratchy, the cat, tries to team up with Itchy, the mouse. Itchy always takes this opportunity to launch an appallingly violent surprise attack.
* ''[[Heathcliff]]'' is another antiheroic feline; while a
** The Catillac Cats, the co-stars of the ''[[Heathcliff and The Catillac Cats]]'' [[Animated Show]] from [[The Eighties]], go back and forth on this trope. Riff Raff and Hector are rambunctious alley cats, and Cleo's personality changes [[Depending on the Writer|with each new writer]], but Wordsworth is harmless, Mungo is a [[Gentle Giant]], and all of them have [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] moments.
* Subverted with the one-shot ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]'' character, Kitty. She's more bitter than mean, due to being separated from her friend, Bunny, by a cruel Doberman. Because of this, she holds a [[Fantastic Racism|deep hatred towards dogs and openly expresses said hatred at Courage]]. However, at the end, {{spoiler|she's reunited with Bunny and realizes that Courage was the one that helped her out, changing her viewpoint on dogs.}}
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* Add to that [[The Woobie|Penelope Pussycat]], who is perpetually harassed by [[Chivalrous Pervert]] Pepe Le Pew. Maybe the lore of Looney Tunes was less "Cats Are Mean" and more "Cats Are [[Butt Monkey]]s").
* Subverted with the many moments when Cat from ''[[CatDog]]'' shows genuine kindness.
* ''[[Eek!
* The ''[[Swat Kats]]'', two [[Badass]] [[Superhero|Super Heroes]] who protect the all-feline Megakat City from super villains, [[Aliens and Monsters]]. The SWAT Kats' allies also count as inversions of this trope.
* In ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'', ''[[The Garfield Show]]'', and animated specials, Garfield is a hero who will go out of the way to save his friends.
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* One of the bullies in ''[[Lenny and Sid]]'' is a huge female cat named Hilda.
* Utterly inverted in the classic short ''[[Bad Luck Blackie]]'', where a mean dog torments a poor kitten, and the titular black cat is a [[Karmic Trickster]].
* In the 1991 European fantasy film, ''[[The Princess and the Goblin]]'', Princess Irene was almost always accompanied by her pet cat, Turnip, who is practically a dog in cat form. Played strait with one of the goblins' pets, a demonic looking cat who
* Subverted and inverted with the mother puma and her kittens in the "Woodland Critters Christmas" episode of ''[[South Park]]''. The pumas turn out to be good, while the Christmas Critters, who are [[Woodland Creatures]], turn out to be evil and are raising the [[Anti Christ]]..
=== [[Real Life]] ===
* Also subverted by an ad [[Sarah McLachlan]] did for the Humane Society. One of the shelter cats in the ad looks like it has tears in its eyes. Cats are so well known for being cold and aloof that [[Not So Stoic|seeing one near weeping]] is heartbreaking.
** That "weeping" is usually the product of an eye infection. Whether that makes it better or worse is up to the reader.
* [[Zig-Zagging Trope|ZigZagged]]: It's known that animals can, indeed, perform basic deception (such as trying to hide evidence of having done something they're not allowed to). Dogs are better (and more frequent) liars than cats. The reason? Dogs want to stay in your good graces no matter what and will often do just about anything to achieve that. Cats don't much mind what you think of them, so they tend to be perfectly honest in their actions.
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{{quote|'''Dr. David Dosa''': He is not a cat who will spend quality time with residents on the ward, unless they're about to die; he's not a cat that likes to spend a lot of time with staff; he keeps to himself.}}
** Either that, or he literally loves the smell of death, since dying people excrete trace amounts of certain chemicals undetectable by human senses.
* [[Inverted Trope]] by [https://web.archive.org/web/20120329172257/http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Cat-saves-97-year-old-woman-from-attacking-pit/P6Ux-82GykOVsapzeBZFgg.cspx Tiger]. Tiger's 97 year-old owner, Sophie Thomas, was working in her garden when her neighbor's four Pit Bulls circled to attack. Tiger [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|jumped into the middle of the dogs to get their attention and bolted so that Sophie could get to safety]]. While Sophie was cleaning her wounds, [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Tiger came back to the house unharmed]]. Tiger should single-handedly inspire the tropes Cats Are Nice and Cats Are Awesome.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bicIwwQhNtc Lion hug!]
** Also, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNTdWbVBgc Christian the Lion]
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{{quote|(from the poem on [http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/heroine.html this] page): "The rescuers have called me cat.../but [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|I am also 'mother.'"]]}}
* Sometimes, a cat will accept the baby into the family and take care of it.
* Subverted
* Cats are not as social as dogs, hunt alone, and are shy to guests, but it's a myth that they are solitary creatures. Domesticated cats groom one another, have many ways to interact, form groups, and sometimes sleep together. These are not traits of a solitary animal at all, but many "experts" still insist that cats are, hate the company of other cats, and only pretend to like humans for food. It's true that the wild ancestors of cats are largely solitary, but being that cats have been domesticated for thousands of years, they had to have ''some'' degree of sociability to be companions. Pretty much the only common pet we keep that is totally solitary and only sees humans as food sources and toys is the ''hamster'', which wasn't domesticated until the 1930s.
** Some cats will consistently visit neighbour's homes for no other reason but to look for affection, petting and a warm place to snooze, while receiving no food ''whatsoever'', and will be fairly friendly towards complete strangers. Other cats will be more standoffish. Cats, like dogs, have personalities.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
[[Category:Feline Tropes]]
[[Category:The Jerk Index]]
[[Category:Obviously Evil]]
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