Cats Are Mean: Difference between revisions

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While cat and dog owners can cite a truckload of quirks on both ends of the spectrum, when both species are featured in fiction, you are far more likely to find an outright cruel, nasty, and otherwise vicious cat character. Both sets of animals will have vices, but a dog is more likely to do them unintentionally. [[Cat Up a Tree|A cat enjoys causing trouble.]] Parts of this have to do with traditional traits that even cat lovers admire - independence and pride for some equals lack of love for the owners and aloofness for others. As a result, many writers who ''like'' cats, such as [[Terry Pratchett]] and Paul Gallico, play into the trope by presenting their pet as something of a [[Magnificent Bastard]], expertly manipulating humans.

It certainly doesn't help considering [[Take That|highly marketable, small creatures]] are typically the kind of things cats see as prey. Dogs aren't exempt from this behavior in real life, but you'll rarely see them trying to actively catch anything on their own terms if they're not a hunting dog working for their master. Since mice (and birds) are often depicted as being intelligent, the express desire to eat them becomes a type of [[Carnivore Confusion|cannibalism]] [[Predators Are Mean|and is therefore evil]]. Protagonist cats rarely eat mice (''[[What Measure Is a Non Cute|rats]]'', maybe). Notably, the real threat that mice present, their ability to overpopulate, consume stores, and carry dangerous parasites, and the original reason we ''bred'' cats in the first place, is seldom mentioned in fiction. Nor is the fact that a whole category of dogs, terriers, ''also'' kill small, cute rodents.

It certainly doesn't help considering [[Take That|highly marketable, small creatures]] are typically the kind of things cats see as prey. Dogs aren't exempt from this behavior in real life, but you'll rarely see them trying to actively catch anything on their own terms if they're not a hunting dog working for their master. Since mice (and birds) are often depicted as being intelligent, the express desire to eat them becomes a type of [[Carnivore Confusion|cannibalism]] [[Predators Are Mean|and is therefore evil]]. Protagonist cats rarely eat mice (''[[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|rats]]'', maybe). Notably, the real threat that mice present, their ability to overpopulate, consume stores, and carry dangerous parasites, and the original reason we ''bred'' cats in the first place, is seldom mentioned in fiction. Nor is the fact that a whole category of dogs, terriers, ''also'' kill small, cute rodents.

Domestic dogs are rarely portrayed as evil unless the setting specifically only features dogs and antagonists are needed. A negative portrayal of dogs is usually light, treating them as [[Dogs Are Dumb|simply dumb]] and servile (and fiercely territorial); the occasional [[Angry Guard Dog|evil tear-'em-to-pieces junkyard dog]] or [[Hell Hound]] is an exception. When they are genuinely annoying, this characteristic is given to stereotypical small yappy breeds that reflect their owners. In real life, it says more about a dog's training.

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It should also be noted that the overwhelming predominance of this trope in [[Western Animation]] is largely due to one simple fact that proves how astonishing the man's influence really was: Walt Disney was a dog person.

That said, it should come as no surprise that the [[Right Hand Cat]] is the [[Diabolical Mastermind]]'s most popular pet of choice. Could also be the reason that [[All Witches Have Cats]]; an evil witch should have an mean [[Familiar]].

That said, it should come as no surprise that the [[Right-Hand-Cat]] is the [[Diabolical Mastermind]]'s most popular pet of choice. Could also be the reason that [[All Witches Have Cats]]; an evil witch should have an mean [[Familiar]].

Contrast [[Cute Kitten]] (though it can go hand-in-hand with this when [[Cute Is Evil]]), but, generally, [[What Measure Is a Non Cute|Cuteness]] [[Beauty Equals Goodness|Equals Goodness]], so this trope is mostly [[Played for Laughs]] with the evil being barely above [[Poke the Poodle|Poke The]] [[Just for Pun|Poodle]] level.

Contrast [[Cute Kitten]] (though it can go hand-in-hand with this when [[Cute Is Evil]]), but, generally, [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|Cuteness]] [[Beauty Equals Goodness|Equals Goodness]], so this trope is mostly [[Played for Laughs]] with the evil being barely above [[Poke the Poodle|Poke The]] [[Just for Pun|Poodle]] level.

Compare [[Dogs Are Dumb]] and [[Killer Rabbit]]. Overlaps with [[Cats Are Superior]], especially when [[Dumb Is Good]]. May also, in some cases, lead to [[Cats Are Snarkers]]. [[I Thought It Meant|Not to be confused with]] [[Zero Wing|CATS]].

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* ''Puchi Puri Yuuchi'' (aka ''[[Petite Princess Yucie]]'') has an episode where Glennda, princess of the Demon Realm, has to fight Cait Sith, an evil cat attacking her realm and turning everyone there into cats.

** Then again, if this Cait Sith is the same one as the one in the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series, it's actually a Japanese interpretation of a Celtic mythological character.

* In ''[[Digimon Adventure (Anime)|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.

* In ''[[Digimon Adventure (Anime)|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.

* 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 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. She rejects him, calling him a freak and saying that he still has no money. Even later, when he fought a Persian for her (and won!), she ''still'' thought he was a freak and chose the Persian over him.

*** Said Persian may or may not count. While he did try to force Meowth to rejoin his gang, he took the female Meowth in when her owner abandoned her and, prior to all this, gave Meowth a fish when he was so hungry he thought baseballs were food.

** Mewtwo was rather nasty for a while during ''[[Pokémon the First Movie (Anime)|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 since (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.

** Mewtwo was rather nasty for a while during ''[[Pokémon the First Movie (Anime)|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 since (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.

* Shampoo's transformation shape in ''[[Ranma One Half]]'' 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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*** Neko-Zero takes offense to the implication that he would ever do anything unwittingly!

* Used in ''[[Outlaw Star (Anime)|Outlaw Star]]'': The Pirate girl with two cats tries to kill the crew {{spoiler|after unknowingly befriending their young second-in-command}}.

* Stray Cat, a [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|stray cat]] from ''[[Jo ~~Jos~~ Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' Part 4. It was treated rather fairly, though, since Stray Cat never attacked anybody who wasn't already trying to hurt it, and even gets a happy ending when it's adopted by one of the heroes. Did I mention that it's a cat who died, then became a [[Biological Mashup|plant-cat hybrid]] due to its Stand powers?

* Stray Cat, a [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|stray cat]] from ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' Part 4. It was treated rather fairly, though, since Stray Cat never attacked anybody who wasn't already trying to hurt it, and even gets a happy ending when it's adopted by one of the heroes. Did I mention that it's a cat who died, then became a [[Biological Mashup|plant-cat hybrid]] due to its Stand powers?

* In ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn (Manga)|Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'', Gokudera's animal box weapon, a wild cat named Uri, is shown to have a horrible temper, constantly scratching and biting him.

* ''[[Sailor Moon (Manga)|Sailor Moon]]'' has an episode where Luna, a talking cat, is menaced by a horde of non-talking cats. A big fat cat saves her and develops a crush on her, but from there, things get complicated; the other non-talking cats are clearly jerkoffs, though.

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** 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 [[~~IM Db~~]], it was translated as ''Cat City'' in English. ''Cat Trap'' is the literal translation.

** According to [[IMDb]], it was translated as ''Cat City'' in English. ''Cat Trap'' is the literal translation.

** The only feline character in the Hungarian movie ''The Cat Trap'' who subverts this trope is [[Cute Kitten|Cathy]], the daughter of one of the villains' henchmen, who's actually friends with a mouse.

** And then the sequel introduced [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Moloch]], a [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] demonic cat...

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* ''[[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 ''[[~~Nine~~ (Animation)|Nine]]''. Not an actual cat, per se (more of a cybernetic steampunk jaguar-thing), but it's still modelled on a cat and is probably the most ruthless little bastard you'll find on this page.

* Played incredibly straight with the Cat Beast from ''[[9 (Animation)|Nine]]''. Not an actual cat, per se (more of a cybernetic steampunk jaguar-thing), but it's still modelled on a cat and is probably the most ruthless little bastard you'll find on this page.

* 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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** But then, considering Alex is a [[Villain Protagonist]], the cats could be considered heroic vigilantes.

* The [[Paul Jennings]] short story ''Picked Bones'' features a nasty, horrible cat that scratches someone up so badly that they need '35 bandaids' and which tries to smother a grown man.

* 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]].

* 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 (Creator)|Charles Dickens]]' ''[[Bleak House]]''.

{{quote| KROOK: Hi! show 'em how you scratch. Hi! Tear, my lady!}}

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** Later in the series, though, we see Dolores Umbridge's fluffy cat Patronus, which is undeniably evil simply because SHE is evil.

** 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.

* 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.

* ''The Black Cat Of Killakie''.

* The demonic cats and werecats mentioned in ''[[Goosebumps]]'' books.

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*** This Troper recalls Reginald Barclay getting along extremely well with Spot, much to everyone's surprise.

** Data and the cat definitely share a strong bond. In the "Generations" movie, Data finds Spot alive after the Enterprise crashes but is surprised that his newly installed emotion chip seems to be malfunctioning: [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|he's happy, but can't stop crying.]]

* A demonic-looking lion shows up in ''[[The Teletubbies]]'', along with [[~~Everythings~~ Worse With Bears|a similarly demonic-looking bear.]]

* A demonic-looking lion shows up in ''[[The Teletubbies]]'', along with [[Everything's Worse With Bears|a similarly demonic-looking bear.]]

== Music ==

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* ''[[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|* cough* ]]

* Mecha takes on the form of a cat in ''[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]].

* Mecha takes on the form of a cat in ''[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."]

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*** Partially subverted in ''[[Tale Spin (Animation)|Tale Spin]]''. Shere Khan is a ruthless businessman with some [[Black and Gray Morality|questionable morality when it comes to his work]], but otherwise has a very strong sense of honor and integrity (he's even willing to admit when he's wrong). He also has a (grudging) respect towards Baloo. He's more along the lines of [[True Neutral]] or possibly [[Neutral Evil]], since he's more interested in profit than anything of true malice.

**** And then taken back again even further in ''The Jungle Book 2'', while Shere Khan from the original film was more villainous than his ''[[Tale Spin (Animation)|Tale Spin]]'' counterpart, he at least had some plausible [[Affably Evil|affable]] and [[Laughably Evil|whimsical]] traits to make him a somewhat likeable villain. In the sequel, [[Knight of Cerebus|he is embittered]] into a [[Nightmare Fuel]]-ish [[Super Persistent Predator]].

** At the beginning of ''[[Bolt (Disney)|Bolt]]'', we see two of the felines who play Dr. Calico's [[Right Hand Cat|Right Hand Cats]] on the [[Show Within a Show]] winding up Bolt.

** At the beginning of ''[[Bolt (Disney)|Bolt]]'', we see two of the felines who play Dr. Calico's [[Right-Hand-Cat|Right Hand Cats]] on the [[Show Within a Show]] winding up Bolt.

** Unsurprisingly, ''[[The Great Mouse Detective (Disney)|The Great Mouse Detective]]'' has an example, with the cat Felicia acting as [[Big Bad|Ratigan]]'s equivalent of a [[Shark Pool]].

** There is a show on [[Disney XD]] called ''[[Kid VS Kat]]''. Guess what it's about.

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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. 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''.

* 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. 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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* The ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'' episode "Lily Meow" features a devious, scheming, [[Devil in Plain Sight]] kitten named Kello who uses his cuteness as a weapon.

* ''[[Cat Dog]]'' fits this trope pretty well, with Dog being rather unintelligent, but Cat being prissy and rude. He does learn a lesson quite often, though, and there are many moments when he shows genuine kindness. He's still one of the meanest of the show's protagonists, close in the running to the mouse, Winslow.

** On the other hand, Cat is also the biggest [[Butt Monkey]] (and borderline [[Designated Monkey]]) in the series, largely due to the actions of Dog, who often [[Karma Houdini|gets a free pass]] for making Cat's life hell due to [[~~Hanlons~~ Razor|being too dumb to know any better]] (and the fact most of the antagonists ''only punish Cat'' for his crimes, likely due to most of them being dogs). [[Depending On the Writer]], there are a few notable moments where Dog acts like a [[Jerkass|genuine dick]], however.

** On the other hand, Cat is also the biggest [[Butt Monkey]] (and borderline [[Designated Monkey]]) in the series, largely due to the actions of Dog, who often [[Karma Houdini|gets a free pass]] for making Cat's life hell due to [[Hanlon's Razor|being too dumb to know any better]] (and the fact most of the antagonists ''only punish Cat'' for his crimes, likely due to most of them being dogs). [[Depending On the Writer]], there are a few notable moments where Dog acts like a [[Jerkass|genuine dick]], however.

* Katz, from ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]''. "A bit of sport before dying, old boy?"

* 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 (Animation)|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.

* An episode of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls (Animation)|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 (Animation)|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 From the Dead]] as [[Killer Robot|Killer Robots]]), the Pastmaster (a [[Time Travel|Time Traveling]] sorcerer), and Madkat (an [[Evil Clown]] with magical powers}.

* Mr. Jinks, the enemy of Pixie and Dixie.

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* Ravage from ''[[Transformers]]'' is a Decepticon leopard/puma.

* The Schwartzentigers on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]''.

* Rarity's pet cat Opalescence in ''[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' can be nasty to just about anyone except Fluttershy, the resident [[Friend to All Living Things]]. Rarity herself is sometimes just asking for it, like when she's innocently insensitive to what makes her pet feel uncomfortable, but Opal's attitude is pretty indiscriminate towards everyone.

* Rarity's pet cat Opalescence in ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' can be nasty to just about anyone except Fluttershy, the resident [[Friend to All Living Things]]. Rarity herself is sometimes just asking for it, like when she's innocently insensitive to what makes her pet feel uncomfortable, but Opal's attitude is pretty indiscriminate towards everyone.

* Makunga, the evil [[The Lion King|Scar-]]lookalike lion villain of ''[[Madagascar|Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa]]''.

* [[Lost Aesop|During the]] [[Animal Talk|Animal Talk episodes]] of Arthur, [[Lost Aesop|this trope is played completely straight.]]

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* ''[[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 [[~~Everythings~~ Even Worse With Sharks|shark]] genetics. {{spoiler|Subverted in that he's just following orders, and he does a [[Heel Face Turn]] later.}}

* 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 (Manga)|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 unthreatening, and he rarely does anything 'villainous' unless ordered to. He even befriends Kero (albeit with a little of [[The Rival]] and [[Worthy Opponent]] going on) and turns out to have a [[I Can't Believe ~~Its~~ Not Heroin|hilarious reaction to sugar]].

* A subversion exist in ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|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 unthreatening, and he rarely does anything 'villainous' unless ordered to. He even befriends Kero (albeit with a little of [[The Rival]] and [[Worthy Opponent]] going on) and turns out to have a [[I Can't Believe It's Not Heroin!|hilarious reaction to sugar]].

* All of the incarnations of Leomon in any of the ''[[Digimon (Franchise)|Digimon]]'' series are always a heroic and awesome [[Badass|Bad Asses]] and consistently complete [[Heroic Sacrifice|Heroic Sacrifices]].

* 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.}}

* 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.}}

** Kyo's got pretty good reasons to be the way he is. {{spoiler|His skittish personality comes from his mother killing herself for "giving birth to a monster" and being told "[[I Have No Son]]" by his traumatised and also mentally unstable father right after that, who handed the kid to Kyo's uncle, Kazuma. Not to mention he, just like Yuki, was a victim of the also mentally unstable Akito's psychological abuse, and later blamed himself greatly for the death of Kyoko, Tohru (the girl)'s mother, which he witnessed.}} So, he's not an angel, but he ain't evil: more of a [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]] with quite the [[Freudian Excuse]].

* Averted in ''[[Outlaw Star]]'': The [[Catgirl]] Cop is on the good guys' side in spite of being slightly antagonistic towards them.

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** Historical note: ''The Aristocats'' was the first film produced after Walt's death.

* On the other hand, ''[[One Hundred and One Dalmatians (Disney)|One Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'' has Sgt. Tibbs, a friendly and heroic tabby cat who is the one to initially free the puppies from Cruella's henchmen, and was produced while Walt was still alive.

* The titular hero of ''[[Bolt (Disney)|Bolt]]'' sees all cats as servants of Dr. Calico early on, 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]].

* The titular hero of ''[[Bolt (Disney)|Bolt]]'' sees all cats as servants of Dr. Calico early on, 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 [[Always Chaotic 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}}.

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** Subverted in ''[[Coraline (Literature)|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.

* 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...]])

* 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 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.

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* ''The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her To Fly'', by Luis Sep?da. Although almost the entire cast is made of well-meaning cats, they do have to deal with abusive alley felines.

* In [[Robert Westall (Creator)|Robert Westall]]'s ''[[The Cats of Seroster (Literature)|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 (Creator)|Michael Ende]]'s ''[[The Night of Wishes (Literature)|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.

* Subverted thoroughly in [[Michael Ende (Creator)|Michael Ende]]'s ''[[The Night of Wishes (Literature)|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 (Literature)|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|TearJerkers]], and Grograman himself is actually treated as a brave companion by Bastian to the point he wants the lion to come with him on his journey (which Grograman points out to him is sadly impossible, since he takes the desert with him wherever he goes).

* Subverted numerously in Tamora Pierce's ''Tortall'' series.

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* 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''.

* [[Garfield]] is an [[Anti Hero]], but more of a [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]] in ''[[The Garfield Show]]''.

* [[Garfield]] is an [[Anti-Hero]], but more of a [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]] in ''[[The Garfield Show]]''.

* 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.

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== Tropes ==

* Subverted with the [[Androcles Lion]], where a lion is grateful to someone who helped him. Very big nice cat!

* Subverted with the [[Androcles' Lion]], where a lion is grateful to someone who helped him. Very big nice cat!

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