Every listicle about “top fictional cats” out there has Garfield and Hello Kitty at the reigns. Not this list. This is a list of the top fictional cats from popular media that you may not have heard of (until today).
1. Cat Bus from Totoro
Lovers of Miyazaki should be very familiar with this one – The Catbus. Catbus is a large creature, which is well, a cross between a cat and a bus. Depicted as an always-grinning 12-legged feline with a hollow body that serves as the “bus” – complete with windows and seats coated with fur, and a large fluffy tail. The Cat Bus plays a vital role in helping O-Totoro in the film ‘My Neighbour Totoro.’ Catbus’ wide grin is reminiscent of The Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, which brings us to number 2 on this list.
2. Cheshire Cat
Those who have read Alice in Wonderlight might remember the Cheshire Cat and his distinctive mischievous grin. Helping and harming Alice on her adventures, the Cheshire Cat’s ability to re-arrange himself was a whimsical read, as it was a fantastical watch on movies like Alice in Wonderland (2010 film). Fun fact: the association of a “Cheshire cat” with grinning predates the 1865 book! It had transcended the context of literature and became enmeshed with popular culture, ap[pearing in various forms of media – from political cartoons to TV, as well as in cross-disciplinary studies, from business to science. Who knew!
3. Bucky from Get Fuzzy
Bucky, the Siamese cat, personifies the typical stereotypes of a cat and juxtaposes it against that of a Satchel, his sweet, trusting and a little-too-naïve dog companion. The comic strips typically revolve around Bucky’s caustic interactions with Satchel, and his owner Rob. Get Fuzzy went against the grain of traditional comic strips, which tended to set up punchlines for a laugh. Instead, it focused on the absurd dialogue between characters. We used to look forward to the Sunday Weekly strips just for Get Fuzzy!
4. Kon from Bleach
Ok, strictly speaking, Kon is a stuffed lion. But a lion is part of a cat family so this entry holds! Kon’s over the top antics, perviness, and slapstick humour brings a light-hearted element to the anime series. This adorable lion plush, unfortunately, fell through the cracks of the massive Bleach storyline and became an unresolved (but not killed off – fingers crossed!) character/storyline. While we’re sad we haven’t seen Kon we haven’t seen him in recent episodes, we’re hopeful we might see the comeback of his Mod-Soul storyline, and with that the return of our favourite lion cat.
5. Hobbes from Calvin and the Hobbes
If we can have a stuffed lion, surely we can have a stuffed tiger too! Hey, it’s our list! Hobbes, the rational, energetic and loyal sidekick to Calvin, had us in stitches growing up, and reading their daily antics. The comic strip was syndicated from 18 November 1985 to 31 December 1995, and has become commonly cited as “the last great newspaper comic.” Calvin and (more importantly for us) Hobbes have enjoyed enduring popularity, influence and academic and philosophical interest to this day, where people are making parallels with the comic strips with “quarantine life” that started in 2020.
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What did you think of our unusual list? We know there are many more cats like Hello Kitty, Garfield, Tom & Jerry, Sylvester – but these 5 cats are our favourites! What are yours?