History WebAnimation / SimonsCat

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny:
** The cat has a pretty short attention span, unless food is involved. Seen in "Screen Grab", in the beginning. The cat gets annoyed at being woken up by the kitten playing with a feather, and bops him on the head, only to start playing with the feather himself a second later. You can almost hear the dialogue: "*bop* Stop tha-- Ooh, a feather!"
** Chloe (the female cat with the heart on her collar) is prone to this, especially when butterflies are involved.

%%* AsideGlance: Episodes tend to end on these.

%%** Chloe (the female cat with the heart on her collar) is prone to this, especially when butterflies are involved.

%%*BatterUp:
&&** How the cat eventually wakes Simon up in "Cat Man Do".
%%** What the cat uses to "defeat" the vacuum cleaner in "The Monster".
%%** Gets a callback in "Hidden Treasure", when the bat is among the many objects the cat pulls out from under the fridge. He glances at it thoughtfully before tossing it aside.
%%* BigBrotherInstinct: Seen (very temporarily) by the cat towards the kitten in "Showdown".

%%* BirthdayEpisode: "Purrthday Cake"

%%* CatUpATree: "The Tree"

%%* ChristmasEpisode: "Santa Claws", "Fowl Play", "Christmas Presence", "Catnip", "Little Box", "Christmas Yarn"
%%* ClipShow: "A Day in the Life"

%%* ComedicSociopathy: Of the most adorable kind.

%%* ConeOfShame: "Pug Life"

%%* CuteKitten: Introduced in "Double Trouble". In the Origin Story series, the cat himself is revealed to have been one.
%%* DogsAreDumb: Albeit portrayed as much more sympathetic than is usual in a feline-centric show.

%%* FailuresOnIce: When the garden pond freezes over in "Icecapade".

%%* GroinAttack: An accidental one in "Fast Track".

%%* HalloweenEpisode: "Scary Legs", "Scaredy Cat", "The Monster", "Spider Cat", "Spooked!"
%%* HatesBaths: The kitten, as seen in "Muddy Paws". Although as "Pawtrait" demonstrates, he does love having his long fur brushed.
%%* HeavySleeper: Simon, as seen in "Cat Man Do", "Fly Guy" and "Off to the Vet".

%%* HighOnCatnip: Of course, in "Catnip".

%%* IMeantToDoThat: It's a cat.

%%* ImpactSilhouette: Seen in "Snow Business". Justified in that it was soft snow he landed in.

%%* InstrumentalThemeTune: Introduced in the "Beyond the Fence" advert.

%%* ItsAllAboutMe: In true feline fashion.

%%* JumpScare: "Scaredy Cat"

%%* MirrorScare: In "Mirror Mirror", [[spoiler:when the kitten appears at the very end.]]

%%* PunBasedTitle: Most of the episodes have one.
%%* RearrangeTheSong: Done for each episode as a kind of CouchGag.

%%* RummageFail: When the cat is trying to retrieve the ball from under the fridge in "Hidden Treasure".

%%* SnowyScreenOfDeath: "Spooked!" ends with this.
%%* SphereEyes: One of the series' visual trademarks.

%%* SplashOfColor: The red laser dot in "Laser Toy".

%%* ValentinesDayEpisodes: "Smitten", "Butterflies", "Tough Love", "Dinner Date", "Head Over Heels"
%%* ViciousVac: From the cat's perspective, in "The Monster".

%%* YawnAndReach: Attempted by the cat, without success, in "Head Over Heels”.

* LoveDodechahedron: Maisie has a crush on the cat, but he's more interested in Chloe, who Jazz ''also'' has a crush on. Chloe's not interested in either of the tomcats.

* AsideGlance: Episodes tend to end on these.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: The cat has a pretty short attention span, unless food is involved.
** Seen in "Screen Grab", in the beginning. The cat gets annoyed at being woken up by the kitten playing with a feather, and bops him on the head, only to start playing with the feather himself a second later. You can almost hear the dialogue: "*bop* Stop tha-- Ooh, a feather!"
** Chloe (the female cat with the heart on her collar) is prone to this, especially when butterflies are involved.

* AuthorAvatar: Simon, naturally.
* BatterUp:
** How the cat eventually wakes Simon up in "Cat Man Do".
** What the cat uses to "defeat" the vacuum cleaner in "The Monster".
** Gets a callback in "Hidden Treasure", when the bat is among the many objects the cat pulls out from under the fridge. He glances at it thoughtfully before tossing it aside.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Seen (very temporarily) by the cat towards the kitten in "Showdown".

* BirthdayEpisode: "Purrthday Cake"

* CatUpATree: "The Tree"
* ChristmasEpisode: "Santa Claws", "Fowl Play", "Christmas Presence", "Catnip", "Little Box", "Christmas Yarn"
* ClipShow: "A Day in the Life"

* ComedicSociopathy: Of the most adorable kind.

* ConeOfShame: "Pug Life"

* CuteKitten: Introduced in "Double Trouble". In the Origin Story series, the cat himself is revealed to have been one.
* DogsAreDumb: Albeit portrayed as much more sympathetic than is usual in a feline-centric show.

* FailuresOnIce: When the garden pond freezes over in "Icecapade".

* FlushingToiletScreamingShower: Seen in "Hot Water".
* GroinAttack: An accidental one in "Fast Track".
* HalloweenEpisode: "Scary Legs", "Scaredy Cat", "The Monster", "Spider Cat", "Spooked!"
* HatesBaths: The kitten, as seen in "Muddy Paws". Although as "Pawtrait" demonstrates, he does love having his long fur brushed.
* HeavySleeper: Simon, as seen in "Cat Man Do", "Fly Guy" and "Off to the Vet".

* HighOnCatnip: Of course, in "Catnip".

* IMeantToDoThat: It's a cat.
* InfantSiblingJealousy: The cat towards the kitten, in much the usual manner of an established pet coping with a new arrival. It doesn't help that the kitten is already noticeably smarter than his older 'brother', nor that the little guy is so fluffy and adorable Simon naturally dotes on him.
* ImpactSilhouette: Seen in "Snow Business". Justified in that it was soft snow he landed in.

* InstrumentalThemeTune: Introduced in the "Beyond the Fence" advert.

* ItsAllAboutMe: In true feline fashion.

* JumpScare: "Scaredy Cat"

* MirrorScare: In "Mirror Mirror", [[spoiler:when the kitten appears at the very end.]]

* PunBasedTitle: Most of the episodes have one.
* RearrangeTheSong: Done for each episode as a kind of CouchGag.
* RummageFail: When the cat is trying to retrieve the ball from under the fridge in "Hidden Treasure".

* SnowyScreenOfDeath: "Spooked!" ends with this.
* SphereEyes: One of the series' visual trademarks.

* SplashOfColor: The red laser dot in "Laser Toy".

* UrineTrouble:
** As a tiny kitten in the Origin Story, not realizing what his litter box is for, the cat climbs on his new owner's shoulder and pees there.
** Comes full circle in "Double Trouble" when the new kitten blithely poops in the grown cat's litterbox, which the cat of course takes as a huge insult.
* ValentinesDayEpisodes: "Smitten", "Butterflies", "Tough Love", "Dinner Date", "Head Over Heels"
* ViciousVac: From the cat's perspective, in "The Monster".

* YawnAndReach: Attempted by the cat, without success, in "Head Over Heels”.

* AnimalsFearNeutering: Per the video example below, played both straight and not in "The Snip". The cat is utterly horrified, but while the kitten's clearly not pleased with the experience, he's not sure what all the OTT drama is about.

* PricelessMingVase: In "The Beginning", Simon is seen pursuing model shipbuilding as a hobby before getting bored and deciding to adopt a cat. GenreSavvy viewers will guess what is going happen to the delicate, elaborate models on his mantel ''long'' before the end of this Origins Episode... especially since one of them is the Titanic.

* ShareTheMalePain: The cat's hilariously OTT reaction to the kitten's neutering in "The Snip." The kitten, meanwhile, just seems baffled by the whole experience.

* SilenceIsGolden: It's a cat, so it's not going to talk other than the usual meows, growls, trills, etc. Any speech from Simon is minimal and usually grunts or sighs, but occasionally he'll utter a word or two (often "Come on!" or "Down!"). In "Window Pains", he actually utters a full sentence: "What're ya doin'?"

* ThanksgivingEpisode: You wouldn't expect a British work to have one of these, but "Fast Food" is presented as such.

* HeavySleeper: Simon, as seen in "Cat Man Do".

* CompanionCube: The garden gnome, which the cat genuinely doesn't seem to understand isn't real.

* MrsRobinson: In "Lovestruck", Kitten ruins Cat's date, only to be attracted by Chloe herself after Cat is [[ItMakesSenseInContext accidentally launched out of the scene]].

* OhCrap: The birds in "Kitten vs. Birds" have this reaction when they hear the kitten's stomach rumble. Apparently they'd forgotten that the little cat they'd been making fun of is ''still a cat,'' which ''are'' known to eat birds. [[spoiler:Of course, the kitten is so innocent he doesn't even think of eating them, but they don't know that.]]

* ShareTheMalePain: The cat's hilariously OTT reaction to the kitten's neutering in "The Snip." (The kitten, meanwhile, just seems baffled by the whole experience.)

* SpoiledBrat: Again, as cats inevitably are. In one cartoon the cat trips Simon merely because he's taking too long to walk His Feline Majesty's food over to him.

Each episode revolves around the adventures of the eponymous house cat, who uses increasingly heavy-handed tactics to get his rather hapless owner's attention. Over time the series has acquired an extensive supporting cast, including a tiny-but-feisty kitten 'brother' for the cat, several other feline and canine neighbours, the cat's best friend the (completely inanimate) garden gnome and the menagerie of wild critters that live in the meadow beyond Simon's back garden.

* SlipperySkid: On a frozen garden pond in "Icecapade".

* SilenceIsGolden: It's a cat, so it's not going to talk other than the usual meows, growls, trills, etc. Any speech from Simon is minimal and usually grunts or sighs, but occasionally he'll utter a word or two (often "Come on" or "Down!"). In "Window Pains", he actually utters a full sentence: "What're ya doin'?"

* AnthropomorphicZigZag: The cat is rather more human-acting when his owner isn't around.

** Seen in "Screen Grab", in the beginning. The cat gets annoyed at being woken up by the kitten playing with a feather, and bops him on the head, only to start playing with the feather himself a second later. You can almost hear the dialogue: *bop* "Now you just settle down and-- Ooh, a feather!"

* AttentionWhore: While it's usually with the prospect of food in mind, the cat will go to any lengths to be the object of Simon's attention, and will relentlessly dispose of any competition (eg. the TV, the computer).

** More like a Catch Action -- the cat points to his open mouth and meows, a gesture that usually means "Feed me!" The kitten, who hero-worships his 'big brother', has faithfully copied this.

* HatesBaths: The kitten, as seen in "Muddy Paws".

** Seen in "Screen Grab", in the beginning. The cat gets annoyed at being woken up by the kitten playing with a feather, and bops him on the head, only to start playing with the feather himself a second later. You can almost hear the dialogue: *bop* "Settle down and-- Ooh, a feather!"

* AttentionWhore: While it's usually with the prospect of food in mind, the cat will go to any lengths to be the object of Simon's attention, and will relentlessly dispose of any opposition (eg. the TV, the computer).

Each episode revolves around the adventures of the eponymous house cat, who uses increasingly heavy-handed tactics to get his rather hapless owner's attention. Over time the series has acquired an extensive supporting cast, including a tiny-but-clever kitten 'brother' for the cat, several other feline and canine neighbours, the cat's best friend the (completely inanimate) garden gnome and the menagerie of wild critters that live in the meadow beyond Simon's back garden.

Each episode revolves around the adventures of the eponymous house cat, who uses increasingly heavy-handed tactics to get his rather hapless owner's attention. Over time the series has acquired an extensive supporting cast, including a tiny-but-clever kitten 'brother' for the cat, several other feline and canine neighbours, the cat's best friend the (completely inanimate) garden gnome and the menagerie of forest critters that live in the meadow beyond Simon's back garden.

** Seen in "Screen Grab", in the beginning. The cat gets annoyed at being woken up by the kitten playing with a feather, and bops him on the head, only to start playing with the feather himself a second later. You can almost hear the dialogue: *bop* "Stop interrupting my na -- ooh, a feather!"

** Played straight with the cat and averted with the kitten in "April Showers". Tofield has explained that the kitten is largely based on his likewise long-haired real-life cat, who is fluffy enough that the rain doesn't bother him.
** Also played straight in "Bathtime", where the cat [[TheRunaway runs away from home]] after Simon bathes him.

* CuteKitten: The eponymous cat. Also the kitten introduced in "Double Trouble" and the female cats seen in the Valentine's Day episodes.

** The cat is visibly horrified when the hedgehog begins trying to ''eat'' one of the snails racing in "Ready, Steady, Slow!" Even going so far as to cover the eyes of the lawn gnome.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Most of the cat's actions boil down to "Getting my owner's attention = Food!". More specifically "Hit with bat = Food!", "Unplug computer = Food!", "Turn off TV = Food!". To the cat, any action he performs will end up providing him food.

* ItsAllAboutMe: He's a pet, so it's granted he can't really act considerate, but the cat endlessly and sometimes rather elaborately pesters Simon to dote over him, and ''now''.

* MrsRobinson: In "Lovestruck", Kitten ruins Cat's date, only to be attracted by Chloe herself when Cat was launched into the air by an umbrella with hearts.

* NoTrueScotsman: Comes into play in "April Showers." After the kitten starts playing in the rain, you can briefly see the cat {{facepalm}}, like he's thinking, "What kind of cat are you?"

* OriginsEpisode: "The Beginning" shows Simon's adoption of the Cat when they were both younger. That is part one out of three of the "Simon's Cat Origin's Story".

* ShareTheMalePain: The cat's fainting reaction to the kitten's neutering in "The Snip."
* ShownTheirWork: Simon has obviously watched his cats carefully to get every motion of the animated furballs very realistic.

* SpidersAreScary: Simon freaks out over one in "Scary Legs", and then a whole bunch of them in "Spider Cat".

* SpoiledBrat: As mentioned the cat constantly pesters or even abuses Simon for its needs. In one cartoon he trips Simon merely because he's taking too long to walk His Feline Majesty's food over to him.

* UrineTrouble: After not realizing his litter box is for going to the bathroom, Simon's Kitten climbs on his new owner's shoulder and pees there.

* WimpFight: The fights between Simon's Cat and Jazz usually take this form, typical of animal scuffles over boundaries (which are mostly about putting up a huge show of intimidation whike avoiding actual injury).

* InfantSiblingJealousy: The cat towards the kitten, in much the usual manner of an established pet coping with a new arrival. It doesn't help that the kitten is already noticeably smarter than his older 'brother', nor that the little guy is so fluffy and adorable Simon visibly dotes on him.

** Gets a callback in "Hidden Treasure", when the bat is among the many objects the cat pulls out from under the fridge. He glances at it thoughtfully before tossing it aside.

* ButtMonkey:
** Simon just can't catch a break with the cat around. But when the cat isn't the only animal in the short, ''he'' usually ends up being the one to suffer.

** More like a Catch Action -- the cat points to his open mouth and meows, a gesture that usually means "Feed me!" The kitten, who hero-worships his 'big brother', has faithfully adopted this.

%%* DogsAreDumb

%%* SphereEyes

* ArtEvolution: Nothing ''too'' dramatic, but Tofield's drawing style has gone through a bit of this over time.

* AttentionWhore: While it's usually with the prospect of food in mind, the cat will go to any lengths to be the object of Simon's attention, and will dispose of any opposition (eg. the TV, the computer).

* BewareTheNiceOnes: The kitten is generally portrayed as a sweetheart who just wants to play with the cat, but he's also quick to take advantage of the older feline, especially if there's food at stake. In "April Showers" there's a strong case to be made that the kitten deliberately locks the cat out in the rain as a prank.

** Simon just can't catch a break with the cat around.
** When the cat isn't the only animal in the short, the cat ends up being the one to suffer.

** More like a Catch Action -- the cat points to his open mouth and meows, a gesture that usually means "Feed me!"

* CatsAreMean: Subverted. He can be mischievous, but rarely is he ever intentionally malevolent. Most of the time, the cat just wants attention and/or food. It's just that, well, see [[InsaneTrollLogic Insane Cat Logic]] below for details.

** Played straight with the cat and averted with the kitten in "April Showers".

* CompanionCube: The lawn gnome.

* CompositeCharacter: The cat is based on several real-life felines that Tofield has [[strike:owned]] been owned by.

** One of the increasingly bizarre array of objects pulled from under the fridge in "Hidden Treasure" is the baseball bat from "Cat Man Do". The cat even pauses to examine it before throwing it aside. He also uses the bat in "The Monster" to smash the vacuum cleaner.
** The squeaky bird toy first seen in "Santa Claws" turns up in a couple later shorts.

* {{Fainting}}: The cat passes out on [[AnimalsFearNeutering learning of the kitten's neutering operation]] in "The Snip".

* HiddenHeartOfGold: Simon's Cat does some mean things but he is pretty heroic when it comes to saving friends and defeating Jazz who is worse than him.
* HighOnCatnip: "Catnip"
* HumanMail: in "Suitcase". The cat takes advantage of Simon's packing for a trip to try and get rid of the kitten, and is very visibily annoyed when he fails.
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: In "Showdown", the cat gets angry enough at Jazz knocking the kitten off the fence he swipes the big cat off. After making sure his little brother is okay, the cat pushes him off himself.

* InfantSiblingJealousy: Ever since Double Trouble, Cat had a conflict with Kitten due to the fact that Simon himself turns his attention to the kitten instead of him, making the cat really envy of him.

* MrsRobinson: In "Lovestruck", Kitten ruined Cat's date, only to be attracted by Chloe herself when Cat was launched into the air by an umbrella with hearts.

* PricelessMingVase: In "The Beginning", Simon is seen putting up multiple model ships before getting bored and deciding to adopt a cat. GenreSavvy viewers knew what is going happen to them long before the end of the OriginsEpisode.

** In "SOS", the model Titanic drops to the ground like its real life counterpart's sinking, a crack around the front of the ship with the front "sinking" first.
* SilenceIsGolden: It's a cat, so it's not going to talk other than the usual meows, growls, trills, etc. Any speech from Simon is minimal and usually grunts or sighs, but occasionally he'll utter a word or two. In "Window Pains", he actually utters a full sentence: "What're ya doin'?"
* SitcomArchNemesis: Jazz, the neighbor persian cat introduced in the "Borderline"/"On the Fence"/"Showdown" trilogy.

* SpoiledBrat: As mentioned the cat will constantly pester or even abuse Simon for its needs. To put it into perspective, one cartoon he trips Simon over because he was taking too long to walk his food over to him. Despite this, he is more likely an AntiHero

** The three-part "Simon's Cat Origin's Story" in 2020.

* WimpFight: The fights between Simon's Cat and Jazz usually take this form since they're cats. Hence the name, The CatFight.

Each episode revolves around the adventures of the eponymous house cat, who uses increasingly heavy-handed tactics to get his owner's attention. The series is hand drawn and then animated in Adobe Flash. There have also been four published books and a series of ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Daily Mirror]]'' [[http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/cartoons/simons-cat/ strips]] featuring the titular cat in comic form, as well as two apps.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Seen (temporarily) by the cat towards the kitten in "Showdown".

** Also played straight in "Bathtime", where the cat [[TheRunaway leaves home]] after Simon bathes him.

* PricelessMingVase: In "The Beginning", Simon is seen putting up multiple model ships before getting bored and deciding to adopt a cat. GenreSavvy viewers knew whats going to them by the end of the OriginsEpisode.

* OriginsEpisode: "The Beginning" shows Simon's adoption of the Cat when they were both younger. That is just part one out of three.

* PricelessMingVase: In "The Beginning", Simon is seen putting up multiple model ships before getting bored and deciding to adopt a cat. GenreSavvy viewers knew whats going to them b the end of the OriginsEpisode.

Cat owners will attest to many of the behaviours seen.

* OriginsEpisode: "The Beginning" shows Simon's adoption of the Cat when they were both younger.

* ShoutOut: In "Screen Grab", the voiceover for the nature documentaries is a ShoutOut to Creator/DavidAttenborough, and the commentator for the motor racing is a ShoutOut to Murray Walker, the famous voice of UsefulNotes/FormulaOne.

** The in-progress "Simon's Cat Origin's Story" in 2020.