Line #28 Main/CatConcerto


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9	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/68a69d8cb0934421161ffda9747d092d.jpg]]
10	->''"I came back from vacation and she had somehow... changed. She had gone into heat while I was away... Four thousand male cats are in my front yard reenacting ''Theatre/WestSideStory''. To-NIIIIGHT, to-NIIIIIGHT, won't be just any night..."''
11	-->-- '''Amy Boyd'''
12
13	Alleycats invariably spend their evenings singing opera while standing on top of a wooden fence or a roof-top. Usually they perform solos, although coordinated choruses and barbershop renditions of "How Dry I Am" are not unknown. A female cat (complete with [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics a ribbon or bow]]) may or may not be seen nearby, the coy recipient of the serenade.
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15	The cat is likely to be treated as a DreadfulMusician, since feline yowling is considered CuteButCacophonic, and corresponds to really bad human singing. Of course, for RuleOfFunny points, the concert is just as likely to be sophisticated {{Opera}} or {{Jazz}}. Performances usually end with [[ProducePelting a thrown shoe or piece of trash]] and a bellowed "[[BigShutUp shaddup]]" from somewhere off screen.
16
17	For what it's worth, midnight yowling from RealLife alley cats generally means they're ''[[ScreamingWarrior fighting]]'' or ''[[CallingYourOrgasms mating]]'', not "entertaining".
18
19	Compare ThatPoorCat. The TropeNamer is the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoon ''WesternAnimation/TheCatConcerto'' -- which isn't an example, since the cat in it isn't singing but playing classical piano. Completely unrelated to ''VideoGame/TailConcerto'', which is a video game.
20	----
21	!!Examples:
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23	[[folder:Advertising]]
24	* During the 1970s, Meow Mix commercials featured a singing cat.
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	[[folder:Comic Books]]
28	* Played with in ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' (vol. 1) #182 when The Man of Steel turns into [[https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-slAxaZspk98/VC_gAtKrPhI/AAAAAAAA-qg/RUG1nY6BCCI/s1600/Reign548.jpg "Super-Cool Cat"]]. He has apparently sprouted a striped tail and is seen walking along a fence while holding a guitar and singing, being pelted with tin cans for his trouble.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
32	* One ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats'' strip depicts Horse singing loudly on a fence... until Wal Footrot silences him with a gumboot.
33	* ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} often performs atop fences, though he prefers standup comedy -- perhaps because any musical interlude gets him the VaudevilleHook.
34	* The title character in ''ComicStrip/{{Heathcliff}}'' is sometimes shown singing or yowling on a fence, either alone or with other felines.
35	* ''ComicStrip/KrazyKat'': Lampshaded in the narration of one strip, wherein the full moon [[FurryReminder irresistibly compels Krazy to sing]], and he's pelted with a rolling-pin, a shoe, a clock, an iron and finally...[[ForegoneConclusion a boot]].
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Film - Animated]]
39	* Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' is an obvious example. It features a ten minute musical segment involving a full house of singing felines, accompanied by wild music and drug-induced background color. They do so again at the very end.
40	--> "Everybody wants to be a cat..."
41	* In ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldGetsReal'', Shecky, Waldo, and Bonita perform a Cat Concerto of sorts through stand-up comedy and song and dance, much to the annoyance of nearby apartment residents, who throw the cats food in an attempt to shut them up.
42	* In ''Literature/PeterNoTail (1981)'', the titular cat develops a crush on Maya/[[DubNameChange Molly]] Creamnose, who loves singing. Måns, realizing Maya's owners hate cat howling, tells Peter that Maya loves singing, expecting Maya's owners to [[CatsHateWater spray Peter with a hose later]] when he goes to sing to Maya. Luckily for Peter, Maya almost immediately warns him, but also invites him inside, so Måns ends up soaked instead.
43	* In ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheReluctantWerewolf'', the Hunch Bunch do this, in full cat-costumes, to keep Shaggy from being well-rested for the big race. They are promptly pelted with boots thrown by Franchise/{{Frankenstein}}. "Doggone kitty-cats!"
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Literature]]
47	* Invoked in ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer''. Tom and [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn Huck]] routinely [[NobodyHereButUsBirds signal each other with cat cries]]. At one point Huck complains that "Last time, you kep' me a-meowing around till old Hays went to throwing rocks at me and says 'Dern that cat!'"
48	* The temporarily-talking cat from ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/MovingPictures'' is likely referencing this trope when he comments that whenever he's been in love, people throw old boots at him.
49	* Pufftail from ''Literature/{{Stray}}'' considers his cat yowling to be beautiful singing. He's spent many nights courting [[ReallyGetsAround numerous females]] with his voice. In contrast, he considers human singing obnoxious noise.
50	* Tailchaser from ''Literature/TailchasersSong'' is a part of the Meeting Wall Clan. They rendezvous at the Meeting Wall on Meeting Night and listen to Bristlejaw, an elderly Master Old-Singer, tell the oral traditions of cats. It's a time where cats socialize and learn about their history. A Master Old-Singer is an important role in cat society as they help pass on traditions to future generations.
51	* ''Literature/TomcatBlueEyesDiaries'':
52	** The cats from Blue Eyes' neighbourhood regularly meet for concerts on one big roof and Blue Eyes must learn lots of etiquette rules before White Whiskers takes him there. Green Eyes, Blue Eyes's friend, leads them because she is the only she-cat around; White Whiskers notes that usually it is the other way round: a tom-cat leads female cats. Green Eyes is very strict on tom-cats who sing out of tune. Blue Eyes' first concert is ended by some uncultured human who threw a broom among them.
53	** One night, Green Eyes and Tore-his-ear sing a beautiful duet. Sometime later, Green Eyes has kittens...
54	** Once Blue Eyes sang alone in the wood when he felt alone and abandoned, when in fact his human had gone searching for him.
55	** Blue Eyes celebrates his glorious victory over a mean, evil tom-cat called Yellow by singing a quiet song when he saves little Kiki from him. Kiki carefully listens to his performance.
56	* In the novel ''Twig'', Old Girl, a cat who hangs around Twig's apartment, gives backyard fence "concerts" every night. When the Queen of Fairyland visits, Twig employs Old Girl to put on a special concert for her. The queen sits through the concert, far too polite to disparage it.
57	* The ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book ''Thunder Rising'' contains a bonus story at the back that shows how one character came to the forest. It begins with Ripple and all the other cats of the park yowling together to greet the morning.
58	* An UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom in the Cornell Woolrich short story "I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes", which begins with a man throwing his (specially-designed for his arch condition) shoes at one of these congregations. Said shoes are promptly found by a hoodlum who wears them to a murder-robbery.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
62	* ''Series/MyWorldAndWelcomeToIt'': In "A Friend of the Earth," the wife of John's new neighbor Paul Morton [[ShoeSlap throws a boot out the window when she hears caterwauling felines]] attracted by the sound of John's rusty gate. Her aim must be very bad, because it ends up breaking the window in Lydia's room.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Music]]
66	* "The Pussycat Song," sung by Patty Andrews and Bob Crosby has lyrics that describe a man dreaming (or maybe not) about two amorous cats singing to each other.
67	* Gioacchino Rossini's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vt-LyL_wqI Duetto buffo di due gatti]]''[[note]]"Comic duet for two cats"[[/note]] is made of this trope. Many a version has the singers [[PassiveAggressiveKombat acting catty]] to each other.
68	* "Stray Cat Strut" by the ''Music/StrayCats'' describes the adventures of a black and orange feral feline, which include "Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night/Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry."
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Theatre]]
72	* Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's musical ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' is essentially made of this trope, complete with a giant boot which is dropped onto the stage in the middle of a song. The cats pause, look resentfully at it, then keep singing.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
76	* ''TabletopGame/KillDrLucky'' has a Failure card wherein the doctor's cat starts yowling, which is more upsetting than what the doctor did to warrant being murdered.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Video Games]]
80	* In ''VideoGame/GarfieldLasagnaParty'', the "Cat's Band" mini-game involves Garfield, Nermal, Odie (a dog), and Arlene playing musical instruments on a fence. Garfield is on trumpet, Nermal is on drums, Odie is on triangle, and Arlene is on guitar. This mini-game is a music-based one, where the player [[SimonSaysMiniGame must press the right button at the right time to score points]].
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Web Comics]]
84	* ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'':
85	** Fiddler and Keys are a feline musical duo seen in a few strips. Both sing, and the characters respectively play violin and piano.
86	** Maxwell is shown walking along a backyard fence [[https://www.housepetscomic.com/comic/2013/08/07/the-other-one-drops/ here]], singing "Someone's Rocking My Dream Boat." His rendition is cut short by a thrown boot to the face.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Western Animation]]
90	* The WesternAnimation/BettyBoop cartoon "Not Now" revolves around this.
91	* Played for horror in ''WesternAnimation/TheCatPiano'', where all the singing cats are taken away from the city by a deranged human who uses them as part of his hellish "cat piano". Arranged according to the natural sound of their voices, with the touch of a note, a sharpened nail impaled each cat's tail, causing them to shriek out in pain. The idea of a cat piano is OlderThanTheyThink and attributed to various famous sadists from human history.
92	* While ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' is watching Stinky, Stinky sings on a fence with other riff-raff cats from the neighborhood, while holding up [[DrunkOnMilk a carton of milk.]]
93	* In one of the earliest examples, the ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat'' cartoon "Forty Winks" begins with Felix conducting four of his buddies in a loud performance. Of course, a guy in a house throws things at them.
94	* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' had Garfield doing comedy routines on a wooden fence, and occasionally being upstaged by Odie. This is also a RunningGag in the print version.
95	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
96	** The 1933 short ''Sittin' on a Backyard Fence'' (based on the song from ''Film/FootlightParade'') revolves around a bunch of cats singing and playing in an alley,
97	** The 1941 short ''Notes to You'' involves WesternAnimation/PorkyPig being pestered by an operatic cat. At the end, Porky shoots the cat dead, only for [[CatsHaveNineLives nine ghostly cats]] to start singing in harmony.
98	** The above short was remade in 1948 as "WesternAnimation/BackAlleyOproar", with Elmer Fudd and Sylvester. A rare example of a Looney Tunes cartoon in which Sylvester wins.
99	** In the 1965 short ''A Taste of Catnip'', WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck, who is having delusions that he's a cat, tries singing on a fence before inevitably getting hit with a boot.
100	* The 1929 WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse short ''The Karnival Kid'' has Mickey serenading Minnie by playing guitar while two cats sing "Sweet Adeline". They even bring in a fence to complete the effect.
101	* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': In "Sunspot's Night Out", Sunspot participates in a neighborhood animal choir with some alley cats and Mitchell's dog Cody. They howl "Ode to Joy".
102	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', a mouse with a penis growing out of its back interrupts a chase scene to do a solo on top of a fence.
103	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': The episode "I Was a Teenage Gary" ends with Gary, plus a transformed [=SpongeBob=] and Squidward, meowing "Blow the Man Down" on a fence. Patrick throws a boot in annoyance, knocking Squidward off.
104	* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'':
105	** In "WesternAnimation/SolidSerenade", Tom played a big bass fiddle while singing "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" to serenade a female cat. Unfortunately, the music ends up disturbing Jerry's sleep and causing his house to quake and fall apart, driving Jerry to shut him up and leading to the usual chase.
106	** In "WesternAnimation/HeavenlyPuss", one of the recently deceased cats boarding the Heavenly Express was struck with a flatiron while doing this, leaving him with [[CranialEruption a large lump under his tophat]].
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Real Life]]
110	* Intact female cats in heat will "sing" very loudly to attract the attention of male cats. This can be very obnoxious for their owners. One of the many reasons cited for spaying and neutering cats. Not every intact female cat is loud in heat though.
111	** They make a window-rattling yowl when feeling neglected, spayed or not.
112	** Likewise applies when they're hunting anything unfortunate enough to wander into the house.
113	* Most cats, even ones normally known for being quiet, have the capacity to be [[CuteButCacophonic extremely loud]] when the situation calls for it, be it defending their home territory, asking their owner for food or attention, or as a contact call to find out where everyone else has gone, and to do this, they'll get to howling up a storm.
114	[[/folder]]
115	----
116	->Mreeeeooow/Mreeeeoooow/Marooooow/Mreee--[[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} CHUKONG]]!
117

Context Main / CatConcerto