[[quoteright:300:[[{{Garfield}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GarfieldandArlene_6477.jpg]]]]

->''"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..."''
-->--Amy Boyd

Alleycats invariably spend their evenings singing opera while standing on top of a wooden fence. Usually they perform solos, although coordinated choruses and sodden barbershop renditions of "How Dry I Am" are not unknown. A female cat (complete with [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics ribbon]]) may or may not be seen nearby, the coy recipient of the serenade.

Performances usually end with a thrown shoe or piece of trash and a bellowed "shaddup" from somewhere off screen.

For what it's worth, midnight yowling from RealLife alley cats generally means they're ''fighting'', not "entertaining".
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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The temporarily-talking cat from ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} Moving Pictures]]'' was possibly referencing this trope when he commented that whenever he's been in love, people throw old boots at him.
* In the novel ''Twig'', Old Girl, a cat who hangs around Twig's apartment, gives these kinds of 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.
* Invoked in ''TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer''. Tom and [[TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn Huck]] routinely [[NobodyHereButUsBirds signal each other with cat cries]]. Att 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!'"

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

* Quite a few ''{{Heathcliff}}'' strips.
** Likewise {{Garfield}}.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Music ]]

* Gioacchino Rossini's ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vt-LyL_wqI Duetto buffo di due gatti]]''[[hottip:*:"Comic duet for two cats"]] is made of this trope.
* "The Pussy Cat Song," sung by Patty Andrews and Bob Crosby.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

* Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "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.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Dozens of WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes shorts, e.g. "Back Alley Oproar"
* ''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.
* {{Disney}}'s ''TheAristocats'' is an obvious example. It has 10 full minutes involving a full house, accompanied by wild music and drug-induced background color. It's possible that they do it again at the very end.
** They do. And the bass is still missing
** [[EarWorm Everybody wants to be a cat...]]
* {{Superman}} turning into [[http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=810:super-cool-cat&catid=30:frames-and-panels-index&Itemid=34 "Super-Cool Cat"]]...
* Also in ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry''.
* In ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'', alley cats are seen to do this in order to eat the food thrown at them.
* Played for horror in ''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.
* Occurs in an episode of ''SpongebobSquarepants'' when Spongebob and Squidward are turned into snails and perform with Gary on a fence, complete with Patrick throwing a boot in annoyance.
* 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.
* In one of the earliest examples, the ''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.
* In 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 {{Frankenstein}}. "Doggon kitty-cats!"
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