Martha is hanging out with Rinty, John, Cisco, and Burt and making anti-cat jokes. Then, Mrs. Boxwood shows up and reveals that she's directing a school play and wants Martha to be in it. At home, Martha tells Helen and Skits, and wonders if Mrs. Boxwood sees her as a star. She imagines what her role in the play might be, then Ronald comes over. He brings the script, and reveals he thinks Nelson should have the role, even though (as Helen points out) Nelson can't talk.
When Helen reveals that Martha is cast as the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, Martha doesn't want to play him. Helen points out that actors are always playing people they're not, but Martha isn't swayed. She tells Mrs. Boxwood, who agrees to not have Martha as the Cheshire Cat, but Martha changes her mind when Mrs. Boxwood decides to have Nelson in the play instead.
At a dress rehearsal, Mrs. Boxwood tells Martha that she's behaving more like a dog than a cat. Martha protests, but Mrs. Boxwood says that in order to portray a cat, Martha must act like one, and advises her to spend some time around cats to understand them better. Then, Ronald makes fun of Martha to his friends.
At the corner store with Helen and Alice, Martha is determined to be the best cat ever just to spite Ronald, but she doesn't know how. Alice then shows Martha the kitten from "There Goes the Neighbourhood" (whose name is revealed to be Kitten) to see if he can teach her how to be a cat. Kitten demonstrates walking in a straight line, scratching at trees, cleaning oneself like a cat, and jumping onto a railing, and Martha tries her best but has a bit of trouble.
On another rehearsal, Mrs. Boxwood congratulates Martha, and Helen, while measuring her for the costume, agrees that she did great. Meanwhile, Ronald spies on Martha. Later, at the park, Martha decides to keep acting like a cat and answer to Kitty, but she can't help but chase a squirrel. Ronald then continues to spy on her as she continues to act like a cat all day, while Ronald buys an animal trap.
On the day of the play, Ronald brings his trap in and Martha thinks she can smell something funny, but brushes it off. Martha does her scene, and Ronald then tries to set a squirrel free for her to chase, but it runs up his pants instead. He then makes a fool of himself onstage trying to get rid of the squirrel. To rub salt in the wound, once she sees it, she doesn't chase it.
This episode provides examples of
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Martha imagines herself wearing a red afro wig and a white collar, an aviatrix's hat and a red scarf, a witch's hat, and a black cloak and a white mask.
- Aesop Amnesia: Martha once again forgets the time she shed her anti-cat prejudice in "There Goes the Neighbourhood". This is despite Kitten making an appearance in the episode.
- Air Quotes: Helen puts air quotes on the name "Kitty" when calling Martha that at the park.
- Alice Allusion: Alice plays Alice in the play.
- Animal Jingoism: Martha makes anti-cat jokes with her dog friends and dislikes playing a cat.
- Bigotry With An Exception: This episode reveals that despite having gone back to being prejudiced against cats in general, Martha is still friends with Kitten.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Ronald tries to embarrass Martha, but ends up embarrassing himself instead.
- Cats Are Superior: Discussed by Martha who, when mocking a cat, says, "Look at me, I think I'm on top of the world!", then later describes cats as "selfish" and acts arrogant when trying to be a cat.
- Continuity Nod: When Helen is trying to explain to Martha that the actor is not the same as the character, she says, "You played a bull last time, remember?". Martha played a bull in a play in "Martha Treads the Boards".
- Copycat Mockery:
- Literally — Martha mocks cats by imitating one.
- Ronald mocks Martha by holding his hands like paws and saying, "Ruff ruff ruff! I'm thirsty. Where's the toilet?".
- Cross-Cast Role: In-Universe. Martha (a female) is cast as the Cheshire Cat (a male).
- Dogs Hate Squirrels: Martha is tempted to stop being a cat and chase a squirrel when she sees one. When she does chase it, Ronald gets the idea to sic a squirrel on her at the play, but it climbs up his pants instead.
- Dogs Love Fire Hydrants: Downplayed. Martha, John, Rinty, Cisco, and Burt hang out near a fire hydrant, but they don't enthuse about it or pee on it.
- Fantasy Sequence: Martha imagines herself playing different characters in the play.
- Flying Broomstick: Martha imagines herself playing a witch on a broom.
- Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Martha wears a full cat suit when playing the Cheshire Cat.
- Hairball Humor: Martha once disses cats for having hairballs.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: In her imagination, Martha wears a mermaid's tail.
- School Play: Helen et al's school is having a play directed by Mrs. Boxwood, and Martha is in it but doesn't want to play the Cheshire Cat.
- Shaking the Rump: Martha wiggles her butt when making fun of cats.
- Shout-Out:
- Martha imagines herself in a red curly wig playing a "happy little orphan", which references Annie (1982), which stars an optimistic orphaned girl with curly red hair.
- The school play is Alice in Wonderland.
- Slapstick: Martha falls over when trying to walk like a cat and has trouble jumping onto the railing.
- Speak in Unison:
- In Martha's imagination, Helen, Alice, and T.D. sing in unison about how Martha is a "merdog".
- When anticipating the next day, Martha and Ronald say at once, "I can't wait!".
- Split Screen: Martha and Ronald are shown getting ready for bed on a split screen.
- Squirrels in My Pants: Literally. Ronald tries to sic a squirrel on Martha, but it runs up his pants, making him squirm.
- Stink Snub: When pretending to be a cat, Martha addresses John, Rinty, Cisco, and Burt as "smelly, dopey dogs".
- Toilet-Drinking Dog Gag: When Ronald mocks Martha, he says, "I'm thirsty. Where's the toilet?".
