Talking Kitty Cat was a series of web videos made by Steve Cash on YouTube. The first Talking Kitty Cat video was released on March 3, 2008. There are at least sixty-nine videos as of December 2019. They can all be viewed here
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The series mostly revolves around the misadventures of a black cat named Sylvester (2007 - 2020), his owner Steve Cash, and the other residents of his home, such as:
- Gibson (2010 - 2016): First appeared in “Talking Kitty Cat 5.5”, where he was purchased and brought home by Steve. He was a Ragdoll, quiet and prone to calling out "Help!" and "Todd!" He died in 2016, but not before siring a litter of kittens.
- Shelby Gurl: A black Labrador Retriever. Steve got her when she was a puppy. Doesn’t speak unless she’s wearing a special collar (similar to the ones seen in Disney/Pixar’s Up).
- Random Kitty: Found in Steve’s backyard as a kitten, Random was meant to stay until her owner was found. When no owner came forward, Steve chose to keep her. Random became the mother to a litter of five kittens fathered by Gibson in “Talking Kitty Cat 47 - What No One Saw Coming!” Has since come to be called Random Kitty, due to having grown up and no longer being a kitten.
- Gibbyson: A solid gray kitten from Random’s litter (called the Random Gibsons) that was kept.
- GG - Short for “Gibson’s Granddaughter,” GG was a kitten born to one of the Random Gibsons, making her Random's granddaughter as well as Gibbyson's niece.
On April 16, 2020, Steve Cash was found dead by suicide. His unexpected death has no doubt brought the series to a permanent end. Sylvester himself passed away on December 10 of the same year.
The videos provide examples of:
- All There in the Manual: A Talking Kitty Cat website stated that Gibson had kidney and bladder problems his whole life. Also, Steve has mentioned on his Facebook profile that he is married.
- Ascended Extra: The solid gray Random Gibson is kept by Steve in episode 50.
- Babies Ever After: Gibson fathered a litter of kittens on Random Kitty just before he passed away.
- Cats Are Mean: Sylvester plays this trope nicely.
- Cats Are Snarkers: Sylvester sometimes goes into this trope. Random Kitty somehow manages this a lot even though she almost never says anything that anyone can make out as a general rule of thumb. It comes out more in her body language when she makes her usually incomprehensible sounds, making it seem that, while she may be crazy she's much more intelligent than she lets on, and just loves to screw with Steve's head.
- Cats Have Nine Lives: According to Sylvester’s Diary 7, Sylvester is currently on his third life.
- Connected All Along: During Gibson's attempted course of acquiring language skills from Sylvester, Gibson would start uttering the word "Todd" only after repeating his initial word "help" numerous times. It became significant as he knew Gibson learned it from Sylvester and then desperately seeks to uncover his identity. Steve also stated in Talking Kitty Cat 33 that "he" put an ad out for free kittens and apparently that is how he got Sylvester. His role would later be revealed as he supposedly appeared trying to chase Steve as he brings Gibson back to his home in Talking Kitty Cat 34, and Sylvester would often threaten other pets with Todd implying him as some sort of danger.
- Characterization Marches On: While Steve has gotten a bit more used to handling Sylvester, it's possible that Sylvester is simply mellowing with age. He has lived with Steve most of his life, and has gone through two houses, four kittens (Gibson, Random, Gibbyson, and G.G) and Shelby. Shelby and Sylvester are getting on in age, with the former going deaf and virtually blind, while Sylvester has showed signs of graying fur and has lost a tooth. Given that Gibson died incredibly young, it's amazing Sylvester has lasted as long as he has.
- Child Hater: More like Kitten Hater. Sylvester tends to hit and yell at kittens that get near him.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Random Kitty, full stop. She rarely says anything intelligible, and seems to have a view on the world that may be completely divorced from reality. Despite this, she seems to know exactly what's going on— most of the time.
- Crazy Cat Lady: Sylvester states that, in his first life, he lived with an old lady that “collected cats like baseball cards.”
- Random Kitty is a female cat and appears to be virtually insane— making her literal case of this in an unintended manner.
- Cute Kitten: Several have appeared, including Izzy, Random, the Random Gibsons, and G.G.. Regardless, Sylvester hates them all. At least until they grow up, in which case he seems to tolerate them.
- Dead Guy Junior: The kittens of Gibson and Random Kitty are known as “The Random Gibsons”.
- The gray kitten that was kept is named “Gibbyson.”
- A kitten later born to a gray and white Random Gibson was adopted by Steve and named G.G. (Gibson's Granddaughter). She is a Ragdoll like Gibson.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Pause the video and read the eviction letter in episode 51.
- High on Catnip: Whenever Sylvester gets in contact with some. It's even treated as an addiction.
- Jerkass: Sylvester. Who else?
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Several episodes followed this trope. Talking Kitty Cat 47 is a notable example, where we see Random Kitty give birth to a litter of kittens, and then learn that Gibson had passed away at the end of the episode.
- Shelby has since gone blind, and Sylvester has lost a tooth and is showing signs of graying fur, indicating both may be nearing the end of their lives.
- Episode 69 ended with the implication of Steve going to prison as a result of Sylvester using Steve's SSN to commit payroll fraud. With Steve Cash's sudden passing on April 16th, 2020, we will never see a resolution to this thread, nor any others.
- Wham Episode: Talking Kitty Cat 47: What No One Saw Coming!, in which Random gives birth to kittens fathered by Gibson, who dies shortly after they are born.
