"The fat cat on a mat may seem to dream
Of nice mice that suffice for him or cream
But he free, maybe walks in thought unbowed, proud
Where loud his kin, lean and slim or deep in den
Feasted on beasts and tender men.
The giant lion with iron claw in paw
And huge ruthless tooth in gory jaw;
The pard dark-starred, fleet upon feet,
That oft soft from aloft leaps on his meat
Where woods loom in gloom
Far now they be, fierce and free, and tamed is he;
But fat cat on the mat kept as a pet he does not forget"
Of nice mice that suffice for him or cream
But he free, maybe walks in thought unbowed, proud
Where loud his kin, lean and slim or deep in den
Feasted on beasts and tender men.
The giant lion with iron claw in paw
And huge ruthless tooth in gory jaw;
The pard dark-starred, fleet upon feet,
That oft soft from aloft leaps on his meat
Where woods loom in gloom
Far now they be, fierce and free, and tamed is he;
But fat cat on the mat kept as a pet he does not forget"
— J. R. R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "Cat"
This is the purr-fectly cat-related trope index. For more reality-based information about meowing, see the Useful Notes page on Cat Communication.
See also: This Index Barks.
Tropes:
Related Index
- Adorable Fluffy Tail: Cats with fluffy tails.
- All Witches Have Cats: Witches own cats and cats are associated with witches.
- Asian Lion Dogs: Feline and/or canine beings, usually guardians of people and places.
- Asians Eat Pets: The stereotype that Asian people eat meat from cats.
- Bakeneko and Nekomata: Two types of cat youkai
- Buffoonish Tomcat: A cat, usually tom-cats, resemble the manner of a buffoon or are like a clown that usually are an victim of slapstick in old-fashioned cartoons, are characterized by humor, or simply consist in buffoonery.
- Canines Primary, Felines Secondary: A story where the cats are sort of the inferiors to the dogs or work with dogs as the main characters and cats as supporting characters.
- Cat-apult: Cats are used as projectiles.
- Cat Concerto: One or more cats sing on the streets at night.
- Cat/Dog Dichotomy: Cats and dogs are compared to one another.
- Cat Folk: Humanoids that are sort of catlike.
- Cat Girl: A girl or a woman that is mostly human but has some cat parts.
- A Cat in a Gang of Dogs: A group of animals that consists of several dogs and a cat.
- Catlike Dragons: Dragons are depicted with feline features or mannerisms.
- Cats Love Laser Pointers: Cats love to chase things, laser pointers in this case.
- Cat Ninja: Ninjas and cats are associated with each other, often a cat who is a ninja.
- Cat Scare: Something is thought to be scary, but it's just something harmless (not necessarily a cat but often is).
- Cat Stereotype: A list of stereotypes about cats.
- Cats Are Lazy: Cats are lazy by nature.
- Cats Are Magic: Cats with magical powers.
- Cats Are Mean: Cats that are considered evil, unkindly or just mean-spirited.
- Cats Are Snarkers: A snide cat.
- Cats Are Superior: Cats are seen as amazing but (sometimes) they're also arrogant about it.
- Cats Hate Water: Cats having fear of water, rain, or just getting wet.
- Cats Have Nine Lives: Any reference to the expression that cats have nine lives.
- Cat Up a Tree: A cat is stuck up a tree.
- Classical Chimera: A mythical creature combining with lion, snake, and goat attributes.
- Convenient Decoy Cat: The good guy/s is/are chasing the bad guy/s and are distracted by a small animal (often a cat).
- Cool Cat: Cats are hip.
- Crazy Cat Lady: An eccentric or crazy woman who owns many cats.
- Cute Kitten: A kitten, or even an adult cat who's really adorable, and are usually harmless.
- Eastern Zodiac: The tiger is the third animal of the zodiac, and the Vietnamese version of the zodiac has the cat replacing the rabbit as the fourth.
- Faux Paw: A character pretends to be a cat and uses their fist as a fake paw.
- Female Feline, Male Mutt: A duo consisting of a female cat and a male dog.
- Fiery Lion: A lion with a fire motif.
- Fluffy Dry Cat: A furry animal (not always a cat but often is) gets wet, then dried, and their fur stands up and looks way longer.
- Great White Feline: Big cats with white fur given some form of importance or strangeness.
- Hairball Humor: Sure, it's messy, but it's still funny.
- Heroic Canines, Villainous Felines: Dogs are the good guys, cats are the bad guys.
- High on Catnip: Catnip acts like a drug for cats.
- The Internet Is for Cats: People looking at animal memes (usually involving cats) on The Internet.
- Introverted Cat Person: An introverted and shy person who loves cats.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Someone who likes cats and is a Nice Guy, a Nice Girl, or if they're a villain, they'll be not all bad.
- King of Beasts: Lions are portrayed as royalty/leaders.
- Maneki Neko: The Japanese lucky waving cat.
- Mega Neko: A giant cat.
- Men Like Dogs, Women Like Cats: Female characters favor pet cats, while males prefer pet dogs.
- Nice Kitty...: Making Baby Talk to a scary animal (not necessarily a cat).
- Nue: A chimeric yokai that is often depicted as having the traits of a tiger, but can sometimes have the traits of a cat.
- Our Gryphons Are Different: A mythical half-lion half-eagle creature
- Our Manticores Are Spinier: A mythical creature with the body of a lion, the face of a human, and the ability to shoot venomous spikes.
- Our Sphinxes Are Different: A mythical creature with the body of a lion, the face of (usually) a human and the wings of a bird.
- Panthera Awesome: Big cats are seen as awesome.
- Riddling Sphinx: A sphinx who asks a riddle.
- Right-Hand Cat (Not necessarily a cat, but often is.): A bad guy with a pet that doesn't do much.
- Sexy Cat Person: Associating cats with sex.
- Snowy Sabertooths: Prehistoric saber-toothed cats depicted as living in snowy wastes due to their association with the Ice Age.
- Spooky Animal Sounds: Ambient animal sounds, such as cats yowling, used to set an atmosphere of danger.
- That Poor Cat: A cat's yowl is heard in the background after a crash.
- Tiger Versus Dragon: Dragons and tigers are against each other or used as opposing Animal Motifs.
- Western Zodiac: The fifth sign is Leo (Lion).
Useful Notes
- Cat Communication: Notes on how cats communicate with each other and with humans.
- Schrödinger's Cat: Notes on the thought experiment involving a cat who may or may not be dead until you open the box.
