The focus shifts to an Animal-Rights Celebrity Auction, where billionaire playboy and philanthropist Bruce Wayne is called to the stage. A blonde lady in a red dress named Selina Kyle wins the auction for a date with Bruce, with the very steep bid of $10,000. Bruce goes to meet Selina and is visibly interested in her. Machine gun fire is heard outside, with police cars in chase. Bruce inconspicuously vanishes from the auction to investigate the ruckus, which, it turns out, is caused by a group of terrorists under the control of a notorious leader named Red Claw, as Batman learns from Commissioner James Gordon.
Bruce arrives at Selina's apartment, where he learns that Selina lost a deal for land for a Mountain Lion preserve in favor of Multigon International. When they go to Multigon International, they learn that the owner, Stern, wants to build a resort on the land, even though it's in the middle of nowhere. Selina threatens to bring every animal rights group down on Stern before storming out. After Selina and Bruce leave, Stern secretly meets with Red Claw (who it turns out is female), who orders that someone keep tabs on Selina. In the meantime, Selina asks a rain check on her date with Bruce.
That night, Batman interrogates a mob boss to get info on Red Claw. Meanwhile, Red Claw calls a meeting with her henchmen, stating her plans to unleash an infectious plague on Gotham. Catwoman infiltrates Stern's office to get info, but she is secretly under surveillance by Red Claw, who goes with her henchmen to take care of her. Isis warns Catwoman of the coming trouble, and she escapes through the ventilation system before Red Claw and her henchmen barge in. Red Claw's terrorists give chase. While Catwoman tries to escape by roof hopping, Red Claw blasts away a ledge she hangs on, but she is saved by the intervention of Batman.
Catwoman returns home and removes her mask, where she tells her secretary that Red Claw wants the land because of the military base there, but unfortunately, one of Red Claw's terrorists sees Selina, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger.
This was the first episode of Batman: The Animated Series aired. The story is continued in "The Cat and the Claw: Part 2", which strangely was the eighth episode aired, unlike other two-parters, which were aired one part after the first.note
Tropes in this episode include:
- Air-Vent Passageway: Catwoman ducks into Multigon's air vents to escape from Red Claw.
- Animation Bump: While the WB staff had frequent issues with Sunrise's work on the series, director Kevin Altieri was impressed with the scene where Red Claw is moving in front of a slide show:Kevin: In cartoons if you want lines to bend over characters, it's not a trick, it's real animation, you shouldn't do it. The chances of it working are astronomical, but I went for it anyway, and they did it! They blew so many other simpler things, and this they pulled off.
- Bachelor Auction: Among the items being auctioned for an animal-welfare charity is a date with Bruce Wayne. Selina severely overbids, ironically just to make a showy donation; she isn't actually interested in Bruce until afterwards.
- The Baroness: Red Claw, who leads a gang of terrorists with unspecified but strongly-held convictions while sporting a red leotard and an Eastern European accent.
- Building Swing:
- Catwoman does this using her whip.
- Batman does too with his grappling hook.
- Disco Tech: Playing the beginning of "Ode to Joy" to unlock the secret room.
- Dramatic Irony: Selina laments how she would rather be going out on a date with Batman than Bruce Wayne and says how she wishes Batman was on the other side of her door waiting for her, all without knowing that they are actually the same person.
- Forceful Kiss: After Batman saves Catwoman from falling, she happily kisses him as he carries her to a rooftop. He barely reacts to it at all though, only seeming to notice what she is doing after several seconds, and once they reach the rooftop he is able to gently push her off him.
- Hollywood Glass Cutter: In the opening, Catwoman uses her Absurdly Sharp Claws to cut a perfectly circular hole in a window, just large enough for Isis to enter.
- Irony: Selina muses how she would rather be going out on a date with Batman than Bruce Wayne, even stating she wished it was Batman on the other side of her door before opening it to reveal Bruce, all while completely clueless the two are one-in-the-same.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover:
- Catwoman, of course. She not only fawns over Isis, but she also takes care of a number of other cats and is openly concerned about the well-being of larger felines.
- Batman risks being hit by a truck to save Isis from getting run over.
- Laser Hallway: Catwoman uses a clever way of getting past the laser grid surrounding a diamond necklace; she uses her housecat Isis — who can see the infrared beams and is small and nimble enough to evade them — to get the jewelry for her.
- Mythology Gag: At one point while flirting with Batman, Catwoman says that he can't deny that there's "something between them." Batman agrees and says that it's the law. This seems to be based off of a scene from Batman Returns when Catwoman angrily attacks Batman while he's rescuing the Ice Princess, saying that she thought they had something between them to which Batman says "We do."
- Pilot: Aired as one for Batman: The Animated Series as well as the DC Animated Universe. Despite this, it's overlooked in favor of the actual pilot, "On Leather Wings".
- Scenery Porn: Several impresesive shots of Gotham are displayed throughout the episode.
- Songs in the Key of Lock: The keys of a piano have to be pressed in the right order—the first few bars of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy"—to reveal a map of the Multigon "resort" site. Catwoman, having had piano lessons, plays that out with ease and then continues—unlocking more hidden parts of the room.
- "Take That!" Kiss: Zig-zagged; at the end of Batman's first encounter with Catwoman, she blows him a kiss before she escapes. However, this is also after Batman saves her cat Isis from getting hit by a truck, which she is very grateful for.
- Terrorists Without a Cause: Red Claw's goals are never spelled out, but she's very keen on them, and for some reason causing an epidemic in Gotham will strongly advance them.
- Western Terrorists: The terrorists are, Red Claw aside, all white men, though the implication is that they are vaguely "foreign" in a nonspecific way. Given the Retro Universe nature of the setting, they can be taken as its rough equivalent of stereotypical "Red" saboteurs.
- We Will Meet Again: After she tosses Batman off the roof, Catwoman bitterly tells him never to trifle with a woman and her affections before growling "until next time" and leaves him dangling. Batman silently agrees that there will be a next time.
- Woman Scorned: After Batman saves Catwoman she happily kisses him in gratitude, also calling it thanks for saving Isis earlier. Despite this though, Batman still tries to unmask her and says he needs to turn her into the police. Catwoman briefly fakes sadness and Batman comforts her, until Catwoman throws him off the roof in anger and leaves him hanging off the side, growling at him to never mess with a woman and her affections. Downplayed as despite her angry outburst she is still in love with him.
