Tom Cat

Tom Cat
Physical description
Species	Cat
Gender	Male
Biographical information
Friends	Jerry (sometimes; best friend/archenemy), Other Cats, Humans
Enemies	Jerry (usually; best friend/archenemy), Spike, Mice, and various other non-cat animals
Loses	Puss Gets the Boot The Midnight Snack Fraidy Cat Dog Trouble Puss N' Toots Switchin' Kitten Down and Outing It's Greek to Me-ow! High Steaks Mouse into Space Landing Stripling Calypso Cat Dicky Moe The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit Tall in the Trap Sorry Safari Buddies Thicker Than Water Carmen Get It!
Wins	The Million Dollar Cat Southbound Duckling Mouse for Sale Little Big Mouse

For other uses, see Tom.

Thomas "Tom" Cat is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoon short films, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Tom is a blue/grey anthropomorphic domestic short-haired cat who first appeared in the 1940 animated short Puss Gets the Boot. Tom was originally known as "Jasper" during his debut in that short, however, beginning from his next appearance in The Midnight Snack and onwards, he is known as "Tom" or "Thomas".

History

Tom and Jerry cartoons

His full name "Tom Cat" is based on "tomcat", a phrase which refers to male cats. He is very rarely heard speaking with the exception of a few cartoons (such as the Tom and Jerry Tales episode "League of Cats") and Tom and Jerry: The Movie. His only notable vocal sounds outside of this are his various screams whenever he is subject to pain or panic. He is continuously after Jerry, for whom he sets traps, many of which backfire and cause damage to him rather than Jerry. Tom very rarely sets out to eat Jerry, but only to hurt or compete with him, going to great lengths in order to strategically just taunt Jerry (even as revenge), rather than the stereotype of a predatory cat and mouse pairing. However, Tom is shown to get along with Jerry, let alone bonding secretly with each other in terms of their friendship in reality over a mutual sentiment towards an unpleasant experience. Multiple times, the story will start with him having nothing against Jerry, and is merely chasing him out of fear of receiving abuse at the hands of his owner if he doesn't do his job as a cat.

Personality

Tom's personality has changed remarkably over the years, especially after the first episodes. For example, in his debut, he was quadrupedal and had normal cat intelligence. However, over the years (since the episode Dog Trouble), he has become almost completely bipedal and has superhuman level of intelligence. As a slapstick cartoon character, Tom has a superhuman level of elasticity. Tom is usually defeated (or very rarely, killed) with Jerry getting the best of him in the end, although there are some stories where he outwits defeats, and gets the best of Jerry.

Anchors Aweigh and Dangerous When Wet

Tom and Jerry appeared together in the 1945 Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical Anchors Aweigh where Tom briefly appears as a butler for Jerry, the latter who has a dance sequence with Gene Kelly, and also in another musical with the same studio Dangerous When Wet (1953), where, in a dream sequence, main character Katie Higgins does an underwater ballet with Tom and Jerry, as well as animated depictions of the different people in her life.

Voice actors

• Clarence Nash: Vocal effects in the Hanna-Barbera era (1940–1941) (Archival recording from Disney Cartoons)
• William Hanna: Vocal effects in the Hanna-Barbera era (1942–1958) shorts: The Lonesome Mouse, The Million Dollar Cat
• Billy Bletcher: 1944–1945 shorts: The Bodyguard, The Zoot Cat, Quiet Please!
• Stepin Fetchit: 1948 short: Mouse Cleaning
• Daws Butler: 1956 short: Mucho Mouse (and a few others as well)
• Allen Swift: Vocal effects in the Gene Deitch era (1961–1962) shorts
• Mel Blanc: Vocal effects in the Chuck Jones era (1963–1967) shorts
• Stan Freberg: 1964 short: The Cat Above and The Mouse Below
• June Foray: 1965 short: Duel Personality
• John Stephenson: The Tom and Jerry Show 
• Frank Welker: The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, Tom & Jerry Kids
• Richard Kind: Tom and Jerry: The Movie
• Jeff Bennett: Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring
• Bill Kopp: Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars, Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry, Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers
• Spike Brandt: 2005 short: The Karate Guard
• Don Brown: Tom and Jerry Tales

Love interests

Apart from chasing Jerry, Tom has multiple love interests with female cats. Their names start with "T", except in Tom and Jerry Kids. They are:

• Toots, a fluffy beige cat who appears in Puss n' Toots and The Mouse Comes to Dinner, the latter being her only speaking role. This version of Toots also appeared in some 1940s Tom and Jerry comics.
• Toots, a different cat by the same name who appears in The Zoot Cat. She has occasionally and erroneously been referred to as "Sheikie," but this is actually Tom's nickname, as seen on a gift card in the cartoon.
• An unnamed, non-speaking cat who appears very briefly in The Bodyguard. She was made as a mere object of slap-stick humor, as when Tom gave her a wolf whistle, he ironically gave himself away to Spike, who was supposed to protect Jerry every time he whistles.
• Tara, a non-speaking cat who appears in Texas Tom.
• Toodles Galore, a non-speaking recurring cat who sometimes adores Tom and sometimes treats him badly (particularly in Love Me, Love My Mouse). She appears in multiple shorts. She also appeared in Beach Bully Bingo
• An unnamed white cat appearing in Blue Cat Blues. Similar to the cat seen in Muscle Beach Tom, except with a personality like Toodles.
• Sugar Belle, a beige kitten in the pre-Civil War era who once was enticed to Little Tom, but went to Beauregard, a fat dark brown kitten.
• Cindy-Lou, a light brown kitten around Little Tom's age who wanted a mouse as a pet for a birthday gift, namely Jerry.
• Lieutenant Lucy, a toupe kitten in a military outfit, as a Lieutenant at a U.S. Army training base, who did not turn a blind eye to Little Tom pestering Jerry.
• White Tabby, A bi-pedal white kitten (a bit of a homage to Toodles), who wanted a mouse to cuddle with. After Little Tom gave her Jerry, she took the mouse to her boyfriend's Limo.

Profile

• Name: Thomas "Tom" Cat
• Gender: Male
• Species: Cat
• Family: Cousin George (Cousin)
• Age: Adult (most of episodes)
• Likes: Milk, Fish, Catching Mice
• Dislikes: Getting injured, being retaliated
• Friends: Jerry (sometimes; best friend/archenemy), Other Cats, Humans
• Enemies: Jerry (usually; archenemy/best friend), Spike, Mice, and various other non-cat animals

Gallery

Main article: Tom Cat/Gallery