With the release of A Street Cat Named Bob in cinemas this November, it seemed fitting to continue our monthly ‘Top 10…’ feature showcasing the greatest felines to grace our screens over the years.
- Cats and Dogs (Mr Tinkles)
Mr Tinkles and his army of evil cats had to feature somewhere on this list (and partly solidified why I’m more of a dog person). Quite possibly the most bad-ass cat in this top 10, he would stop at nothing for world domination in this frankly ridiculous kid’s film.
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Cosmic Creepers)
When I re-watched this recently, it reminded me of how trippy this movie really is. It goes from war torn England one minute to an animated jungle the next and the cat gets in on some of the black magic as the story progresses. The only reason this black cat is so far down the list is because another witch’s pet outdoes it.
- Alien (Jones)
Who can forget Sigourney Weaver and the ginger cat towards the end of this sci-fi classic? Some of the moments that had me most on the edge of my seat were when I thought Jones was going to be killed by the alien parasite on-board the ship. There’s also something oddly amusing about the fact that they randomly have a pet cat on a space ship.
- Bagpuss
This is quite possibly one of the most iconic children’s TV shows of all time. It is a simple idea – Emily’s toys coming to life to work out what strange new objects are – but that is the joy of it. This pink cat has deservedly become a piece of British screen history and kids to this day still have soft toys of it.
- Friends (Smelly Cat)
It might be considered a bit of a stretch to include this but in the episode where Phoebe makes a music video we do technically see Smelly Cat. That and the song itself is one of the best pieces of song writing of all time!
- The Aristocats (Duchess and Thomas O’Malley)
It would be impossible to not include a film that actually centres on cats, especially when it is a Disney classic like this. While it may not be a personal favourite Disney animation, there are still some purr-fect (sorry!) songs.
- Alice in Wonderland (The Cheshire cat)
Throughout the years there have been several screen incarnations of the cat with a terrifying grin. My favourite is the Disney animation as it is both slightly sinister and also kind of trippy – the images of that pink and purple cat and the yellow cat’s eyes are imprinted on my mind (possibly because I watched it so much as a kid…).
- Inside Llewyn Davis (The ginger tom cat)
Since the release of this Coen Brothers movie there have been all sorts of rumours circulating on the web that the cat was in fact the titular Llewyn Davis. Even if it isn’t actually, the ginger cat is still of pivotal importance to the charm of this severely underrated film.
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Salem)
Salem is probably the most iconic black cat to appear on our screens. This sassy black cat was one of the best bits of this 90s teen comedy series.
- You Only Live Twice (Blofeld’s cat)
This cat may not speak, like a lot of others on this list do, but it deserves to be number 1 simply for being so prominent in one of the most iconic scenes in not only James Bond history, but film history.
Music editor
