Today’s famous feline is often mistaken for an attractive skunk rather than a cat because she always winds up with a white stripe painted down her back… have you guessed who this kitty is yet? It’s Penelope Pussycat from Looney Tunes.
Penelope Pussycat is a cute black and white cat who first appeared on November 12, 1949 in the Looney Tunes episode “For Scent-imental Reasons” with Pepe Le Pew. In this episode, Penelope runs into a bottle of white hair dye that pours right down her back… leaving her with skunk-like appearance. This catches the eye of Pepe Le Pew, which causes him to fall madly in love with her.
This mistaken identity and love pursuit becomes a recurring theme for these two characters. Penelope always seems to find herself with a white stripe drawn on her back, which causes Pepe to pursue her – though she tries to escape his clutches most of the time. However, in some episodes, the roles are reversed. In these cases, Pepe’s skunk smell is often neutralized, which causes Penelope Pussycat to persue him as a love interest.
An interesting fact about Penelope is that she wasn’t officially called “Penelope Pussycat” until 1995 during the Looney Tunes special “Carrotblanca.” Before this, Penelope was given several names.
- From 1949-1954 she was only referred to as the black cat.
- In the 1954 short “The Cat’s Bah” she was referred to as Penelope.
- In the 1955 short “Really Scent“, she was given the name Fabrette.
- During the early 1990s, she was called Le Cat.
Penelope Pussycat is a cute, funny, and memorable character from the Looney Tunes… and we’re not just saying that because she’s a cat. We love the funny situations that she always finds herself in with her hopelessly romantic pursuer, Pepe Le Pew.
Is there a famous feline you’d like to see featured in one of our Famous Friday posts?
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