The Cat's Me-Ouch!
| The Cat's Me-Ouch | |
|---|---|
| Tom and Jerry series | |
 Title Card | |
| Directed by |
Chuck Jones Maurice Noble (co-director) |
| Produced by | Chuck Jones |
| Story by |
Michael Maltese Chuck Jones |
| Voices by |
Mel Blanc June Foray |
| Music by | Eugene Poddany |
| Animation by |
Ben Washam Ken Harris Don Towsley Dick Thompson Tom Ray |
| Studio | MGM Animation/Visual Arts |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Color process | Metrocolor |
| Running time | 6:14 |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | The Year of the Mouse |
| Followed by | Duel Personality |
The Cat's Me-Ouch is a 1965 cartoon produced and directed by Chuck Jones. The title is a parody of "The cat's meow", a phrase coined by Thomas A. Dorgan. The short features a tiny bulldog who would go on to make another appearance in the final Tom and Jerry cartoon produced by Chuck Jones, Purr-Chance to Dream in 1967.
Plot
Jerry steps out of his mouse hole, only to be met by a cleaver-wielding Tom. Tom tries to get him with the cleaver, and after a few tries, he hides underneath the "DOG" magazine. He falls down the stairs, and when he lands at the bottom the magazine opens to a page where a bulldog can be ordered for $15.95. Deciding to order one in order to scare Tom, he writes a letter and takes it out to the mailbox.
The delivery truck shows up and the delivery man wheels in a large crate containing a loudly-barking dog. As Jerry signs for the crate, Tom is almost too scared to look on as he takes a crowbar to the crate. Jerry whistles for the loud dog to come out....and it is a tiny bulldog even smaller than Jerry is in stature. Tom comes out to investigate and tosses the dog up a few times, pointing and laughing, which causes the dog to buzz saw his arm and tail fur off. The rest of this short sees Tom without fur covering either of his arms, although he regains that of his tail.
A satisfied Jerry pats the dog on the head, who then snuggles up. Stepping back, the dog feels an itch and scratches at a flea. When the pesky flea will not come off, the dog buzz saws itself, killing the flea. The now-proud dog tries to find Jerry searching around the crate, falling, and whimpering before seeing Tom in the window, holding Jerry by the tail in one hand and flicking his head with the other. The angry dog charges up, running around the yard, and as he is about to charge into Tom, he shuts the door while Jerry is trapped in a jar. The door, however, was no match for the dog who brings it down from the top. Tom and the dog flip the door over lengthwise and width-wise until the door is back in the door frame, and Tom is on the outside. Realizing his predicament, he runs and grabs an axe and tries to chop down the door as the dog opens the lid on the jar, landing in with the now-free Jerry. The two watch Tom, and when he breaks in, the dog buzz saws the axe handle, leaving the blade part to fall hits on his foot and Tom yells in pain before the dog buzzsaws his entire body.
At night, a heavily bandaged Tom heads to the Hospital. Tom winces in pain while the doctor unwraps his foot, revealing the dog is still biting. Tom shrugs before unwrapping his tail, which Jerry is biting.
This short is notable for Tom being substantially more anthropomorphized than usual; when his arm hair is torn off by the bulldog, it reveals a set of human hands, while his voice is audibly human (although he has no words, his laughter and exclamations of "a-ha!" are uncharacteristic of Tom's previous portrayals).