Claude Cat

Claude Cat is a Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies character. He once was a protagonist in the Hubian Birdie shorts, he was eventually depicted as the main antagonist for the following episodes "Two's a Crowd", "Terrier Stricken", "Feline Frame-Up", "No Barking", "Cat Feud". He has been shown to bully and antagonize other pets and animals so he can have all of the attention and benefits for himself.

Why He Intentionally Sucks
Note: This page will be discussing his appearances from 1950's "Two's a Crowd" and his later appearances in 1952-62, his appearances prior and after these appearances are passable and likable
 * 1) To get down the first problem with him, he is a pointless knock-off of Sylvester. Where his role as the comedically unlucky antagonist was already done very well with Sylvester, making Claude pointless to begin with.
 * 2) While yes, he is intentionally made to be a despicable and unlikable villain for us to see him get his comeuppance, he just goes way too far with his ruthless actions to the point of being extremely heartless and selfish.
 * 3) Unlike Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam and the aforementioned Sylvester, his villainous and underhanded actions are more mean-spirited than humorous. Even though he's not too much of a Karma Houdini, Claude Cat lacks what makes the beloved characters stated above, to be "love to hate" type of villains that the viewers don't need to necessarily hate to like them and these iconic characters are still lovable as villains who the viewer wants to see defeated for their schemes, which is a certain amount of charm and enjoyability that Claude lacks in.
 * 4) Sometimes whenever he seems to get what he deserves by Marc Anthony, he sometimes gets away with the actions that make him a little bit of a Karma Houdini.
 * 5) His consistent design from 1949-1954 is very unappealing to look at, as he looks like a yellow clone of Sylvester but with an orange haircut. His design also changes by year, making him look pretty inconsistent.
 * 6) * In 1958, his face looks like he had a sex change with a similar but puffier face that resembles Penelope Pussycat.
 * 7) * In 1962's "Louvre Come Back To Me", he looks like a very ugly clone of Pete Puma from Looney Tunes.
 * 8) Because of his ugly design, he sometimes looks hideous whenever he gets blown up or beaten up most of the time. There was even one time when his eyes went black due to being surprised. Which looks wrong.
 * 9) Whenever he had the role of being the episode's antagonist, he is generally depicted as a malicious bully who antagonizes other pets and animals so he can be the center of attention in the house, even if he has to be violent, self-serving, and cruel to get what he wants.
 * 10) His bumbling antics often cause him to destroy property like his own home or accidentally get himself end up into so many painful situations that are played for comedy even when it gets old, making him a predictable and destructive if well-deserved Butt-Monkey.
 * 11) Whenever he was given comedic one-liners by Mel Blanc, it sounds like a deleted take for Wile E. Coyote's voice when he had a rivalry with Bugs Bunny. Making his voice very unoriginal since Claude only communicates with stock cat sounds due to being silent (which sounds unfunny whenever he makes real-life cat sounds when he's flailing his limbs on the ground after falling from the sky).
 * 12) After his earlier days as the protagonist and eventually his infamous days as a recurring antagonist, he has become so forgotten as a character that his future appearances are very unremarkable and don't add up to anything else than being a typical bumbling cartoon villain as seen in "Louvre Come Back To Me". Making him a pointless secondary character to be used as an additional villain to be used as a replacement for Sylvester's role as a bungling villain until he was brought back in an episode of HBO's Looney Tunes Cartoons.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) He was decent in the Hubian Birdie shorts for example, where the mice are portrayed as mischievous tricksters who often manipulate Claude's mind to go insane and is depicted as a tolerable comedic antagonist as seen in "Fin 'N Catty", "Roughly Squeaking", and "Mouse Wreckers".
 * 2) * Despite the inconsistency to his personality, he was depicted as an unlucky, neurotic, and goofy yet empathetic protagonist in the episodes "The Hypd-Chondri-Cat" and "Cheese Chasers", which makes him likable and well-written. It's a shame that his antagonistic roles appear a lot more than his roles as the protagonist.
 * 3) * In HBO's Looney Tunes Cartoons, he is better written as a sympathetic guard-cat who pretty much borrows traits from Tom from Tom and Jerry with being ill-starred and mistreated due to circumstance
 * 4) His design in 1943, early 1950, and 1951 are easy on the eyes and are passable to look at.
 * 5) He always gets comeuppance for his sinful deeds, so he's not too much of a Karma Houdini.
 * 6) As mentioned above, he's meant to be hated for how despicable and selfish he is.

Videos
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Trivia

 * He bears a striking resemblance to Sylvester.
 * The name Claude Cat is a pun on the homonym "clawed cat".
 * One of the versions of Claude Cat was planned to be made as a cameo in the deleted scene "Acme's Funeral" from the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He appears with other animated characters scared when Casper appears at the funeral.
 * He is the only feline villain who doesn't speak in the shorts compared to cats that are treated as the protagonists.
 * Jones redesigned the neurotic feline for the 1949 film Mouse Wreckers (perhaps to distinguish him from Friz Freleng's popular puss, Sylvester). The short is another Hubie and Bertie vehicle, only this time, the antagonist they antagonize is Claude, drawn as he would appear in all future cartoons: yellow, with a red shock of hair and a white belly (his exact markings, however, would vary from cartoon to cartoon).