I recently subscribed to “Get Fuzzy,” so now I’m reading it daily and not just once in a while when I run across it. This got me thinking about cats and dogs in cartoons and comic strips. Specifically, the cats (Bucky, Garfield, Heathcliff) are always a lot smarter than the dogs (Satchel, Odie, that big bulldog). If there’s a cat who isn’t that smart (Sylvester, Tom), he (sic) is the stooge of alleged prey (Tweetie, Jerry), and there’s no named dog as a regular character (though, again, bulldogs – what’s that about? – make sporadic appearances as loutish bullies).
Don’t know where I’m going with this – just thinking aloud…
It’s a cultural meme, or archetype, or, uh, whatever, that cats are smart and elegant animals with a touch of selfishness and cruelty, while dogs are drooling, stupid, clumsy oafs who love their masters unconditionally. Consequently, it makes for easy archetyping in a cartoon strip; the reader instantly identifies the character’s places.
(One exception to this is “Mother Goose and Grimm,” wherein the cat’s just as stupid as the dog. “The Simpsons” also portrays the dog as interesting and bright, while the cat’s dumb.)
Now, having owned both dogs and cats my whole life, I think cats are just as stupid as garlic-flavoured mouthwash. But that’s the archetype. Or meme. Whatever.
In the comic strip “Mutts”, both cats and dogs are represented in an equally goofy manner. Earl (the dog) and Mooch (the cat) seems to be pretty matched in terms of intelligence, and may be the only comic strip where the cat don’t purposely set itself against the cat (they are great friends).
Some speculative theories, for what they’re worth (probably not much):
The star (e.g. Garfield) is generally smarter than the supporting character (e.g. Odie), whichever species they belong to. In Peanuts, Snoopy is smarter than The Cat Next Door and (IIRC) Faron, the limp sleepy cat that Frieda carries around.
The prey, and/or the “little guy,” outsmarts the predator/big guy. When there is both a cat and a dog, it is typically the dog that is cast in the big mean Goliath role. A possible exception to this rule (that the cartoon prey is smarter than the predator) is Wile E. Coyote, supergenius; but he’s an example of the Character Who’s Just Smart Enough To Get Himself In Trouble; while the Road Runner isn’t so much a character with a particular intelligence level as he is a “force of nature.”
In real life, dogs are both smarter and dumber than cats. That is, the smartest dogs are really impressively smart. But on the other hand, it’s hard to beat a dumb dog for pea-brained comedic dumbness. In a comic strip or cartoon where you’re going for laughs, if you’re looking for a Dumb Guy character, a dog makes a good choice.
Dogs (the real, furry ones) are more loyal, happy go lucky and people-centered. Qualities that probably lend themselves more to being portrayed in cartoons as dopey and slow.
Cats have that reputation for being independent and observers more than participants, and that trait lends itself to being the smart-ass, making comedic comments on the stupidity of the rest of the animal world -critter.
I love Bucky, that cat is devious and stupid in the ways that cats can be stupid.
Well, Peanuts way back when (60s?) had a cat briefly – the girl with naturally curly hair had a cat that just laid there limp, didn’t talk (or think) or do anything. Snoopy’s reaction was “good grief” of course; the cat was a running gag for a week or so. It may not have even had a name.
A Simpsons staffer once said that the main drives and thoughts of Santa’s Little Helper are the same as those of Homer. Snowball II is such an underdeveloped character (as is Santa’s), but I would imagine that Snowball is a little bit smarter.
There is also Marmaduke, who may not be a genius, but isn’t portrayed as stupid either (well, maybe he is now, I haven’t read a Marmaduke since I was young.)
Schultz never gave it a name. He decided he couldn’t draw cats, so dropped the entire idea.
Sandy (from L’il Orphan Annie) was fairly smart, though still a dog. Lots of 30s comic strips featured a dog companion.
Marc Anthony in the classic Chuck Jones cartoon “Feed the Kitty” was smarter than the cat – though the cat’s main problem was that she was too innocent and trusting.
So you made me go a-Googling, and it turns out I remembered right! Faron was that cat’s name. (The Cat Next Door, who came along later, did not have a name and never actually appeared “onscreen.”)
In re Get Fuzzy (of which I am also an enormous fan and email subscriber), I don’t think the dog, Satchel, is portrayed as any dumber than the cat, Bucky. If anything, in fact, I’d say Satchel is slightly more inteligent and aware (at least on occasion), though not by much. Mostly, they’re just dumb in different ways. Bucky thinks he’s much smarter than Satchel (or Rob, their owner, for that matter), and pretends to be. He’s much more conniving, but not at all clever. I don’t think he’s ever been shown being right about anything. Satchel, on the other hand, is much more naive and aloof, but when someone gets to deliver the witty comeback, it’s almost always him, not Bucky.
