# Recent Movies Rough on Cats **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616 "2018-02-26T18:32:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/1 "2018-02-26T18:32:32Z")
Pepper Mill and I went to see **the Shape of Water** this weekend, and I couldn’t help noticing that — possible spoiler, but probably not – one cat gets killed and partly eaten. Not that long ago we watched **Stranger Things II** , which also gave us someone’s pet cat getting killed and eaten. What do scriptwriters have against cats? They didn’t used to be this free and easy about killing domestic felines. Heck, Ripley’s cat is one of the only two things to survive in the original **Alien**. (To give Guillermo del Toto his due, though, the other cats survive, and apparently make friends with his Gillman.) Several years ago I pointed out how Cats got the short end of the stick in teleportation stories. Why cats were singled out, I don’t know. A cat gets teleported as a test in what is probably the first science fiction teleportation story, Edward Page Mitchell’s 1877 _The Man Without a Body_, but in the next teleportation story, only a little later, the cat gets scrambled. In George Langelaan’s **the Fly** a kitten is a test subject, and gets lost in teleportation. (This happens in the first movie version, too). in the original story, though, the kitten’s scrambled atoms mix with those of Andre Delambre and those of the fly (in the film, it’s just Andre and the Fly that get mixed together). And in Michael Crichton’s **Timeline** , where time travel is treated like a form of teleportation, they use cats for testing (again! Don’t these people believe in white mice?), and they suffer “transcription errors”. It seems as if cats are the animals you can kick around these days. In earlier days Edgar Allen Poe had not just one but _two_ cats abused in his short story “The Black Cat”. And there’s Ambrose Bierce’s “The Squaw”. But those were commonplace bits of abuse. In his “Devil’s Dictionary” Bierce defined the cat as “a soft indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.” Nowadays, I guess, it’s a destructible automaton provided by scriptwriters to be eaten by the semi-sympathetic monster. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/2 "2018-02-26T19:17:06Z")
Yeah, I heard about that–it’s the reason I haven’t gone to see **The Shape of Water** yet, despite it by all accounts being a really good movie. The scene in **Stranger Things** really got to me. I’m a cat lover (five of the little beasts share my space) and I hate seeing even fictional felines hurt or abused. I hope this is a trend that doesn’t continue. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/3 "2018-02-26T20:23:58Z")
In a recent episode of _The Magicians_ a kitten exploded. I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first instance of cat killing on this show either. Why do these people hate cats so much? ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/4 "2018-02-26T20:31:35Z")
There was a real issue, during the reviews of the film, _Cats & Dogs_ back in 2001. Some reviewers were really sensitive about how the cats were portrayed. And yes, that goes back to 2001. Some dog people/cat people don’t like the other. And they will make “art” that reflects their perceptions. We all have to accept it. Because I was flabbergasted how partisan it was back in 2001, and I’m not expecting it will be improving online anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/5 "2018-02-26T20:32:34Z")
I don’t think that people hate cats: in the two examples given, the cats are a plot device to remind the viewer that the cuddly monster is really a dangerous predator. Cats work well for this function. If Dart/Charlie ate a rat, you’d be like, “Hey, in addition to being cuddly, he’s handy to have around the house!” If he ate a dog\*, you’d be like, “Dang, dude is badass, dogs are tough!” If he ate a kid, you’d be like, “Man, fuck him, I don’t care if he’s cuddly, he’s gotta die.” Cats have just enough sentimental value that the meal is gonna have impact, but not enough that it turns the diner into a villain. - a real dog, not a Yorkie or something. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/6 "2018-02-26T20:35:36Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > In a recent episode of _The Magicians_ a kitten exploded. I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first instance of cat killing on this show either. Why do these people hate cats so much? You don’t see this so much with dogs (although, of course, there were the huskies in Carpenter’s **The Thing** and the dog that the T. rex ate in **Jurassic Park II** and the movie of **I am Legend** ). People don’t like to see dogs get killed, so they survive in **The Blob** and the book **I am Legend** and (to be evil) **A Boy and his Dog**. But cats seem to get kicked around a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/7 "2018-02-26T20:39:13Z")
In Heinlein’s _The Door Into Summer_, it’s mentioned at one point that cats were the original test subjects for the cold-sleep process, but by the time of the story, the process is sufficiently developed that neither cat nor human suffers any ill effects. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/8 "2018-02-26T20:42:44Z")
[Cujo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cujohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cujo)? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/9 "2018-02-26T20:52:59Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > [Cujo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cujohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cujo)? Your link doesn’t seem to work Try this: > **[Cujo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cujo)** > > Cujo (/ˈkuːdʒoʊ/) is a 1981 horror novel by American writer Stephen King about a rabid Saint Bernard. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982 and was made into a film in 1983. Cujo's name was based on the alias of Willie Wolfe, one of the men responsible for orchestrating Patty Hearst's kidnapping and indoctrination into the Symbionese Liberation Army. King discusses Cujo in On Writing, referring to it as a novel he "barely remembers writing at all." King wrote the book during th Accordin... > **[Cujo (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cujo_(film))** > > Cujo is a 1983 American horror film based on Stephen King's 1981 novel of the same name and directed by Lewis Teague. It was written by Don Carlos Dunaway and Barbara Turner (using the pen name Lauren Currier), and starring Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh Kelly and Danny Pintauro. > The film follows a mother and her son who are trapped inside their car, while protecting themselves from a rabid St. Bernard. > Despite mixed reviews and modest box office receipts during its theatrical release, the film ha... Well, the movie describes a dog that gets rabies. I wouldn’t put that in the same class. Wouldn’t put _Old Yeller_ in there, either. But the original Christian Nyby/Howard Hawks **the Thing** has sled dogs killed, too, just like the Carpenter version. Only in that film, they’re _all_ killed by the titular Thing. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/10 "2018-02-26T21:47:56Z")
I started to watch the first episode of [_The End of the F_\*_ing World_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_the_F***ing_World) last night. (High RT numbers, etc.) The male lead announces right off he’s a psychopath and proceeds to kill a cat. I gave up half way through. It is somehow considered a “dark comedy”. To whom? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/11 "2018-02-26T21:50:10Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > You don’t see this so much with dogs (although, of course, there were the huskies in Carpenter’s **The Thing** and the dog that the T. rex ate in **Jurassic Park II** and the movie of **I am Legend** ). People don’t like to see dogs get killed, so they survive in **The Blob** and the book **I am Legend** and (to be evil) **A Boy and his Dog**. But cats seem to get kicked around a lot. Well, dogs die in **First Blood** and **Mars Attacks** and **The Road Warrior** and **Rear Window** and **Jaws** and **I Am Legend** and **The Lost World** –not to mention all the dogs who are main characters who buy it–they’ve also had a tough time of it. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/12 "2018-02-26T21:59:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Well, the movie describes a dog that gets rabies. I wouldn’t put that in the same class. Wouldn’t put _Old Yeller_ in there, either. Maybe [this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSlFOaFQJpU) from Man’s Best Friend (1993)? I first thought of Cujo when remembering the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/13 "2018-02-26T22:11:45Z")
Cats have menaced and killed lots of cinematic characters (e.g., _Cat People_, _The Leopard Man_, _Brotherhood of the Wolf_, _Let the Right One In_, to name but a few), so it’s not like it’s all one-sided. And what about exploding frogs: _The Nightcomers_, _The Reflecting Skin_, _Hulk_ (2003). Or don’t our amphibian friends matter to you? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/14 "2018-02-26T22:28:50Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Some dog people/cat people don’t like the other. [Indeed.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWWQcoWYJQQ) I guess [Squirrel Bait](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdZhA13nQOs) isn’t helping matters. On a more serious note, I wasn’t the least bit impressed with the (_gang-banging_, no less) cat-raping scene in _Leolo_ - that cat looked genuinely messed-with. Shitty. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/15 "2018-02-26T22:34:56Z")
[Speaking of cats, _Alf_ is due for a grim reboot.](http://www.evphil.com/uploads/9/2/0/3/9203498/alf-cat-sandwich_orig.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/16 "2018-02-26T22:36:23Z")
Missed edit window - Not recent - In _Bad Boy Bubby_, there’s a scene where a live cat is package-taped to a chair, freaking the absolute fuck out. Um - no. Fucking wrong. Peter Greenaway’s _Zed and Two Noughts_ also has some shit I’m not too crazy about. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/17 "2018-02-26T22:47:54Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And there’s Ambrose Bierce’s “The Squaw”. I’m pretty sure you mean “_Bram Stoker’s_ ‘The Squaw’”. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/18 "2018-02-27T00:34:20Z")
About 20 years old - _Gummo_ - more shit done to cats. I thought these kinds of mistreatment would be illegal - what do I know. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/19 "2018-02-27T01:36:57Z")
Well, it’s an old horror movie trope that promiscuity gets you killed first, and them cats always be [cattin’ around](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=catting%20around), y’know. And, just because cats are sometimes portrayed as victims isn’t necessarily pejorative. Victims aren’t always or even often unsympathetic. The industry doesn’t hate cats.\* For emotional reasons, cats make pretty good victims: they’re cute and cuddly and people like them better than worms or frogs. For plot reasons, cats make pretty good victims: they’re worthy antagonists, fast and full of attitude and claws, and somehow still likely to be found indoors. For practical reasons, cats make pretty good victims: it’s easy to build realistic models of them, and toss them around. Cats have been villains as often as victims, in popular culture and in real life, and the one I feed (though I really don’t like cats) has yet to complain. \*Except for the sadists who were behind _The Three Lives of Thomasina_. Obviously. But that was actually over a half-century ago. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616/20 "2018-02-27T02:01:06Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > In a recent episode of _The Magicians_ a kitten exploded. I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first instance of cat killing on this show either. Why do these people hate cats so much? The other one got eaten in season 1 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-movies-rough-on-cats/809616.md?page=2)