# Stray Cat Strut **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 11, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948 "2023-09-11T19:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/1 "2023-09-11T19:41:42Z")
Yes, it’s time for another episode of Little Nemo overanalyzes song lyrics. “Stray Cat Strut” is a 1981 hit by the band Stray Cats is sung in the first person. It has the following lyrics: _I strut right by with my tail in the air_ _I’m a feline Casanova_ _Get a shoe thrown at me from a mean old man_ _Get my dinner from a garbage can_ These lines suggest that the singer is literally a stray cat. But the song also has these lines: _Ain’t got enough dough to pay the rent_ _I’m flat broke but I don’t care_ Having money is not a concern held by an actual cat. So these lines suggest the singer is only figuratively a stray cat. Which is it? Is the singer supposed to be an actual cat who’s worried about his rent payments? Or is the singer supposed to be a human who’s a metaphorical cat but lives the role so well that he eats garbage and people throw shoes at him? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/2 "2023-09-11T19:46:28Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vEtbfzMLVWU/maxresdefault.jpg "Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEtbfzMLVWU) Video provided. Maybe he is a lycanthrope. A Werecat. We also know he has cat class and cat style. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/3 "2023-09-11T19:51:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Which is it? Is the singer supposed to be an actual cat who’s worried about his rent payments? Or is the singer supposed to be a human Too bad Erwin Schrödinger is gone. We could use his insight. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/4 "2023-09-11T19:53:05Z")
The singer wishes he could be as carefree and wild as a stray cat, but he has cat class and style. Sounds like being a cat is aspirational, since he’s homeless for non-payment of rent. Or, maybe he’s a furry. Someone should check the recording studio for litter boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/5 "2023-09-11T19:59:22Z")
I think he’s a human living the stray cat life. On his own, slinking down the alley looking for a fight. He’s a wanderer, yeah a wanderer, he roams around around around around. Sorry. The shoe and garbage can dinners are metaphors for haters who don’t appreciate his lifestyle, and his relative poverty making meal planning a challenge. But he’s cool with it, he’s carefree and wild. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/6 "2023-09-11T20:04:45Z")
He is a cat living in an alternate universe where cats have jobs, pay rent, etc. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/7 "2023-09-11T20:05:17Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > But he’s cool with it, he’s carefree and wild. No, he wishes he could be as carefree and wild… ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/8 "2023-09-11T20:08:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Ain’t got enough dough to pay the rent_ > _I’m flat broke but I don’t care_ > > Having money is not a concern held by an actual cat. So these lines suggest the singer is only figuratively a stray cat. He doesn’t care about not having enough dough to pay the rent/being flat broke because he’s literally a (talking) cat. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/9 "2023-09-11T20:14:09Z")
It’s a metaphor. The singer is not a _felis catus_. The singer is not singing about an actual kitty who is. The singer is riffing on the characteristics and traits of an alley cat in such a way as to say “me and the alley cat, we’re kindred spirits, I’m just like that cat is in lots of ways”. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/10 "2023-09-11T20:25:44Z")
Artistic or poetic lisc. I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/11 "2023-09-11T20:27:42Z")
He’s also making a virtue out of a vice. Claiming his freedom from the rat race is superior to being a well-fed cubicle mouse. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/12 "2023-09-11T20:31:41Z")
Tommy the Cat is definitely a real cat, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/13 "2023-09-11T20:44:33Z")
She is. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/14 "2023-09-11T20:59:07Z")
Maybe he’s the teenage girl Mick is yowling about in the Stones’ “Stray Cat Blues,” reminiscing about those wild, freedom-filled, back-scratching days when he also used to be female. (Or maybe Mick was singing about a guy!) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/15 "2023-09-11T21:40:36Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I think he’s a human living the stray cat life. On his own, slinking down the alley looking for a fight. He’s a wanderer, yeah a wanderer, he roams around around around around. > > Sorry. > > The shoe and garbage can dinners are metaphors for haters who don’t appreciate his lifestyle, and his relative poverty making meal planning a challenge. But he’s cool with it, he’s carefree and wild. This is a anthropocentric perspective. Perhaps the singer is a genuine cat and things like eating out of garbage cans and having shows thrown at him are actual events that he has endured. But in an effort to convey his suffering in a way that a human audience can relate to, he uses human metaphors like not being able to pay the rent. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/16 "2023-09-11T22:12:17Z")
Is Goofy a dog, or… ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/17 "2023-09-12T00:09:50Z")
Their first album is great. I bought it in 1983, when I was 16. I really like the song [Storm The Embassy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvV9EYfuaHA). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/18 "2023-09-12T00:13:16Z")
I have listen to the song like 17 times this afternoon. Thx, @Little_Nemo . I may get kicked out of the house. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/19 "2023-09-12T00:25:30Z")
I saw them play at the Paradise in Boston some time in the 80s (can’t tell exactly when, cause when you google ‘Stray Cats Boston’ you get a lot of animal shelters.) Anyway, they tore it up. Great show. Which has nothing to do with this thread, but I thought I’d brag a little. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948/20 "2023-09-12T00:36:46Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I really like the song [Storm The Embassy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvV9EYfuaHA). I think that one’s about a cat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stray-cat-strut/989948.md?page=2)