Kitty is Not a Cat

In the Australian animated series Kitty is Not a Cat, Kitty is a human orphan who identifies as a cat. She finds her place in a house full of hard-partying musical felines, who try their best to look after the new arrival. In this episode from 2018, Sour Kitty, the cats and their rescue kid find out about Halloween – and the effects of sugar on the human child. 

The creators of the show, Bruce Kane and Maurice Argiro, draw on classic Warner Bros. cartoons (the ‘whoosh’ sound effect for swift motion) and filter the style of the opening credits through the 1960s grooviness of Josie and the Pussycats (1970). The cats’ Haight Ashbury-style mansion is pure Summer of Love, and the pan over the cityscape that opens the episode recalls another 1970 creation, Disney’s The Aristocats, with its lovingly observed Parisian rooftops.  

Rove McManus voices both King Tubby, the knowledgeable marmalade tabby, and Cheeta, the Siamese who discovers the benefits of trick-or-treating with Kitty (Roslyn Oades). While the cats chat to each other, Kitty only purrs and miaows – staying true to her chosen difference.