best cat cartoons

As I was reminiscing my childhood, I got reminded of all the great TV cartoon shows that used to air in the 90s. 

It gave me the idea to create this post, and since this website is devoted to cats, we’ll stick to the best cat cartoons that brought lots of happiness to the kids of my time.

Here’s the list of 20 Greatest Cat Cartoons of all time that will give nostalgia to the millennials and hopefully the newer generations will find a show that they’d like to watch.

20. Henry’s Cat

  • Description: A story of a cat’s adventure with his friends and enemies.
  • Aired: 1983

Henry’s Cat is a funny and easy-going cat cartoon from the 80s that has the potential to make you laugh. The animation of the show is quite basic but still is good to watch.

If you are a cat lover like me, then it is just another TV cartoon that you’ll enjoy in your pass time.

Summary

Henry’s cat (real name unknown) is a yellow cat who is lazy and loves to eat. His life is always an adventure with his friends. But some hate him and his gang and try to get rid of them.

19. Herman and Katnip

  • Description: An entertaining cat vs mouse show.
  • Aired: 1950

Herman and Katnip is a typical cat vs mouse anime where the cat is evil and ends up punished by the mouse for his bad deeds.

Unlike Tom and Jerry, where Tom had his fair share of victories, the cat in this show always ends up defeated. Nonetheless, it is a fun cat cartoon that you’ll surely find amusing to watch.

Summary

Herman is a mouse who is always at odds with a cat named Katnip. The cat tries to kill the mouse but he always fails miserably and as a result, ends up with bad consequences.

18. SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron

  • Description: A team of vigilante cat fighters on a mission to protect the city.
  • Aired: 1993

SWAT Kats is another cat cartoon from the 90s that breaks away from the typical cat shows and tries to bring forth a story is that is more than comedy and repetitive tropes.

This show has action and a great plotline that makes it quite interesting to watch.

Summary

There is a fictional metropolitan city called Megakat City, which is inhabited by hybrid humanoid felines called Kats.

The SWAT Kats is a team of two vigilante fighters who pilots super-advanced fighter jets and battle against all sorts of villains and sometimes even the city police to protect the city from danger. 

17. Heathcliff

  • Description: A story about the adventurous life of Heathcliff the cat.
  • Aired: 1984

Heathcliff is a popular cat cartoon that aired in 1984 and the show was divided into two segments.

Where the first segment showed the story of Heathcliff and his friends and the other segments showed the story of another cat called Riff Raff and his group of friends.

Summary

Heathcliff is a smart and popular cat in his town. The story follows various scenarios Heathcliff ends up in and how he go about different scenarios and changes things in his favor with his smartness and a little help from his friends.

16. Bonkers

  • Description: A story of a bobcat who became a cop after leaving showbiz.
  • Aired: 1993

Bonkers is a very smart and funny cat cartoon that revolves around crime-solving and thus is very engaging to watch. I loved the show through and through and I am sure you enjoy it too.

Summary

Bonkers D. Bobcat is a bobcat and was a popular cartoon star but his career ended in showbiz, so he joined the police force.

He is teamed up with Detective Lucky Piqu, a serious and cold man who hates toons. Together they solve crimes in Hollywood city, all the while bickering with each other.

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15. Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse

  • Description: A story of a superhero cat and his sidekick, a mouse.
  • Aired: 1960

If I have to compare this cat cartoon with any other show then I’d compare it with Batman and Robin, where Courageous Cat is Batman and Minute Mouse is Robin.

It is a superhero cat show filled with action and comedy and a good watch for everybody.

Summary

Courageous is a cat with high-tech tools that he used to protect the people in his city. He is partnered by a mouse named Minute and together they run around the city solving crimes and helping the citizens.

14. The Lion Guard

  • Description: An adventurous story of a lion cub and his friend.
  • Aired: 2016

If you are a 90’s kid like me then I am sure you know about The Lion King series. It is to this day one of the most successful big cat cartoon show ever.

This show however follows the life of Simba’s son and his friends as he finds new adventures in the great Pride Lands.

Summary

Kion is the son of King Simba and Queen Nala. He is appointed as the leader of the Lion Guard who is tasked to protect the Pride Lands from enemies.

He along with his friends from the Lion Guard are committed to serve their duty and deter and harmful intentions towards their kindom.

13. Space Cats

  • Description: A comedy show about alien felines helping mankind.
  • Aired: 1991

Space Cats is a lighthearted show for people to enjoy. Though there are several cat cartoons out there that use the plot of alien cats in their story, Space Cats also successfully manages to present a story that is unique and fun to watch.

Summary

Space Cats came from a faraway planet and stationed themselves on Earth. They are ruled by a being named D.O.R.C. who gives them various tasks to perform and the team on Earth gets it done.

Generally, most of the tasks include helping mankind and each episode ends up with a moral for its viewers.

12. CatDog

  • Description: A story of conjoined twins of different species, a cat and a dog.
  • Aired: 1998

One of the most unique cat cartoons on this list. When I first saw a small clip of this show, I was instantly intrigued and decided to watch it and ended up binge-watching the entire show in a matter of few days. It is in no doubt worthy of your time.

Summary

The story revolves around a dog and a cat, conjoined by birth. They share the same body with no tail or hind legs. Although they are brothers and best friends, their personalities are vastly different.

Where the cat is the calm and silent type, the dog is fun-loving and curious. As a result, both ends of doing stuff that they don’t likes just to keep each other happy.

11. Eek! The Cat

  • Description: A story of a cat who gets in trouble for his kindness.
  • Aired: 1992

Eek! The Cat is not an extraordinary cat cartoon but the show holds its own merits. It is a light-hearted comedy show about a cat who gets in trouble for his kind nature and much of the humor derives from his plight.  

Summary

Eek is a purple cat whose motto in life is “it never hurts to help”. But his philosophy often leads him towards trouble. He lives with his human family and is always at odds with Sharky, the dog.

He also has a girlfriend and all of these characters together are at the crux of the story.

10. The Pink Panther Show

  • Description: A funny story of a big cat and his mischievousness.
  • Aired: 1969

This list of best TV cat cartoons would have been incomplete without featuring this big cat. The Pink Panther show might not be able to make you hysterically laugh every time but it is a classic and surely won’t disappoint you.

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Summary 

As the name of the show suggests, the story revolves around a panther that is pink in color, He is a snakey and likes to pull pranks on others.

He doesn’t like to use force to get things done, rather he uses devious tricks to go about his goals.

9. Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks

  • Description: A hilarious story about a cat and two mice who are always at each other throats.
  • Aired: 1958

Have you ever thought about what Tom and Jerry would feel like if it had more verbal humor? This cat cartoon is the answer to that question.

The show and its characters follow the same basic concept of Tom and Jerry but it would be unfair to call it an imitation because Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks is a great TV cartoon in its own way.

Summary

The show follows two mice Pixie and Dixie who likes to pulls pranks on a cat named Mr. Jinks. He hates the mice but is always outfoxed by the two and all his attempts to get rid of them end up in failure.

8. The Ruff & Reddy Show

  • Description: A tale of two buddies, a cat, and a dog.
  • Aired: 1957

It is the only cat cartoon on this list where my favorite character is not the cat. Those who have watched this show would understand why I am saying this.

The Ruff & Reddy Show is one of the best TV cartoons out there and a must-watch for everybody.

Summary

The show follows the adventures of a smart and staunch cat named Ruff and a kind and brave dog named Reddy. Both are housemates and are best friends of each other.

Reddy is simple-minded and often taken advantage of but Ruff always protects him from getting duped.

7. Top Cat

  • Description: A story of a gang of cats trying to make a name for themselves.
  • Aired: 1961

The one thing that brought me to watch this ct cartoon was the premise of this show. It is fun to watch little cats acting like gangsters and acting like badasses. Overall this show is a joy ride and ideal to watch in free time. 

Summary

Top Cat is the leader of a gang of cats and they aim to earn easy money. They indulge in illegal scams and it always leads to a confrontation with the local cop, Charlie.

He wants to evict the gang from his locality but Top Cat and his gang always manage to evade Charlie’s grasp.

6. ThunderCats

  • Description: A team of humanoid cats fighting evil in their adopted homeworld.
  • Aired: 1985

If you are a fan of American Comics and Japanese anime then this cat cartoon might suit your taste the best. The animation of this show is done in Japan and the story and voiceover are done in America.

It is a classic TV cartoon that is filled with action and comedy.

Summary

The story revolves around a group of cat-like humanoid aliens called Thundercats. Their home planet, Thundera is on the verge of destruction so they leave their planet and find shelter on Earth.

The enemies of Thundera attack Earth and it is up to the Thundercats to protect their new home.

5. Oggy and the Cockroaches

  • Description: Oggy is a kind and sweet cat who is constantly bullied by three cockroaches who live in his house.
  • Aired: 1998

I didn’t grow up watching this cat cartoon show but when I first watched it, I was instantly hooked. Oggy and the Cockroaches is a French TV cartoon that gained popularity worldwide. 

The premise looks somewhat similar to Tom and Jerry but the show is unique in its own ways and definitely worth watching. Also it has a spin off series called Oggy Oggy that is streaming on Netflix.

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Summary

Oggy is a chill cat who likes to live an easy life, minding his own business. But he is continuously pestered by three roaches: Joey, Marky, and Dee Dee.

They love making Oggy’s life miserable in any way possible, and the roach trio is always in conflict with Oggy. 

4. Garfield and Friends

  • Description: A story of a pet cat named Garfield and his animal friends.
  • Aired: 1988

Garfield and Friends is one of my most favorite cat cartoons ever. I watched it when I was very young and recently got a chance to rewatch with my nephews and all the childhood memories came back.

It is fun as hell and caters to all kinds of audiences, young and old.

Summary

Garfield is a pet cat who lives with his owner Jon and his pet dog Odie.

Garfield is an overweight, super lazy cat who likes to eat. He is sarcastic and likes to mock Odie and do pranks on him.

The other segment of the cartoon showed the daily farm life of Orson Pig and his barnyard friends.

3. Felix the Cat

  • Description: Adventurous and tales of Felix the cat.
  • Aired: 1919

I started watching this cat cartoon because of my love for the cats and I’d heard a lot about the show but didn’t watch it till now because it is old, very old.

All I say about this show is that if you are a true fan of western cartoon shows then you can’t miss out on this legendary cat cartoon.

Summary

Felix is a black cat who is mischievous and likes to play tricks on people but he has a kind heart and helps those in need. He has a magic bag that he uses to sometimes have fun and sometimes for good deeds.

He has a crush on a female cat called Kity and Felix always tries to win her affection.

2. The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries

  • Description: A group of pets along with their owner solve mysteries around the world.
  • Aired: 1985

I am quite sure that even if you haven’t watched this cat cartoon, you are familiar with the characters. The show was very popular back in the time. It is also high acclaimed and has won many awards in animation and voice acting.

Summary

The show follows Sylvester(a cat), Tweety (a bird), Hector (a bulldog), and Granny (the owner of all three animals). Sylvester and Tweety go all around the world solving mysteries.

All the while Sylvester tries to eat Tweety and Hector foiling Sylvester’s plans by acting as Tweety’s bodyguard.

1. The Tom and Jerry Show

  • Description: A comedy TV cartoon based on a cat and a mouse who are always trying to make each other’s lives miserable.
  • Aired: 1975

I don’t think there’s a single person in the modern world who hasn’t heard about this exceptionally funny cat cartoon. 

It is undoubtedly one of the TV cartoon shows of all time, and I am sure most of you expected this show to be on the list. 

The original series started way back in 1941 but to this day new sequels of this cartoon keep dropping from time to time.

Summary

The show follows the lives of our two main characters Tom and Jerry. Tom is a cat and Jerry is a mouse, making them the natural enemy of each other. 

Both live in a house together where they are always at loggerheads with each other. Some time their adventure leads them to the outside world. But one thing remains constant and that is their constant quarreling with each other.