Cows are clearly the big, lovable stars of Gary Larson’s comic strip The Far Side. They appear again and again, and even when they’re up to no good — plotting to eat a farmer, for instance — Larson makes sure we want them to succeed.
Cats, however, can never be heroes.
Where Larson’s cows tend to be depicted in favorable terms, his cats are uniformly cast as villains or victims. These animals appear as the unruly, selfish pets of mankind, the ruthless enemies of dogs and rodents, or they’re about to receive a comeuppance that Larson seems to believe they deserve. Cows are never treated this way.
Nine Lives, Nine Cartoons
A total of nine cartoons have been put together to build an argument, with each one devoted to one of a cat’s lives. Across every single one of those cartoons, the arrangement stays the same: cats are shown acting cruelly or being punished, almost never doing something in between those two states.
The first cartoon sets the tone. It juxtaposes what we say to cats with what they hear. The cat is completely indifferent to its owner’s demands, and the writer admits that this portrait isn’t entirely off-base. Cats can indeed be defiant and sometimes indifferent — though usually only in comparison to dogs, who are very different creatures. Measure any cat by dog standards, and they’re probably going to fail.
This comic features a feline who has used dynamite to blow apart its bird cage, then killed and eaten a bird. The owner is shocked, while the cat rests on the couch completely unbothered.
A second cat, no less cruel, comes along. Its people are torn apart, and it stands ready to treat its visitor with the same cruelty. The account sets forth the assault, and the story’s habit remains consistent: cats as ruthless assailants.
A Driving Force of Terror
One cartoon treats cats as a Stephen King monster. Humans, a dog, a bird, and a fish all react in horror to headlights, because they know they’re in danger from a cat that can apparently drive a car. The horror is total, and the reaction is immediate. In this comic, a cat isn’t just some unruly pet — it’s a threat.
In another set of comic strips, cats are shown acting as gangsters who speed away after a crime scene. They have just fired bullets into a doghouse. The cats are once more cast as the villains in this small tale.
Mice and a Gumball Machine
In Larson’s view, cats aren’t merely the bane of existence for dogs and their owners; they’re also a menace to mice. A cartoon depicts a group of unfortunate rodents trapped inside a gumball machine, facing death at the paws of a cat.
Victims With Their Own Comeuppance
Larson occasionally treats cats as victims rather than villains. Even so, he appears to side with the dogs over the cats. Take this comic, for example, where a clever dog wearing a human mask tricks someone into climbing a tree to fetch a cat.
A different comic shows an owner bringing a declawed cat back home. The dog greets him with great joy at the return of the now defenseless cat, though the dog is the cute one in the scene while the cat faces away from us, letting us wonder what his expression might be. Even though the cat is clearly the one being harmed, the comic leans toward favoring the dog because he appears so charming and amusing, while we are shown so little of the cat.
The Case Against Cats
The author’s own felines have been worn down by neglect and apathy. The damage is genuine: the animals tear at costly furniture with their claws.
The repeated pattern is easy to see. Larson’s cattle are treated as heroes. His felines are never permitted to share the same honor.
The closing cartoon carries the title “Nothing to Interpret Here.” Its caption serves as either a joke or a refusal to offer any further explanation.
Nine comics make up this case, each one tied to a single life of a cat. Larson’s view of cats is plain to see, and the writer has taken on the task of gathering all the proof needed to support it.
A total of 9 cartoons make up the series, with each one devoted to a single life of a cat. A man uses dynamite to tear apart a bird cage, while a declawed cat is carried off by its owner. A gang of cats fires bullets into a doghouse, and the final cartoon in the set is titled “Nothing to Interpret Here.”
Key facts:
– Total cartoons: 9
– Each cartoon tied to one of a cat’s lives
– Closing cartoon title: “Nothing to Interpret Here”
– First cartoon: dynamite destroys a bird cage, cat eats a bird
– Declawed cat brought back by its owner
– Gang of cats fire bullets into a doghouse
See the video the story is built around at Polygon.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.