'Cats and Dogs': Stereotypes Affect Animals Too

Throughout history, especially television and movie history, we have been conditioned to look at dogs and cats in different ways. Dogs have traditionally been touted as 'Man's Best Friend' and the list of heroic and lovable canines in television and the movies is very long indeed. Whether it was Lassie, Benji, Rin-Tin-Tin, or Beethoven, there was always a dog around for people to look at remember why they love dogs.

Cats, in contrast, have never gotten as much fanfare and most of the PR that they have received is negative. Besides the age-old association of cats with witchcraft and the netherworld, more recent depictions of felines have not been favorable. Whether it's the animated portrayals of Sylvester and Tom (of Tom and Jerry) as insatiable stalkers of cute prey or the evil re-incarnated black cat from Stephen King's Pet Sematary, cats typically find themselves in a negative light. 'Cats and Dogs' only adds to the existing stereotypes and has drawn some playful criticism from cat lovers around the world.

"Cats and Dogs'' is a prime example of the good-dog, bad-cat phenomenon. Mr. Tinkles (voiced by Sean Hayes of ``Will & Grace''), a power-hungry Persian, leads his feline minions in a fight for world domination against a group of secret agent dogs, led by a beagle puppy named Lou (voiced by Tobey Maguire), who only want to protect the humans. Although the film's director is quick to point out that Mr. Tinkles' bitterness is explained in the movie, it doesn't change the public perception that, once again, the cats are the bad guys.