Tom is an anthropomorphic cat.
Description[]
Tom is an anthropomorphic cat who might work for a lumber company that once loaned lumber and barbed wire to Marcus Mouse. At any rate, in 1930, he was sent by Mr Shingle, either an employee or owner of a lumber company, to collect payment from Marcus for the loan.
Behind the scenes[]
Tom first appeared in a strip of Mr Slicker and the Egg Robbers initially released on November the 1st, 1930, where little information about him is derived other than that he was sent by Mr Shingle from "the lumber co." to Marcus Mouse's house to collect payment from him on a loan. This is the only confirmed appearance of "Tom", though he may have appeared other times, as many of the early Mickey Mouse strips featured similar cat characters with roughly the same design. Named specimens include Kat Nipp from Mickey Mouse Vs. Kat Nipp and Spongeface from Mickey Mouse, Boxing Champion. It's easy to confuse these cats with one another, as is evident by the fact that INDUCKS claims that it was Kat Nipp who appeared in the November the 1st strip of Mr Slicker and the Egg Robbers, even though the text clearly identifies him as "Tom."[1]
Tom certainly does share some similarities with Kat Nipp. Both wear overalls and a hat. Both are black cats. As to whether or not this means they are the same character is certainly debatable.
Curiously, a cat appeared in the earlier When The Cat's Away named Tom Cat. Both were black cats with white faces, overalls, and a hat. The major difference between the two was size. Egg Robbers Tom is shown to be about the same size as Marcus Mouse, who is only slightly taller than Mickey Mouse. Tom Cat, on the other hand, was shown to be ginormous in comparison to Mickey and Minnie. Tom Cat, similarly to Egg Robbers Tom, is sometimes identified as being the same character as Kat Nipp, despite the different names.[2]
Interestingly, even Peg-Leg Pete was once saddled with the name "Tom." The first strip of Mickey Mouse in Death Valley identified the cat that later strips would name "Pete" as "Terrible Tom the Vile Villain." Pete would be referred to as Tom yet again in Officer Duck, where he was given the alias of "Tiny Tom."
The many feline characters named "Tom" may be entirely coincidental, as the term "tom-cat" is often used to refer to male domestic cats.
Many unnamed cats of similar design appeared in early Mickey Mouse strips, making it a possibility that some of them are Tom. Notably, the strip of Mr Slicker and the Egg Robbers initially released on November the 12th, 1930 features a cat with a hat and clothing near identical to Tom, yet it is unclear if it was intended to be him or not.
Notes and References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mr Slicker and the Egg Robbers on INDUCKS
- ↑ When the Cat's Away on the Disney Wiki