As a lover of both fiction and cats, it was only a matter of time before I wound up finding a way to write about both at once. I tried my best to rank these cats in order, but found it impossible to choose a definitive favorite. It’s a miracle I was able to narrow it down to just three above all others.

Salem

Salem Saberhagen, the black cat in the 90’s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, is perhaps the funniest and most beloved cat ever on television. He is famous for his sarcastic one-liners that somehow make him simultaneously come across as both gen-z and a boomer. I never thought I would relate so much to an animatronic cat, but here we are. 

Khoshekh

In his first mention in the fiction podcast, Welcome to Night Vale, Khoshekh is “hovering in the men’s bathroom at the radio station… about four feet off the ground next to the sink.” Throughout his many appearances in the show, and in classic Night Vale fashion, he is revealed to have strange and unsettling features such as “chest tongues”—yet the descriptions of his most basic features are incredibly vague, leaving most of his appearance to the imagination. He is a key part to the first plot arc of the podcast and my absolute favorite aspect of the show.

“Wish it wasn’t trapped in a hovering prison in the men’s bathroom, but listen: no pet is perfect. It becomes perfect when you learn to accept it for what it is.”

Tigger

Tigger is not only one of my favorite fictional cats, but also one of my favorite fictional characters in any kids’ book or movie. The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh will always hold a special place in my heart. I always watched it at my grandparents house on their old VHS and was fascinated by how you had to rewind it every time. Tigger’s first highly-energetic introduction after which he immediately picks a fight with his own reflection is one of my favorite moments of the movie and still gets a laugh out of me to this day.