Tom Cat

Tom Cat
	;
Species	Cat
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Jerry Mouse; Mammy Two Shoes; Butch; George; Joan; Robyn Starling
Occupation	Inventor
Goals	To catch Jerry
Other relative(s)	Cousin, George
Marital status	Single
First appearance	T&J: Puss Gets the Boot (1940)
Played by	William Hanna (since 1940); Clarence Nash (1940-43); Mel Blanc (1963-67); Frank Welker (1990-93, 2002); Richard Kind (1992); Bill Kopp (2005); Don Brown (2006-08); Eric Bauza (2022)
	; Gene Deitch's Tom.
	; Chuck Jones's Tom.
	; The Tom & Jerry Show
	; Tom & Jerry Kids
	; The Mansion Cat
	; Tom and Jerry Tales
	; The Tom and Jerry Show
	File:2021 Movie Tom.png; Tom & Jerry
	; Tom and Jerry Play
	; Tom and Jerry

Thomas "Tom" Cat is the main character of the Tom and Jerry animated franchise, playing both the antagonist and protagonist, depending on the plot. Tom was introduced as a character in a theatrical short series, with his first appearance in Puss Gets the Boot, and subsequently appeared in other media, such as TV series and direct-to-video films. Tom is a mostly silent character, who was originally performed by William Hanna and Clarence Nash, before only Hanna's was used, which is still in use today long after his passing. His most notable speaking role occurred in Tom and Jerry: The Movie, in which his voice came out from Richard Kind's.

Tom's goal in life is to catch Jerry, usually for the sake of using his cruel acts to tormenting, getting rid of him, or wanting to eat him. On other occasions, they are bosom buddies who are willing to work together on any issue.

Character description

Tom is a sly and cunning cat that constantly chases after Jerry; which he sees as a threat, and is sometimes a task given by his human masters. He is usually, but not always, potrayed as having a comfortable and pampered life, and generally acts as an aggresive bully to Jerry. Sometimes, Tom's obsession with chasing him gets to the point where he enjoys it. Although he has his own brutish qualities, he is also a klutz with a lack of commonsense and is usually the one defeated (or rarely, killed) in most of Jerry's victories. The two usually go by a set of tricks in their chases, but the chances of them winning vary depending on the situation. His tactics of catching Jerry involve him setting up a trap and his own stealth, although these prove to be inefficient due either to Jerry getting the upper hand of the situation or Tom's ineptitude.

Despite his determination with chasing the mouse, both Tom and Jerry have a close friendship that rivals their violent tendencies, and would even have their own sympathy towards one another on occasion. In some cases, Tom does not start the conflict, only trying to protect his home, doing his job, or other things. In other times, he also joins sides with Jerry to resolve a problem, usually a common threat.

Tom's personality has also changed over the years. In his debut, he was a normal cat who stood on four legs. He slowly became completely bipedal over the course of his next few appearances, however, and has shown to have human-like intelligence. Tom rarely speaks, relying on a range of vocal effects to express his emotions; many of which are made up of painful yells and screams.

Tom is a bluish-grey cat with white fur covering his belly, mouth, hands, feet and tail. He has yellow and green eyes and has a patch of white fur found in between them. He also has thick, black eyebrows.

Appearances

Books

Video games