The Other Cats

Character Analysis

Do all these other cats—A through Z—seem familiar to you? Yeah, that's because they're all just manifestations of the Cat in the Hat, of course. So, as you'd expect, they all have the same excitable, can-do attitude:

"We will clean up that snow
If it takes us all day!
If it takes us all night,
We will clean it away!"
Said Little Cats G, F, E, D, C, B, A.
(192-196)

On a basic level, we're pretty sure these cats are around to show the power of a helping hand. The Cat couldn't handle the task on his own, but with the help of 26 of his closest friends, he gets the job done. Plus, it can't hurt that they're named after letters: a little refresher for every kid's ABCs.

P.S. We've got some deep-ish thoughts about why the cats are named after letters—if you're interested, head on over to our "Meaning" section for a lesson in linguistics.

Little Cat Z

Tiny little cat Z is a major underdog. He and his trusty Voom turn out to be the big heroes in the story. Even though we can't see them, they're the ones who save the day:

"Z is too small to see.
So don't try. You can not.
But Z is the cat
Who will clean up that spot!"
(257-260)

Basically, this guy is the last resort. He holds the key to erasing away all those pink stains with a big exploding device. Sound familiar? Little Cat Z might just be the metaphorical gatekeeper of a nuclear bomb. Head on over to "Symbols" for more on that.