Comments on: Why Did There Have To Be Cats?

By: Jack Hare

Jack Hare — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:40:56 +0000

It’s true that cats don’t typically “beg” at the table, but this is because those cats who have the inclination to take interest in human food will not sit at your feet waiting for scraps like a dog; rather, they will walk right the hell up to your plate and start eating.

By: Sloan

Sloan — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:05:22 +0000

In the second one, the limited area of the footprints indicate that the man believes he is living in an enclosed space. So he’s been walking around his “house” all day and now realizes that he’s forgotten to put the cats “out,” which is bad because they’ve been using the “house” as a litter box and he’s been walking around it all day in his bare feet. But for this to make sense, there should be a cat or two around to indicate the joke. A rather lame theory, but that’s the best I can come up with.

By: Its justme

Its justme — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:07:05 +0000

I think bAT L is exactly right on the first one.

For the second one, notice the meandering steps that this desert wanderer is making. He glances down and this reminds him of his cat. Why? Because that’s exactly what a cat does who wants to go outside, he meanders around yowling until the owner (companion for the PC) notices that he needs out.

By: bAT L.

bAT L. — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:56:49 +0000

I understand the first one fairly well, I think. The man is complaining because the cat is begging for food. The man catches on that the cat wasn’t fed and is thus hungry, but doesn’t realize that the reason the cat is going hungry is that he is in the process of eating the rest of the food - the cat food. I didn’t get this at all at first because I thought that creature there was a dog.

The second one I believe is referring to a memory jog. He is trapped in a seemingly endless desert and this happens to remind him of the litterbox back home with his cats. At this point he has already walked all around attempting to find his way home, but it is only now that he realizes what an absolute mess his home will be should he ever return to it. It’s a heavy dose of pain humor here. Poor guy, either way things turn out.

By: Morris Keesan

Morris Keesan — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 02:12:43 +0000

My interpretation of the second one: The guy’s lost in the desert — those are “wandering around totally lost” footprints, all belonging to him — and he suddenly remembered that he forgot to put the cat out (before coming to the desert to get lost). The humor, what little there is of it, is, as others have said, because that’s the least of his problems right now.

By: alley cat

alley cat — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 23:52:09 +0000

That must be it!

BTW, I’m bemused by the ring of individual footprints right in front of him. He hopped in a circle on one foot? I am clearly thinking too much.

By: [jec]

[jec] — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 23:28:18 +0000

I dunno, but I took it as a bad answer to “how do I draw that the guy a) lives here and b) does not have a cave or tent to actually let the cat out of”.

By: Cidu Bill

Cidu Bill — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:27:46 +0000

“If it makes you think you’re working too hard” sounds a lot like the “no soap radio” school of humor to me…

By: alley cat

alley cat — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:41:47 +0000

I clicked on the Birdbrains link Bill provided, and in the description, it says, “It’s a feature to laugh at: if it makes you think, you’re working too hard.” Apparently we are all working too hard. This is one where I would love to be able to write to the comic’s creator and ask him what on earth this one means.

If the guy were just standing there, obviously lost in the middle of the desert, then I would buy the explanation that it is absurd of him to be suddenly upset about the cat back home. It’s the carefully drawn two million little footprints that make this such a head-scratcher.

By: Keera

Keera — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:15:08 +0000

I think Lola is on to something. The footprints are from the man’s worried pacing because back at home, he forgot to put the cats out. Except for that “again” at the end, that would work.

Nope, I still don’t get it.