    thomas "tom" cat is a fictional character and one of the title characters (the second being jerry mouse) in metro-goldwyn-mayer's series of tom and jerry theatrical cartoon short films. created by william hanna and joseph barbera, tom is a blue/grey anthropomorphic domestic short-haired cat who first appeared in the 1940 animated short puss gets the boot. tom was originally known as "jasper" during his debut in that short, however, beginning from his next appearance in the midnight snack and onwards, he is known as "tom" or "thomas". ==history== ===tom and jerry cartoons===  his full name, "tom cat", is based on "tomcat", a phrase which refers to male cats. he is very rarely heard speaking with the exception of a few cartoons (such as tom & jerry tales' league of cats) and "tom and jerry: the movie". his only notable vocal sounds outside of this are his various screams whenever he is subject to pain or panic. he is continuously after jerry mouse, for whom he sets traps, many of which backfire and cause damage to him rather than jerry. tom has changed remarkably over the ye
Fictional_anthropomorphic_characters Fictional_cats Fictional_characters_introduced_in_1940 Hanna-Barbera_series_and_characters MGM_cartoon_characters Tom_and_Jerry_characters