Sufferin' Cats

***Sufferin' Cats!*** is a 1943 American animated short movie. It is the 9th _Tom & Jerry_ short. The short was first released to theaters in January 16, 1943 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

## Plot

The cartoon opens with Jerry running with a fishing line tied to his tail, which proceeds to retreat; Jerry is pulled under the radiator and towards Tom, dressed like a fisherman, at the end of the line. When Jerry reaches Tom, the cat makes a face and scares Jerry, causing him to run away again. Tom starts to reel in Jerry again, but the mouse holds onto a bag of "jerked" beef, forcing Tom to struggle to regain control of the line. As the line returns to Tom, a piece of the bag is on the end, simply stating "JERK".

Jerry escapes through an open window and smashes into another cat (Meathead), who is going through garbage cans trying to find lunch. Jerry quickly runs the other way, but then runs into Tom who is coming towards him. Choosing between evils, Jerry gives Meathead a kiss and hug, plays with his whiskers, and sticks his tongue out at Tom. In retaliation, Tom grabs Jerry and hisses at the alley cat, who then grabs Jerry back and hisses significantly louder than Tom, including looking more ferocious and intimidating than Tom. Knowing he is outclassed, Tom retreats. Meathead makes a Jerry sandwich, but when he adds pepper, Jerry sneezes and is propelled away from the bread - and into the other cat. This time, the mouse now gives Tom a kiss and hug and sticks his tongue out at Meathead, who grabs Jerry and breaks the hardened bread over Tom's head. Tom and Meathead start pulling each others' whiskers, anticipating a big fight. In the process, Meathead secures Jerry into a sardine can, but when he is distracted by Jerry trying and failing to sneak away, Tom has replaced himself with a flower pot and runs off with Jerry. Meathead chases after his rival, but runs directly into the front gate. In the backyard, Tom sits on Jerry to hide the mouse and shows Meathead the empty sardine can as he comes by. Jerry reveals himself by sticking Tom with a gardening fork and runs away; Meathead attempts to catch him, but Tom has tied Meathead's tail to the garden hose, who is then pulled back into the spigot and rained on.

Tom then chases Jerry and catches him near an open window; a pie is sitting on the deck, and the cat holds it out for Meathead to promptly hit. Tom runs away with Jerry, but soon trips into a garbage can and loses the mouse to the alley cat; but as Tom emerges from the can, he wallops Meathead with a frying pan, recaptures and flips Jerry who runs away again. Jerry wriggles through a hole in a fence, and when Tom peeks through, he is whacked with a length of pipe. When Tom sees his opponent arrive, he "graciously" waves him ahead, and Meathead receives the same punishment. Jerry runs away and disguises himself as an older mouse, using mop bristles in the shape of a beard. He manages to misguide the apporaching cats into chasing after thin air. They realize their error and go back to search the mop. They then post a lookout in front of the drainpipe the mouse has hid within, who ties both cats' tails together and then provokes a chase. Meathead moves first and ends up dragging Tom across the ground, and both the cats end up tangled around a tree. Jerry continues running and sets out thumbtacks for the cats to step on; at their speed, they cannot avoid the tacks, but manage to survive the assault and catch Jerry.

After a brief fight, a tree stump with an ax on it catches their eyes and they agree to share Jerry by cutting him in half. The alley cat holds Jerry while Tom readies the ax. As Tom raises the ax over his head, his shoulder devil appears and convinces him that he doesn't have to share Jerry. He then makes an X on the alley cat's head, which Tom swings for but stops short, panting heavily at his inability to commit murder. The devil appears again, disgusted and embarrassed, using his famed reasoning to convince the cat that Tom had priorities on Jerry, successfully breaking through to Tom. Tom prepares to strike Meathead, but the blade slides off the end, and Meathead is whacked with the handle instead, and a lump forms on the top of his head and goes through his toupee. The incensed alley cat starts to chase Tom and beat him with the stick, Tom hissing and spitting. Meanwhile, Jerry escapes and ducks under the gate door. The cats realize their priorities and give chase, but stupidly miscalculate their leap and crash headfirst through the gate, temporarily knocking them out with their hands and feet lodged through the gate. Their defenseless rear ends pathetically hang out the back.

As they come to, Jerry arrives with a huge smile while carrying a very thick wooden paddle and goes behind the cats' back. He brushes off both cats' waiting butts and takes aim with the paddle. The cats look up to see a sign on the gate saying MAKE ALL DELIVERIES IN REAR, and realize what they are about to suffer. The spanking goes off behind the gate with the pathetically immobilized felines repetitively howling in pain, as the cartoon irises out at the sign.

## Infobox (movie)

- **name**: Sufferin' Cats!
- **story**: Pinto Colvig
- **music**: Scott Bradley
- **color process**: Technicolor
- **producer**: Rudolf Ising (uncredited on re-issued)
Fred Quimby (uncredited on original issued)
- **released**: January 16, 1943
(United States, U.S.A.)
July 26, 1952
(re-released)
- **studio**: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, MGM Cartoons
Harman and Ising, Rudolf Ising Productions
- **runtime**: 8 minutes
- **distributor**: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- **language**: English language, English
- **country**: United States