Love them or loathe them, cats don’t often get a great rep on screen – something the trailer for the film adaptation of Cats has done little to help with.
The first look at the big-screen reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical has well and truly creeped the Twittersphere out with its human/feline cross-breeds.
But if you thought the sight of Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift and James Corden as cats was enough to give you nightmares, you clearly have never seen this lot before...
The Cat In The Hat
The Cat In The Hat is a book that holds many special memories from everyone’s childhoods – something Mike Myers and the bosses at Universal Pictures attempted to ruin back in 2003, when they released a big screen adaptation with a lead character that gave us serious Pennywise vibes.
Goose – Captain Marvel
On first glance, Goose might look like an adorable little Tom cat – that is until you realise he can do this:
This is because Goose the cat is actually an alien species called a Flerken, who are able to lay eggs, shoot large tentacles from their mouths and shapeshift. Brrr.
Mr Whiskerson – Friends
The Friends gang are horrified when Rachel brings home a furless cat, which she claims is reminiscent of her grandmother’s that she used to play with as a child.
However, Rachel soon learns that Mr Whiskerson is nowhere near as friendly as his name would suggest, scratching and hissing at her every time she goes near. Joey even refuses to believe it is a cat – something we’re inclined to agree with.
Salem – The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina
When Netflix decided to reboot Sabrina The Teenage Witch with a whole new macabre vibe, that extended to her pet cat Salem.
Gone was the loveable talking feline we knew from the iconic 90s sitcom, and in its place is this chilling little fella.
The Siamese Cats – The Lady And The Tramp
With their wide eyes, spiky teeth and hypnotic song, this pair gave many a child nightmares after watching Disney’s The Lady And The Tramp.
Church – Pet Sematary
The burial of a family pet in a Native American burial ground sets up the plot of this 1983 film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, when it comes back to life with a sinister new personality.
The remake of the movie is set for release later this year, and judging by some of the promotional material (like the picture above), we’re never going to look at a pussy in the same way again.
Catbus – My Neighbour Totoro
Catbus is a grinning 12-legged creature with a hollow body that serves as a bus, complete with windows and seats coated with fur, and a large, bushy tail that first featured in Japanese animated film My Neighbour Totoro.
It’s popularity led to it landing its own spin-off film and range of toys – but it’s certainly not something we’d be in a rush to ride on.
Mr Bigglesworth – Austin Powers
A second entry for Mike Myers on this list comes in the form of Dr Evil’s furless pet in the Austin Powers movies.
Mr Bigglesworth was originally a long-haired white Persian cat, but after being forced to escape in a cryogenic capsule, all of his hair fell out, rendering him permanently bald.
CatDog
Half-cat-half-dog, this Nickelodeon creation should have finally settled the argument on which out of the two animals was the greatest pet.
Instead, it left us with a whole load more questions – namely how the hell it goes to the toilet when it is joined at the middle.
George Galloway – Celebrity Big Brother
In one of the most iconic (for all the wrong reasons) Celebrity Big Brother scenes, former Labour MP George Galloway famously asked fellow housemate Rula Lenska if she would “like me to be the cat?” as they acted out some sort of weird therapy session.
The sight of him pretending to drink milk out of her hands and her stroking his imaginary whiskers is still burned into our retinas over 13 years later.