Dear Readers, while I was considering the parlous state of the world before sleep last night, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe, out there in the universe somewhere, there were people who had never come across my two favourite internet cats. And if you haven’t, I hope that you’ll find them both as funny as I do.

First up is Simon’s Cat. Written and animated by Simon Tofield, for me it’s one of the best evocations of what living with a cat can be like (and it’s only mildly exaggerated). Tofield first started the animation as a way of experimenting with Adobe Flash – he was already an animator, working on commercials for products such as Marmite, and companies such as Tesco. The short animations were based on Tofield’s four cats, Teddy, Hugh, Jess and Maisie, with Hugh being the main inspiration.

I think it’s fair to say that the first film, released in 2008, was an instant hit. See what you think. Called ‘Cat Man Do’ it follows that typical cartoon habit of upping the ante on every iteration.

But actually, ‘Let Me In’, released at the same time, is probably up there with my all time favourites.

And finally, ‘Fly Guy‘ features the total destruction of a living room. What’s not to like? Plus this one is such an accurate depiction of a cat’s hunting technique, right down to the slapping a paw onto something and then letting it escape.

Secondly there’s Henri Le Chat Noir. Henri was a cat much given to musings on existential themes, such as the meaning of life, and the films are in black and white, with background music similar to that of a 1960s European film. The films were made by Will Braden, and Henri, apparently a rescue cat, lived with Braden’s mother. She spoke French and helped Braden with his pronunciation, although this is actually a source of some additional humour. Henri’s relationship with the household’s other cat, L’Imbecile Blanc, is one of utter disdain.

Taken by Henri’s human, Will Braden

In all there were 11 Henri films, with Henri retiring in 2018. The cat died in 2020, having been euthanized due to deterioration of his spine. What a very fine cat, though!

His first film, which kind of sets the tone, is here.  But actually the second one, which introduces ‘L’Imbecile Blanc’, is probably my favourite. And there’s a lot to be said for the third one, where he visits the vet, as well…

Some people think that the internet’s main purpose is the distribution of conspiracy theories and pornography, but clearly they are wrong. It’s an opportunity to celebrate our cat overlords, in all their tremendous variety. And goodness knows we could all do with a little light entertainment. Let me know if you have any internet go-to sites when it all gets too much!