George Gately created Heathcliff, the strip-cartoon cat, in 1973. He commented:

Before him, cats were depicted as either stupid of sinister, but cats are smart. Heathcliff represented the anti-hero like Humphrey Bogart. He is a tough mug.

I have a feeling that Gately liked cats and I think he had a passing resemblance to his creation:

George Gately the creator of Heathcliff the cartoon cat. Illustration by PoC from images deemed to be in the public domain.

Heathcliff was named after the character in Wuthering Heights by Emile Brontë. The cartooon cat steadily grew in popularity until by 1981 he was syndicated in more than 700 newspapers. He was the subject of two books: Heathcliff Banquet (1980) and Heathcliff Feast (1981). He also appeared on ABC television on Saturday morning cartoons.

His full name was George Gately Gallagher (December 21, 1928 – September 30, 2001) but was better known as George Gately.

Is Cartoon Cat real or fake?

'Cartoon Cat' is a modern creation. We don't know whether he's masculine or feminine so the character is probably an ...
Read More

When was The Aristocats made?

The film The Aristocats was released in 1970, specifically 28 December 1970. Therefore I will presume that it was made ...
Read More

When did Felix the Cat first appear?

The first Felix the Cat cartoon appeared on 9th November 1919. It was three minutes long and called Feline Follies ...
Read More

When did Fritz the Cat come out?

Here are some key dates as to when Fritz the Cat came out. There has to be more than one ...
Read More

Cartoon Animals Complete List

This is a complete list of cartoon animals. They are listed alphabetically. This is a very, very long page - ...
Read More

What cat breed is Felix?

I'll presume that the question refers to a famous cartoon cat, Felix the Cat, who is almost certainly not a ...
Read More

Doraemon male robotic cat: a taste of Japanese culture

Doraemon is a cute, male robotic cat and part of the Japanese culture concerned with cuteness which is a form ...
Read More

What cat breed is Garfield?

What cat breed is Garfield? Garfield is a ginger tabby tomcat and he is not a pedigree, purebred cat and ...
Read More