An Open Letter to Mr. Jim Davis

ATTN: Jim Davis
FROM: The Society For The Advancement of Felines
DATE: March 1st, XXXX


Mr. Davis,

We are writing to address our concerns with your popular comic strip, Garfield. We understand that it has become a hit with readers since its first publication on June 19th, 1978. "Funny, relatable, a future classic, the highlight of my day," they call it. The other day, we cats finally had a chance to sit down and read one of these strips, and were most disturbed by the content. Not for reasons of violence, abuse, or glorification of dogs, but for the unashamed stereotyping of felines.

Here is a list of grievances we have with your work, and by proxy your main character:

1) You perpetuate the idea that cats are lazy. We do enjoy our naps, but we are hunters, and chasing down errant vermin is heavy work. Work we enjoy, but work nonetheless. And after getting rid of those pesky mice and birds, we reward ourselves with a short twelve-hour nap.

2) The idea that cats are destructive. Your protagonist shreds furniture at the drop of a hat, while we at the SFAF own scratching posts, which we dutifully use rather than resorting to sharpening our claws on furniture. Should the furniture be damaged, it's because the humans forgot to replace our worn-out scratching posts.

Garfield is also seen knocking over breakable objects on purpose, when we cats only do such things to prove a point to insensitive humans who neglected to pay attention to us or fill our food dish!

3) Cats eating plants. This is worrying, as you claim to have grown up with cats yet do not seem to know that houseplants are toxic to us! Is Garfield ignorant of this fact, or does he live in a magical fantasy world where plants are edible? Or...are you hoping to kill him?!

4) Garfield's appetite and his weight are portrayed as a running joke. As many of us at the SFAF are on the heavier side, we find the implication that heavier felines are gluttons quite offensive! We are heavy by nature, and we eat a balanced diet of canned cat food, dry kibble, and the occasional tuna sandwich or Chinese spare ribs with ice cream for dessert. And we do not drink coffee! We can't stand the smell of the stuff, much less the idea of tasting it!

5) The only other major feline character, Nermal, is vain and self-centered. We cats take pride in our appearance and may have tried to use cuteness to our advantage as kittens, but it was all for the purpose of survival and networking. Nermal does it to be annoying and vapid, and most of all to antagonize Garfield. Which brings me to the next point:

6) The portrayal of cats being in constant competition with each other. Nothing could be further from the truth! Felines take pride in our solidarity with each other, we are brothers and sisters in paws. To make it through a world run by humans that lets dogs run free, we must stick together, lest we be cornered and overcome with drool...or worse, taken to the vet!

7) The idea that cats sass humans. You're the ones who refuse to fill our food bowls, pick us up and subject us to cutesy baby talk and obnoxious smooching noises, make us go to the vet, and hog the comfy sleeping spots. If anything, you sassed us and we're giving you a taste of your own medicine!

8) Your decision to have Garfield walk on his hind legs is human-centric and insensitive. Garfield was the closest to a true cat in the beginning based on how he moved. There is no shame in walking on four legs - in fact, it's the superior mode of transportation. You robbed him of that, and for what reason? To make him more relatable to human readers? Did you simply not think of the cats who read the paper and were looking to see themselves in a feline character?

That said, we do appreciate your accuracy in the way Garfield treats Odie, as well as your portrayal of Odie as a simple-minded fool. Dogs have been bullying us cats forever, and by turning the tables on a dog with a single brain cell, Garfield is getting the revenge we so richly deserve.

(And let's face it, dogs are stupid. They don't even read newspapers, they either eat them or use them as a litter box.)

Please read this letter thoroughly, and reflect carefully on the complaints we have registered. Think of the cats who read your comic and how they must feel about the unfair and inaccurate stereotypes present within your protagonist. We hope this will lead to you making positive changes to the comic, ones that will please human readers and especially feline readers alike.


Sincerely,

T. Stripes
Tiger Stripes
Chaircat of The Society For The Advancement of Felines