Real life Pepe le Pew?

In the spirit of the recent "Raccoons under the deck" thread I wish to report a back alley encounter which may or may not be unusual -- you tell me.

A few blocks down there is a friendly little cat which has come to greet me on several occasions as I would pass in the alley; this evening while on an errand, after the time when the skunks emerge, I noticed the little cat following a little skunk. By the time that I arrived, the little cat was sitting next to the little skunk, sniffing at its nose every so often (wondering about its latest meal perhaps?), and then it came up to greet me, leaving the skunk to watch with indecision. As I left, the cat resumed following the skunk.

Do you suppose Mel Blanc ever had such an encounter?

Michael

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Feral cat? Or merely a cat owned by a horribly negligent owner?

Wasn't Mel Blanc. Pepe was the creation of Chuck Jones. See "The Charm of Stink: On the Scent of Pepe Le Pew" (a "Behind The Tunes" featurette) on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume

3 (2005 ISBN 1-4198-0599-1) among many others. Mel created the voice, a parody of the French actor Charles Boyer who was a movie star in the 1940s when Pepe was created (see "Wild Lines: The Art of Voice Acting" on disk 4 of Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 from 2006, and "Mel Blanc: The man of a thousand voices" on disk 4 of Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 from 2008, as well as the autobiographies of both men.)

Old guy

Reply to
Moe Trin

One of my friends mentioned that skunks don't spray where they eat. As proof, he produced a photo of his two cats and a skunk all drinking from the same bowl of milk. Later, the skunk brought her family. It was a regular thing with the critters for many years.

"Having adapted well to neighborhoods, it's not uncommon to find skunks and domestic cats dining peacefully together."

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Sadly, an owned cat let out without supervision, as is the case with many cats in the neighborhood.

Thanks for the references; after I posted it struck me that I should have referenced Chuck Jones rather than Mel Blanc...

Michael

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msg

I can understand why they might not relieve themselves where they eat but if threatened at the food dish you say they wouldn't spray in defense as well?

I've heard of pet skunks cohabiting with household cats but this is a revelation; thanks for the link.

Michael

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msg

I don't know how it works for skunks, but they don't seem particularly defensive when there's plenty of food around. I was there when a skunk came in through the cat door, helped herself to some munchies, and left, all without even noticing my presense.

I know of a local trailer park where the residents have decided that it's better to feed the skunks than to fight them. They're careful not to let them burrow under the house or hide inside, but otherwise, it's peaceful coexistence. Mostly, they seem to have adopted much of the lifestyle of the local cats. When I was giving one cat a back scratching, a skunk came up and demanded the same treatment. I was a bit hesitant but nothing bad happened. I don't think I would try that with a totally wild skunk.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Hit your favorite search engine, looking for ``coyote "domestic cat"'' and you'll likely come up with a string of articles about a recent study (Universities of Arizona and Montana) published in the Journal of Wildlife Management.

Apparently the idea for the character (first seen in "Odor-Able Kitty" from 1944) came from Mike Maltese.

Two very entertaining books:

Mel Blanc and Philip Bashe That's _Not_ All Folks 1988 ISBN 0-446-39089-5 (Softcover), ISBN 0-446-51244-3 (Hardcover)

Chuck Jones Chuck Amuck The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist 1989 ISBN 037-412348-9 (1999 version may be 037-452620-6)

Both are apparently out of print, but widely available. Your local library probably has (or can borrow) copies.

Old guy

Reply to
Moe Trin

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