There is a rumor going on that the Breakfast at Tiffany’s Cat was played by 9 cats. This hasn’t been confirmed though however would make quite a coincidence with Paul’s book “9 lives”
We know for fact that the Breakfast at Tiffany’s cat was played by at least two cats: a yellow classic tabby and a yellow mackerel tabby. These two cats change back and forth throughout the movie. Acting for a cat must be a tough jobfor them, so the need for multiple cats was necessary.
Audrey Hepburn stated that the worse thing she had ever done on film was whenshe threw Cat out of the cab and into the rainy street. She said that “it was the most distasteful thing she ever had to do on film”.
Table of Contents
- 1 Orangey Cat
- 2 Quotes referencingOrangey Cat
- 2.1 Check out the movie below to see if you can spot the mistake:
- 3 Symbolism of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s Cat
Orangey Cat
Orangey the Cat is the only catin history that has won thePatsy Award twice. For those who do not know, the Patsy award is the animal kingdom’s equal of anOscar. The Patsy Award is awardedby the American Humane Association. The award representsTop Star Picture Animal of the Year. In 1951, Orangey cat played in the film,Rhubarb,and won his first Patsy for his cinema debut. His role was playing the eponymous baseball team-owning cat. About ten years later, in 1961, he won his 2ndPatsy, playing “Cat” in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Cat was a fortunate homeless feline described as a “poor slob without a name” by Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn).
Orangey, was also known as Minerva the Cat, and Rhubarb the Cat since those arethe movie roles he was most known for. Orangey, cleverly named, was an orange-colored tabby cat who was trained by Frank Inn, afamous animal trainer who wasresponsible for other famous animal actors likethe pig who acted asArnold Ziffel in Green Acres (1965) and Higgins the Dog, who playedin the TV series “Petticoat Junction” (1964) whichlater createdthe role of Benji. Both Higgins and Arnold were Patsy winners. During his entire career, Frank Inn’s animalswon a whopping total of 40 Pasty Awards!
Other films that Orangey the Cat appeared in during his long 15 year career, include:
- The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
- Gigot (1962)
- Village of the Giants (1965)
- Our Miss Brooks (1952 – 1958) This was orangey’s longest job playing asMinerva the Catin Our Miss Brooks.
Quotes referencingOrangey Cat
Holly Golightly: He’s all right! Aren’t you, cat? Poor cat! Poor slob! Poor slob without a name! The way I see it I haven’t got the right to give him one. We don’t belong to each other. We just took up one day by the river. I don’t want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I’m not sure where that is but I know what it is like. It’s like Tiffany’s.
Holly Golightly:”I’m not Holly. I’m not Lulamae either. I don’t know who I am. I’m like Cat here. We’re a couple of no name slobs. We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us. We don’t even belong to each other.” Audrey Hepburn, as Holly Golightly.
Here is a Breakfast at Tiffany’s goof/ mistake.
When Holly has her mental melt downin her apartment she yanks the dressing tablecloth, throwing the cat to the floor. However, in the next shot, the cat is flungup to the window.
Check out the movie below to see if you can spot the mistake:
Symbolism of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s Cat
The Breakfast at Tiffany’scat (Orangey) is aconsistentreminderto Holly and the audience of the lack of connection she feels to those around her. For much of the story, the Breakfast at Tiffany’scatsymbolizesHolly’s inability or maybe unwillingnessto feel anchoreddown and stuck to anything or anyone. The fact that Hollywon’t give the cat a name further stresses this key point:
“We just sort of took up by the river one day, we don’t belong to each other: he’s an independent, and so am I”…Holly won’t declarethe cat as her own pet since that would signify that she’s settling down, and this is something she isextremely against doing.
Close tothe end of the movie, the cat comes to represent something slightly different. Holly sets the catfree on her taxi ride to the airport, but she does so by leaving him in an unfamiliar and unfriendly-looking neighborhood with horrible weather … rain… and cats hate getting wet. When she eventually understands the terribleerror she has made, shesearchesurgently to find him. The cat symbolizes Holly’s realization that she’s horrifiedabout never belonging anywhere or to anyone. Also she realizes that she needs to find “herself” first before belonging. This was triggered by the ring that Paul gave her withher engraved initials H.G. on it. All of her built up concerns come to rest in the symbol of the cat, and the fact that if she doesn’t find him might tell us something about her ultimate fate.
