44 Cats
44 Cats is an Italian animated children's television series created by Iginio Straffi. The series is mainly produced by the Rainbow studio, which was co-owned by Viacom at the time of the show's premiere. Viacom's Nickelodeon channels broadcast 44 Cats worldwide, while both RAI's YoYo network and Nickelodeon Italy air the series in Italy. The series follows the adventures of four kittens - Lampo, Meatball, Milady and Pilou - who are part of a musical group called the Buffycats. The series premiered on Rai YoYo in Italy on 12 November 2018.
The series was inspired by a song from the 1968 Zecchino d'Oro competition called "Quarantaquattro gatti".
The series was renewed for a second season, which began airing in Italy in March 2020. It aired internationally later in the year.
Characters
Main
- Lampo is the lead singer and guitarist of the Buffycats. He is a tabby cat with a blue lightning bolt symbol over his right eye. Lampo's whiskers act like a compass, guiding him to where he needs to go. Although not explicitly stated, it is heavily implied in the episode "Sir Archibald, Gentlecat" that Lampo would be part of a noble family, as his uncle Archibald holds the title "Sir", a title given mainly in European monarchies to barons and knights, implying that he would be a baron or knight.
- Milady is the Buffycats' bassist. Her fur turns pink whenever someone tells a lie.
- Pilou is the Buffycats' drummer. She uses her enchanting wide eyes to distract the show's villains.
- Meatball is the Buffycats' keyboardist. He has a big appetite and can sense danger.
- Granny Pina is the human owner of an old house where the Buffycats live. She cooks the pasta that gives the Buffycats their special powers.
- Winston is Granny Pina's wealthy neighbor who is Boss's owner. He lives in a luxurious villa and despises both the Buffycats and their unsightly house, which he is constantly trying to have torn down, never with any success since the Buffycats always thwart his schemes.
- Isotta is Granny Pina's granddaughter, who appears in season two. She is the only human who can understand the cats' language and she often helps the Buffycats.
Supporting
- Charlie is the Buffycat's stage frightened announcer and hype man. He first appears in season 2, episode 29.
- Boss is Winston's pet cat. He is the only cat that Winston likes and is a bullying tomcat who always tries to trick the Buffycats, but they always outsmart him.
- Blister and Scab are two cats closely linked to Boss. Blister is the tall white and blue thin cat, while Scab is the small grey fat cat.
- The Boom-Boom Steppers:
- *Fancy Dancey is the leader of the Boom-Boom Steppers. He has grey fur and wears a hat that resembles a Mexican charro hat.
- *Lola is the second Boom-Boom Stepper. She is a white cat with a princess outfit. Towards the end of season one, She becomes a mother in "Pilou the Kitten Sitter".
- *Hope is Lola's daughter. Her first word was "Pilou" because she was the one who "cat-sitted" her before she brought her back to her mom.
- *Jumpy is the third Boom-Boom Stepper.
- Cosmo is an astronaut cat who is a good friend of the Buffycats and sometimes goes along with them on their adventures.
- Gas is a stinky cat with droopy whiskers. He is mostly stinky because of an event that happened during his kittenhood and is useful when villains come in to play.
- Snobine is a sophisticated cat who is Gas's love interest, as the only cat who doesn't mind his stench.
- Gaby is a reporter Siamese cat that used to spread false rumors, but now only reports negatively on villains. She sometimes works as an announcer.
- Igor is a strong Siamese or Birman cat that can lift others with just one arm.
- Neko is a cat with a bell collar and usually has good luck as well as likes collecting four-leaf clovers.
- Fleur is a yellow cat who is obsessed with flowers.
- Cato is a black cat who is a master of a cat version of kung fu called "cat fu".
- Wrench is a brown cat that works as a mechanic. He has a Canadian accent in the English dub.
- Edison is an inventive cat that has a backpack with wings that can help him soar through the air.
- Piperita is a chef cat that looks like an ocelot who runs a restaurant.
- Astricat is a pink alien cat that sleeps upside down and lives on Planet Meow.
- Cats in Black are a group of secret agent cats that help space cats like Astricat in the sky and were inspired by Men in Black.
- LaPalette is a French cat with an eye for art.
- Quatermain is an adventurer cat that searches for ancient treasures.
- Tutan-kat-mon is an ancient cat who is surprisingly still alive despite the fact that his owner is dead; he has a golden scratching post.
- The Pinky Paws are a group of musical cats that all have pink fur and when they like something, they call it “furtastic”.
- *Cherry is the lead singer of the trio and wears Magenta.
- *Lolly is the second Pinky Paw that wears purple.
- *Betty is the third Pinky Paw that wears mint green.
- Milky and Choc are two circus cats that are twin brothers.
- Scribbly is a shy cat with glasses that scribbles messages onto paper airplanes.
- Snoogie a.k.a. the Masked Cat is a superhero cat that can fly using his tail.
- Olympio is a teal cat who plays basketball and has never dropped the ball in his whole life.
- Cop is a police officer cat.
- Ambrogio is a fashionable Siamese cat.
- Cream is a cat that makes tasty ice cream.
- Archibald is Lampo's prim and proper uncle, but despite being proper, he's not afraid to rock out with his nephew.
- Corney is a farmer cat that lives at his country farm.
- Baby Pie is a baby kitten that constantly causes trouble only because he just either wants to play or eat.
- Dr. Fisby is a doctor cat that looks after sick cats and makes them feel better.
- Jungle is a wildcat that lives in a botanical garden with his parrot friend Tata. He loves bananas and can only communicate by growling due to the fact that he isn't intelligent enough to talk because he never lived near or with humans and instead, in the wild.
- Glitter is a blue cat dressed as Santa Claus.
Episodes