The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much (1987)

Feb 6, 2022

Also Known As: Pat the Cat

Directed by: Timothy Armstrong

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Pat the cat struggles with substance addiction.

Featured Feline: According to the narrator, actress Julie Harris, Pat is a brown tabby cat who lives down the street and is different. For a start he drives a small red car!

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat in small red car

But Pat hides in the bushes when the police come by.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat hiding in flower bushes

Pat starts out with just a drink or two with meals.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat drinking from dish

But then Pat starts sneaking drinks and obsessing about drinking.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat drinking milk from glass

Oddly enough Pat is first shown with just water and milk but eventually there are real alcoholic drinks as well as prescription pills. He is then tempted by “other substances,” including smoking (although we never see Pat actually smoke).

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat looking at cigarette burning in ashtray

Most incredibly Pat gets into the flour in the kitchen in what looks like a scene from Scarface.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat licking at pile of flour

Pat then suffers from DTs while trying to sleep.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat wide awake in bed

Kitty Cameos: Pat’s family members and friends are a variety of cats including a black cat, a ginger tabby, and a calico kitten.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - black cat close
The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - ginger tabby cat close
The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - calico kitten close

A longhair white cat tries to reach out to Pat but is violently rebuffed.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - longhair white cat close
The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat with longhair white cat

Pat even attacks the kitten, showing how the family members suffer because of Pat’s addiction.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat hissing at ginger tabby cat and calico kitten
The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat hissing at calico kitten

Pat steadily goes downhill, looking worse and worse.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat looking scraggly

The life-changing moment comes when Pat imagines himself driving drunk in his red car and crashing.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat lying next to small crashed car
The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - cats gathered around Pat's grave

Pat decides to go to a rehabilitation clinic and returns a new cat, celebrating one year of sobriety with his family and friends.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - tabby cat Pat and cupcake with one candle

Behind the Scenes

Little is known about the making of this film, except that the cat actors were supplied by Birds and Animals Unlimited.

The short, which reportedly won 24 awards, was based on a 1980 picture book by LeClair Bissell, M.D. and Richard Watherwax. The story is pretty much the same, except in the book the cat turns to Alcoholics Anonymous for help.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - pages from the book The Cat Who Drank Too Much

It should be noted that Richard Watherwax also wrote a book called Cat Tales and was the owner of Willoughby, a female tabby and white cat who became a bit of a celebrity back in the early 1990’s.

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - newspaper photo of photographer Richard Watherwax with tabby and white cat Willoughby

Willoughby was best known for posing in iconic prints by Watherwax such as “Fat Cat Capsizing” and “Puss in Boots.”

The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - Fat Cat Capsizing print
The Cat Who Drank and Used Too Much - Puss in Boots print

While the film may invoke amused laughter, it was and continues to be a valuable tool in helping children and adults come to terms with their addiction. People may recognize their own destructive behavior through Pat’s story. One article by Christine Doll published in The Odessa American on January 26, 1991, explained how students reacted after watching the movie presented by John Reed, coordinator of chemical dependence information at Clearview Hospital in Midland, Texas.

     After the film, the children agreed a typical drunk was a man who lived in bars and streets and wore shabby clothing.
     The youngest Clearview patient, however, was a 12-year-old alcoholic who had used alcohol since he was 9.
     After they saw the movie, the students fired question after question at Reed. Many of the questions dealt with incorrect information they heard on the playground or in their homes.

Final Mewsings: How many kids were scared to drink water or milk after this?

Many thanks to Wahrhaftig for letting us know about this short film!

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