Michis in the game: Leo & Mickey

By Jorge 

Leo and Mike are brothers, another couple of tabby mackerel cats with the typical physical characteristics of this race of cats: "M" in the forehead, stripes in their bodies and, in this case, they are orange, like that famous fat orange cat cartoon from the 80's named 'Garfield'. And oh boy! The brothers share a lot of features with this famous cartoon.

 

Leo and Mickey patroling the neighborhood

 These brothers are always together, doing stuff of cats in their home in the NL. They do ressemble a lot to Garfield, since they love to eat and sleep! One main difference, though, is that these brothers do not hate Mondays as Garfield does!

Personalities 

Leo and Mickey are 2 cats with a lot of similarities, more than differences. They both share a taste for delicious human food (especially ham and other human dishes),  

Famous fictional orange cats

Orange cats have always been one of the preferred pets for humans and they have inspired both TV series and movies, as mentioned at the beginning of this blog, one of the most famous cats on TV is Garfield. So let's mention some of the features of this show:

Garfield: The Sarcastic Sensation

• Origin: Debuted in Jim Davis' comic strip (1978), exploded into animation with Garfield and Friends (1988–1994).

• Personality:

  • Lazy, lasagna-obsessed, Monday-hating cynic.

• TV Impact:

  • 121 episodes blending comic adaptations and original stories.

  • Despite initial critical skepticism, it became CBS' Saturday morning anchor

Another TV show that aired in the 80's where the protagonist was also an orange cat, was Heathcliff, a house cat whose adventures were always putting him in tight situations that later he could solve. The show had a very catchy opening. Here are some details about Heathcliff:

Heathcliff: The Alley Cat Antihero

Two Animated Series in the 80s:

• Ruby-Spears' Heathcliff (1980–1981):

  • ABC series pairing the troublemaking cat with Dingbat and the Creeps (vampire dog/comic monsters).

• DIC's Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats (1984–1985):

  • Introduced Riff-Raff's junkyard gang (Cleo, Hector, Wordsworth) as co-stars.

  • Episodes ended with pet-care tips, blending mischief with education

Puss in Boots

Another iconic character of 21 century is Puss in Boots, first introduces in the Shrek movies, this orange cat has gained the love and respect of millions due to his sarcastic and bold personality. Especially in the last movie, which was awesome, if you ask me. The following are some characteristics of this loved cat:

Origin & Design:
Loosely based on the European fairy tale "Puss in Boots" (1697), DreamWorks' iteration is an anthropomorphic orange tabby cat with a Spanish accent, voiced by Antonio Banderas. He wears signature boots, a cavalier hat, a cape, and wields a rapier. His personality blends Zorro's swashbuckling charm (inspired by Banderas' role in The Mask of Zorro) with classic feline quirks: chasing light spots, coughing hairballs, and using "cute eyes" to disarm foes 158.

Personality:

   -Heroic yet flawed: A fugitive seeking redemption, balancing bravado with vulnerability

   -Traits: Charismatic, loyal and prone to dramatic flair (e.g., declaring, "Fear me, if you dare!")

   -Quirks: Obsessed with milk, fears losing his "nine lives" (in the last movie) and values honor above wealth

Leo and Mickey compared to these famous cats

Believe it or not, Leo and Mickey share several characteristics (not only physical) with the before mentioned stars of the screen. Here are some of those similarities: 

In real life, 80% of the orange cats are male: The orange gene (O) is X-linked. Males (XY) need only one copy; females (XX) need two. Leo and Mickey are males, and Garfield, Heathcliff and Puss in Boots are also males.

As garfield, Leo and Mickey are a bit overweight and they love human food! They use their hypnotic powers to tell their humans to feed them with tasty human food. 

 

Leo's personification of Garfield

  

As Puss in Boots, Leo and Mickey are always ready to help each other whenever one of them is in trouble! There are solid evidences showing this heroic and fraternal behavior: once Leo got himself locked in the terrace, and Mickey came to the rescue! Although staring through the window to see his brother on the other side, was not very helpful to let Leo in back to the house.

As Heathcliff, these 2 brothers are often go into adventures to get in troubles to later be pardoned by their humans just because Leo and Mickey are incredibly cute.

 

 

Blessing his human's hand

 

There are 8 pictures of Leo and Mickey in Saving the Michi AR! Can you find them all?