Cats in Television- Kitty in "The Closer"

I pay attention to cats in movies, and, thanks to Jone Bouman aka "JB" in the Film & Television Unit at the American Human Association, I was able to solve the "Orangey aka Rhubarb" mystery here.

I don't watch much TV, but JB suggested I check out "The Closer", because the cat "Kitty" appears in various episodes. And, the LA connection- "The Closer" is set in LA, where I more or less grew up- VG= "Valley Girl". What JB didn't know- I grew up reading mysteries and police procedurals and watching Perry Mason!

Timely advice- the new season of The Closer starts on June 8, and June is American Humane Association’s Adopt-A-Cat Month®

So... first step was to see what was on YouTube showing Kitty in The Closer. This was it: One YouTube- Season 2, Episode 13- "Fritz left the door open"- Kitty vanishes, and then... Direct link is here.


Other parts of the Kitty story are below- and btw, "Brenda" is the lead character, Brenda Leigh Johnson, the Deputy Chief, Priority Homicide Division/Major Crimes Division LAPD, played by Kyra Sedgwick. Block quotes come from the linked pages.

Season 1, Episode 3 - The Big Picture

Brenda must fight for justice for two Russian prostitutes murdered by the illegitimate son of a Russian mafia figure..

At the end of the episode, Brenda purchases one of the dead girl's house, and finds herself the owner of a cat she doesn't want, but who has ideas of its own. This is the episode where we first meet "Kitty."

Season 1, Episode 8 - Batter Up

On the home front, Brenda finds herself with some new charges when her (male) Kitty has kittens.

Best Episode Quotes
Brenda: (Holding out a meowing pillowcase) "The cat's sick." (My note: I assume because she just had kittens!)
Gabriel: "You brought your cat to a crime scene?"
Brenda: "It's not my cat, it just lives with me and eats at my house."

Season 4, Episode 1 - Controlled Burn

Brenda and Fritz are having problems with the toilets, but as there is a no pet clause in their rental agreement, Brenda's landlord can't know about Kitty, so they can't have the landlord repair the toilet.

Fritz refuses to pay for an outside repairman because it is the responsibility of the landlord to pay for or to ensure that repairs are made, not the tenants. He resolves to motivate Brenda to confront her refusal to deal with the Kitty issue...

Season 4, Episode 11 - Good Faith

Best Episode Moments- Kitty rolling around on the wedding dresses Brenda is trying. (My note: aha! true cat behavior.)

I wish more Kitty video clips were available online. The writer for the Kitty character surely knows a lot about how cats and humans behave when mixed together... oh, and, when I was growing up we rescued a cat that got tossed out of a speeding car... "Charlie"- we thought he was male, until... she got fat with kittens!

And, now having watched many clips from the series via the main TNT page for The Closer I add this: A lot of it is Drama, but a lot of it is also Great Fun.

One example- maybe you have to have grown up in California when I did to appreciate the wry and wise and hilarious take on Fritz's sister- the "intuitive". I've known women like that! Try this link- she appears a long while in, but it is worth a watch- here

My favorite quote from her: "I got caught in a power struggle in the Yoga community." Uh huh. Classic!