You Know, There's a Bird in There

The cat has swallowed the canary in Counterfeit Cat. Spike the dog figures it out.



The cat manages to distract Spike with a bone throughout the cartoon. Tex Avery (and gagmen Rich Hogan and Jack Cosgriff) come up with a plot surprise near the end of the cartoon as Spike turns traitor, but he and the cat get theirs in the end.

Mike Lah, Grant Simmons and Walt Clinton are the animators in this 1949 cartoon, though I still think it should be called “Counterfeit Dog” because the cat is pretending to be a dog.

Spike Turnaround

How do in-betweens work? Here’s how Spike is turned to see his new “dog” friend in Tex Avery’s Counterfeit Cat (released 1950). He turns one way, then the other.



Mike Lah, Grant Simmons and Walt Clinton animate the story. Rich Hogan and Jack Cosgriff receive story credits.

Mop Head

In Counterfeit Cat, a cat wears a floppy dog-ear disguise to fool a bulldog to get into a home where a yummy canary lives.

In one scene, the bird steals the disguise. The cat “finds” it—but it turns out to be an old mop instead.

Cut to the dog offering to shake hands (paws). But it realises something is wrong. Then the cat realises something is wrong and tries to rectify the situation.



Director Tex Avery and writers Rich Hogan and Jack Cosgriff aren’t finished with the gag.



The cat sends the dog running out of the scene with one of those obsession gags he uses (the dog buries any bone he sees) and it’s on to the next scene.

A Bone!

Spike sees a bone in Counterfeit Cat. Some of the drawings from the take.



Mike Lah, Grant Simmons and Walt Clinton animated this cartoon for Tex Avery, which would make more sense if it was called Counterfeit Dog, because the cat is pretending to be the pooch next door.

Counterfeit Cat Brushwork

The Counterfeit Cat zips into a scene with the help of brushwork from the MGM cartoon ink and paint department. These eight drawings are consecutive frames.



Actually, it would make more sense to call this cartoon Counterfeit Dog because the cat is pretending to be a dog during much of the picture.

Something's Wrong Here

The first directors of sound cartoons grew up in the age of silent film, and the best of them could express their stories and gags without dialogue.

Here are some poses from “The Counterfeit Cat,” a 1949 Tex Avery cartoon co-written by Heck Allen and Jack Cosgriff. All you need to know is a cat is after a bird and unwittingly steps on the dog’s head when he sneaks into the house. The poses do the rest, assisted by Scott Bradley’s score and Jim Faris’ sound effects.



Mike Lah, Walt Clinton and Grant Simmons are the animators.