| Kitty Is Not a Cat | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Directed by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Narrated by | Marg Downey |
| Theme music composer | |
| Composer |
|
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 130 (26 unaired in Australia) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer |
|
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 11 minutes |
| Production company | BES Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | 7TWO (2017–2019) 7plus (2026) |
| Release | 12 December 2017 – 29 November 2019 |
| Release | 15 March 2026 – present |
Kitty Is Not a Cat is an Australian animated musical television series which first aired on 7TWO in Australia on 12 December 2017, with a sneak peek of the show's first 12 episodes, that lasted until 19 December. It then properly premiered on the channel on 20 April 2018, with episode premieres resuming 10 days later.
On 21 September 2018, it was announced that it was renewed for a second season, which premiered on 11 November 2019. The series was renewed for a third season in October 2019; it was originally announced as a 52-episode season, as the previous two seasons were; however it would eventually be cut down to 26 episodes, likely as a result of Australian funding budget cuts. The series was not renewed for a season 4.
The series is incomplete in Australia, as new broadcasts would temporarily cease after November 2019; several networks worldwide had aired the remaining 48 episodes since 2020, and all 130 episodes were released internationally by the year 2023. After a long hiatus, 7plus would eventually release the remaining episodes of the second season in March 2026, followed by a television broadcast in September of the same year. However, the third and final season has not yet released in the country.
Kitty Is Not a Cat follows the story of a little girl called Kitty who has a big imagination who feels like she can be anything she wants, even a cat. Kitty arrives at a house full of partying felines, who suddenly find their lives turned upside down. They attempt to teach Kitty how to be a human when she actually prefers to live her life as a cat.
Kitty Is Not a Cat is created by Bruce Kane and Maurice Argiro and produced by BES Animation for Seven Network in Australia. Kane has said that they "wanted to create a show that uniquely blends urban culture, comedy, and music with stories that connect to 6-10-year-old kids."
A pilot/test animation for the series was uploaded to BES Animation's YouTube channel, prior to the series' release on April 28, 2016. The pilot implies a slightly darker tone for the series was considered, but ultimately dropped. Factors present in the pilot such as Kitty being an orphan who is abandoned by her family are hardly touched on, and rarely alluded to, in the final series. Though most of the characters are present in the final, Blossom (a snobby red female cat) was removed, and Rose (in the pilot, a white female cat) was redesigned from scratch and reworked to be Thorn's cousin for an episode.
Kitty Is Not a Cat premiered on 7TWO in Australia on 20 April 2018. The first season concluded on 25 May 2018. Season 2 premiered on 11 November 2019, but did not complete its broadcast; after the episodes "Sibling Rivalry/Dog Whistling" aired on 29 November 2019, the rest of the season would not air on the channel for several years, for unknown reasons. After a long hiatus, the rest of the second season was added to the 7plus website in March 2026; episodes 16-21 of the season were added on March 15, and episodes 22-26 of the season were added on March 20. These episodes were aired on television from September 4 to 10 of the same year. The show's third and final season has not yet been released in the country.
The entirety of Season 2 would see release on Kartoon Channel in the United States in November 2021. The service does not have Season 1, unlike various other American streaming services.
All three seasons have aired in English on ETV Bal Bharat in India since its launch on April 27, 2021, with Season 3 premiering sometime in May 2023. It would be the first international release of that season's episodes in English; however the season has also aired prior in Poland and China.
Showmax, a streaming service in South Africa, would also host all three seasons of the show. In either 2020 or 2021, the service had the first two seasons. It is not known when they began hosting Season 3, and eventually the show would later be removed from the service. The series, including Season 3, was added back to the service in August 2024.
In South Africa, the show premiered on Disney Channel on 23 April 2018. In New Zealand, the show is broadcast on TVNZ 2.[when?]
In the United States, the series was released for free, and out of order, on The Roku Channel around December 2019, although it was later removed from the service. The series was given a rating of TV-Y7. Kidoodle.TV would later stream the series. Sensical hosts a randomly assorted group of episodes, and a few episodes of the series are also available on Oznoz. All of these mentioned services only host Season 1.
In the United Kingdom, as of March 2021, episodes are available on demand via Virgin Media's Virgin Kids section. However, since these are listed by title and not by episode number, it is unclear whether any episodes have been omitted.
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | SPA Awards | Animated Series Production of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Kidscreen Awards | Best New Series | Nominated |
| 2019 | Pulcinella Awards | Best Kids TV Series | Nominated |