One day a red alley cat is fed up of being kicked by people and attacked by dogs and muses that life would be better if he were a skunk. He then paints himself black with a white stripe down his back and adds a bit of Limburger cheese to make him stink. At first life couldn't be better for him, the dog flees and the butcher abandons his shop letting the cat walk off with a pile of meat. Just as he is thinking everything is perfect he is noticed by a real skunk, not just any skunk but the overly amorous Pepé Le Pew. Pepé mistakes the poor cat for a female skunk and pursues him thinking his protestations are just shyness. Our poor cat thinks he has escaped when he throws a skunk skin from a tall building so that Pepé will think he is dead, at first it seems to work but as he sneaks off Pepé sees him and instantly forgets the dead skunk. In the end the cat realises he was better off being kicked and attacked than being lusted after by a randy skunk... there is a nice ending for the skunk too when his wife finds out what he has been up to.This was a fairly funny introduction to Pepé Le Pew who back then was just overly amorous but now looks like a randy sexually harassing stalker, although he was punished for his behaviour in the end.

Written by Tedd Pierce and directed by Chuck Jones, "Odor-able Kitty" is the first Warner Bros. cartoon to feature a famous French skunk who is an irrepressible "ladies' man": Pepe Le Pew. But what an unusual Pepe Le Pew cartoon! (If you haven't yet seen this film, DON'T read any further.) In "Odor-able Kitty," Pepe chases after a MALE cat! No, Pepe is not a homosexual; he simply believes the male cat to be a female skunk. And then, at the end of this cartoon, it turns out that Pepe is not really Pepe at all! He is Henry, a Brooklyn skunk with a wife and two kids. Thankfully, in most of the later Pepe Le Pew cartoons, these little flaws are rectified as Pepe becomes a more fully developed character.Here are my favorite scenes from "Odor-able Kitty." When the male cat first disguises himself as a skunk (so that he would be left alone), he dares an old lady to swat him on the rear with a broom, but before she does, he has a smug expression on his face as his tail points toward his Limburger odor! Shortly afterward he walks into a meat shop, and after a brief pause, everyone screams and rushes out! Thanks to the brilliance of composer/orchestrator Carl Stalling, we hear a familiar sprightly violin theme as Pepe/Henry pounces after the cat; contrast that with some sluggish saxophones to indicate the cat's gradual slowing down in escaping from the amorous skunk. AND, in another moment of quirkiness, we see BUGS BUNNY (actually the cat in disguise) saying his "Eh, what's up, Doc?" catchphrase while we hear the Warner Bros. cartoon theme "Merrily We Roll Along." In addition to "Merrily We Roll Along," there are three other songs in "Odor-able Kitty" that I recognize, again attesting the brilliance of Carl Stalling. These three songs are "You're Just an Angel in Disguise" (a snippet of which is sung by the cat when he first disguises himself as a skunk), "Trade Winds" (heard while the cat rests contentedly, his belly full of delicious meat), and "It Had to Be You" (heard several times throughout this short, particularly during Pepe's/Henry's first appearance).

ODOR-ABLE KITTY is Pepe's first short, and he does well but for the ending. I like this cartoon but for that.The animation is rather strange, but besides Pepe it looks fine. 8/10The story is good, a nice change from the white stripe routine, though that's still good. But the ending leaves much to be desired. 7/10The lines are good, but there's still room for improvement in this department. 8/10The visual jokes are, of course, minimal, except for the beginning and the end. 6.5/10Overall, this cartoon is a good effort, and from me it recieves an average of 72.5% and a solid B+.

This short, a formative cartoon featuring Pepe Le Pew, concerns a cat who thinks he'll solve all his problems by pretending to be a skunk. Trouble is, he attracts the most unwelcome attention of an honest and for truly skunk (our hero, Pepe, entering stage left) being decidedly more attentive, shall we say, than M. Cat would like. Every great plan has its drawbacks, but this one's a corker! I wonder if Jack Warner got a call from the Hays Office over the fact that Pepe and the object of his adoration were both male. After all, Betty Boop was in part responsible for the Production Code coming into existance. Subsequent "conquests" were clearly and most definitely female. Very good cartoon, but Pepe is a character who works better as the focal point, rather than supporting. Well worth watching. Recommended.