Literature/Folklore

I think one of the most notable cats in literature is the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (1865). In this fantasy tale, a young girl named Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a nonsensical world filled with talking, anthropomorphic animals. One of these characters is the Cheshire Cat, known for his wide, mischievous grin. He appears and disappears randomly and likes to goof around. He is characterized as a very non-serious, playful, and sometimes trouble-making character. I believe that his character contributes greatly to the "madness" and "insanity" of the Wonderland world fantasy, as he truly seems to be the "maddest" of all the characters.

I think that the author specifically chose a cat to represent this character because cats seem to be the troublemakers out of all the commonly depicted animals. Whereas dogs are loyal and honest, you can never be too sure of a cat's intentions. A common perception of cats today is that they are more independent and tend to do as they like. In addition, a great number of people associate the cat with "evil" intentions.

The Cheshire Cat, as depicted in Disney's adaption of Alice in Wonderland

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire_Cat