Could this glass slide image of a penitent puss be the precursor to today's pet shaming social media trend? 

The line 'His Master's Pants' could be an amusing nod to Nipper, the Terrier who appeared in the HMV (His Master's Voice) logo way back in 1898.

This vintage advertisement is from a campaign for Kit-E-Kat cat food by George Patterson Advertising that ran from the late 1960s into the 1970s. 

The campaign sold the idea that Kit-E-Kat could fuel even lazy old cats with 'kitten power' and make them feel 'twice the cat'. The images of a yawning older cat are juxtaposed with those of a playful little kitten jumping all over furniture and playing inside a brown paper bag.

The key message of the ad is reinforced by the song playing in the background - 'You Make Me Feel So Young', made famous in the late 1940s by American crooner Frank Sinatra.

The ad also intersperses shots of cattle and a school of fish to drive home the nutritional value of the pet food and promote it as the only food your cat will need to be happy, healthy and strong.

This advertisement is another from a campaign for Kit-E-Kat cat food by George Patterson Advertising from the mid-1970s. 

It features the classic song 'Me and Mrs Jones' and shows a woman who loves to spend time with her cat. She's pictured looking lovingly at the cat and then, as she puts Kit-E-Kat cat food into a bowl, a voice-over tells us it's proof that 'she really cares'.

The song lyric 'we've got a thing going on' indicates that the woman and her cat are true companions who look after each other.

We see the woman in various scenarios with her cat by her side – gardening, hanging laundry and knitting. These scenes infer that someone who cares so much for their cat would only let them eat the very best cat food.

In a city of singing cats, a lonely beat poet falls for a beautiful siren. When a mysterious dark figure emerges, kidnapping the town's singers for his twisted musical plans, the poet must save his muse and put an end to the nefarious tune that threatens to destroy the city.

The Cat Piano (2009) is an award-winning short animation narrated by the iconic Australian artist Nick Cave.

This 1905 glass slide shows an image of a mature moggy dressed in bonnet and eyeglasses.

This clip is an excerpt from the animated short by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer, Felix Turns The Tide (1922).

After reading in the newspaper that rats have declared war on cats, Felix quits his job at the Meat Market, proposes to his girlfriend and signs up to join the war.

The first Felix the Cat film appeared in 1919 and these early incarnations of Felix were very popular. They have a simple animation style that was mixed with storylines that mirrored the social and political events of the period. 

This episode of The Mike Walsh Show features a guest with an unusual family pet – Narelle Sterio has brought along her four-eared cat named Smokey.

Narelle coaxes Smokey out of his carry basket and tells Mike the reason behind him being born with an extra set of ears.

Most likely named after the Eliza Humphreys novel, My Lord Conceit, in which a count frames a runaway wife for killing her husband over the daughter of a blackmailing rajah, set in India and written in 1884.

A 1905 glass slide shows a lovelorn tabby, dressed to impress with top hat and champagne.

K.C.B is a common abbreviation for Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, which dates back to Middle Ages. However, in this 1905 glass slide it apparently means Kitten Caught in a Bowl.

This cute little fellow was most likely part of a collection of master slides that may have been used for presentations or entertainment on a journey around the globe by George O’Malley and his wife in c.1905. 

Four small kittens sitting inside and on top of a cane basket, circa 1905.

One of a set of hand-painted cinema slides for the song ‘Eileen My Own’, a hit song from 1906, showing 'Eileen' playing with her cat.

Illustrated songs are glass magic lantern slides and were around in the first three decades of the 20th century. They featured photographic, painted or drawn images which were projected onto a screen in sequence to create a narrative. The slides accompanied a singer who invited the audience to join in during the chorus. These community singalongs took place in halls, theatres and cinemas and some were regularly broadcast on radio.

This ginger cat puppet, named Amanda, appeared on Australian television in the late 1950s. Amanda the Cat was conceived, made, voiced and operated by Ann Davis, one of Australia's leading puppet makers and puppeteers. Amanda had a regular spot on children's TV shows including Desmond and the Channel Ninepins and Monday Hit Parade.

 

For two decades this beloved children's character appeared on our television screens in the Channel 10 programme Fat Cat and Friends (1972-1992).

Take a behind the scenes look at how the popular, award-winning road safety films, Hector The Cat, were produced for TV by Film Australia in the 1970s.