The article argues that Gary Larson’s *The Far Side* typically depicts cats as unruly troublemakers, menaces or victims, while cows tend to receive more sympathetic treatment. Its author uses nine cat cartoons to make the case, while acknowledging that a cat lover may be reading too much into the pattern.

The examples include cats ignoring owners, destroying a birdcage with dynamite, attacking people, driving cars and committing a drive-by shooting; other strips show cats threatened by dogs. The article says that even when cats are victims, the joke often favours the dog, such as a dog tricking someone into rescuing a cat from a tree or greeting a cat after it has been declawed.