Hector the Cat eight of his nine lives due to "ignorance of road safety practices". This was followed by a short instructional film. In subsequent years other characters were introduced in calendars, instructional films, and comic books including Millie, his girlfriend (1973), Uncle Tom (1974), Hector and Millie's three kittens (1975) and his space friend Ding Dong (1982). A study in 1978 found that, although children enjoyed the characters and stories, the material had a number of inadequacies. It stressed that road safety research findings and child development theory would need to be considered for any future development. The character is currently used
A Street Cat Named Sylvester A Street Cat Named Sylvester A Street Cat Named Sylvester is a 1953 animated short featuring Sylvester and Tweety. The title is a play on "A Streetcar Named Desire", a play later made into a film. Tweety stumbles into Sylvester's house looking for shelter and Sylvester hesitates if he saw a tweety bird in the same manner Tweety wonders if he saw a 'Putty Tat'. Sylvester snatches him inside but has to hide Tweety in a vase covered by books when Granny appears. While Hector remains bedridden, having injured himself while chasing Sylvester, the cat causes whatever diversion he can