The strip takes place in a port town called Westfinster. Heathcliff as seen in the strip is predisposed to annoying Mr. Schultz, the manager of the local fish store, called the Elite Fish Market; tipping over, and much more often somersaulting garbage cans into the air, to the annoyance of the local sanitation workers; annoying the milkman to get milk (usually by tricking them into dropping a milk bottle or two); bothering the hard-working sailors who work on the Tuna Fleet; harassing and abusing the dog population; being an informant to the local Dog Catchers; and pursuing female cats. His girlfriend is a girl cat named Sonja, but he has been the target of unrequited affection by another female cat named Crazy Shirley.