History ComicStrip / Cathy

* AuthorAvatar: {{Downplayed}}. While Cathy shares the first name of writer and artist Cathy Guisewite, she is not meant to be a one-to-one reflection of her creator. The shared name was also something essentially done out of necessity; according to Guisewite, the Universal Press Syndicate would only pick up the strip on the condiction that she named the titular character after herself (Guisewite even admitted upfront in an 2021 interview that she originally outright disliked the idea because she was self-concious about it appearing "egoistical" and feared getting conflated with the character). That being said, Cathy the character did start out with some traits in common with Guisewite, being a single, working woman, struggling with everyday problems like stress, insecurities about her body and self-image, and relationships.

* CatchPhrase / WrittenRoar: "Aaack!"
** Which is apparently [[spoiler: genetic: Cathy's baby is thinking ''aaack'' from the womb.]]

In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] (the age of ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' and the Equal Rights Amendment), [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny a comic about a single young woman trying to make a career was new and innovative]]. The strip was extremely popular in its heyday, with many women readers readily identifying with the title character as she dealt with common problems of modern single life. A rumor in the 1980s that she was finally going to marry her on-again, off-again boyfriend Irving sparked a lot of fan backlash from single women who didn't want to lose this character they could relate to. (Cathy finally ''did'' marry Irving in 2005, and the final strip in 2010 featured the announcement that Cathy was pregnant with a girl.)

In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] (the age of ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' and the E.R.A.), [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny a comic about a single young woman trying to make a career was new and innovative]]. The strip was extremely popular in its heyday, with many women readers readily identifying with the title character as she dealt with common problems of modern single life. A rumor in the 1980s that she was finally going to marry her on-again, off-again boyfriend Irving sparked a lot of fan backlash from single women who didn't want to lose this character they could relate to. (Cathy finally ''did'' marry Irving in 2005, and the final strip in 2010 featured the announcement that Cathy was pregnant with a girl.)

* TheyDo: Cathy ''finally'' married Irving in 2005.

* AuthorAvatar: {{Downplayed}}. While Cathy shares the first name of writer and artist Cathy Guisewite, she is not meant to be a one-to-one reflection of her creator. The shared name was also something essentially done out of necessity; according to Guisewite, the Universal Press Syndicate would only pick up the strip on the condiction that she named the titular character after herself (Guisewite even admitted upfront in an 2021 interview that she originallly outright disliked the idea because she was self-concious about it appearing "egoistical" and feared getting conflated with the character). That being said, Cathy the character did start out with some traits in common with Guisewite, being a single, working woman, struggling with everyday problems like stress, insecurities about her body and self-image, and relationships.

* ThisLoserIsYou: Cathy is meant to be relatable to the reader because of how she struggles with workplace frustration, low self image, emotional insecurity, overeating, poor impulse control, an overbearing mom, and a hapless romantic life.

* ThisLoserIsYou

* AnimatedAdaptation: The [[TheEighties 1987]] ''Cathy'' TV special, for which Guisewite received an Emmy.

* AuthorAvatar: {{Downplayed}}. While Cathy shares the first name of writer and artist Cathy Guisewite, she is not meant to be a one-to-one reflection of her creator. The shared name was also something essentially done out of necessity; according to Guisewite, the Universal Press Syndicate would only pick up the strip on the condiction that she named the titular character after herself (Guisewite even admitted upfront in an 2021 interview that she originallly outright disliked the idea because she was self-concious about it appearing "egoistical" and feared getting conflated with the character). That being said, Chathy did start out with some traits in common with Guisewite, being a single, working woman, struggling with everyday problems like stress, insecurities about her body and self-image, and relationships.

* AuthorAvatar: {{Downplayed}}. While Cathy shares the first name of writer and artist Cathy Guisewite, she is not meant to be a one-to-one reflection of her creator. The shared name was also something essentially done out of necessity; according to Guisewite, the Universal Press Syndicate would only pick up the strip on the condiction that she named the titular character after herself. That being said, Chathy did start out with some traits in common with Guisewite, being a single, working woman, struggling with everyday problems like stress, insecurities about her body and self-image, and relationships.

These days, the strip is a frequent target of parody and {{Take That}}s, owing to its repetitive nature, devotion to MenBuyFromMarsWomenBuyFromVenus, and general blandness. ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine'' and ''ComicStrip/LibertyMeadows'' satirize the strip frequently, and the Comic Strip Doctor wrote a lengthy [[http://wondermark.com/the-comic-strip-doctor-cathy/ article]] on what the strip does wrong.

* AuthorAvatar: {{Downplayed}}. While Cathy shares the first name of writer and artist Cathy Guisewite, she is not meant to be a one-to-one reflection of her creator. That being said, Chathy did start out with some traits in common with Guisewite, being a single, working woman, struggling with everyday problems like stress, insecurities about her body and self-image, and relationships.

* AuthorAvatar: {{Downplayed}}. While Cathy shares the first name of writer and artist Cathy Guisewite, she is not meant to be a one-to-one reflection of her creator. That being said, Chathy did start out with some traits in common with Guisewite, being a single, working woman, struggling with everyday problems like stress, insecurities about her self-image and relationships.

In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] (the age of ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' and the E.R.A.), [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny a comic about a single young woman trying to make a career was new and innovative]]. The strip was extremely popular in its heyday, with many women readers readily identifying with the title character as she dealt with common problems of modern single life. A rumor in the 1980s that she was finally going to marry her on-again, off-again boyfriend Irving sparked a lot of fan backlash from single women who didn't want to lose this character they could relate to. (Cathy finally ''did'' marry Irving in 2005, and the final strip in 2010 featured the announcement that Cathy was pregnant with a girl.) During the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic Guisewite would, however, bring the character back for an on-off series of one-panel comics called ''Scenes from Isolation'' which she would share on her Instagram profile, as a way of dealing with being stuck in quarantine.

In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] (the age of ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' and the E.R.A.), [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny a comic about a single young woman trying to make a career was new and innovative]]. The strip was extremely popular in its heyday, with many women readers readily identifying with the title character as she dealt with common problems of modern single life. A rumor in the 1980s that she was finally going to marry her on-again, off-again boyfriend Irving sparked a lot of fan backlash from single women who didn't want to lose this character they could relate to. (Cathy finally ''did'' marry Irving in 2005, and the final strip in 2010 featured the announcement that Cathy was pregnant with a girl.) During the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemicm Guisewite would, however, bring the character back for an on-off series of one-panel comics called ''Scenes from Isolation'' which she would share on her Instagram profile, as a way of dealing with being stuck in quarantine.

In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] (the age of ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' and the E.R.A.), [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny a comic about a single young woman trying to make a career was new and innovative]]. The strip was extremely popular in its heyday, with many women readers readily identifying with the title character as she dealt with common problems of modern single life. A rumor in the 1980s that she was finally going to marry her on-again, off-again boyfriend Irving sparked a lot of fan backlash from single women who didn't want to lose this character they could relate to. (Cathy finally ''did'' marry Irving in 2005, and the final strip in 2010 featured the announcement that Cathy was pregnant with a girl.)

* AuthorAvatar

These days, the strip is a frequent target of parody and {{Take That}}s, owing to its repetitive nature, devotion to MenBuyFromMarsWomenBuyFromVenus, and general blandness. ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine'' and ''ComicStrip/LibertyMeadows'' satirize the strip frequently, and the Comic Book Doctor wrote a lengthy [[http://wondermark.com/the-comic-strip-doctor-cathy/ article]] on what the strip does wrong.

* ThisLoserIsYou: Cathy is meant to be relatable to the reader because of how she struggles with workplace frustration, poor self image, overeating, poor impulse control, an overbearing mom, and a hapless romantic life.

In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] (the age of ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' and the E.R.A.), [[FairForItsDay a comic about a single young woman trying to make a career was new and innovative]]. The strip was extremely popular in its heyday, with many women readers readily identifying with the title character as she dealt with common problems of modern single life. A rumor in the 1980s that she was finally going to marry her on-again, off-again boyfriend Irving sparked a lot of fan backlash from single women who didn't want to lose this character they could relate to. (Cathy finally ''did'' marry Irving in 2005, and the final strip in 2010 featured the announcement that Cathy was pregnant with a girl.)

* BigEater : Two pies, one fork. Also applicable to carbohydrates.

* CreatorRecovery: Cathy Lee Guisewite often jokes that her boss at the syndicate dreaded the day she entered a stable relationship and became a more secure, confident person. When just that happened, Guisewite chose to end ''Cathy'' rather than let it fall victim to this trope.