Basic Trope: Canine characters are on the side of good, while Feline characters are on the side of evil.
- Straight: Max is a protective, loyal dog; while his rival, Claudius, is a nasty, mean cat.
- Exaggerated:
- Dogs are protecting their human companions from the cats, who are trying to overthrow humankind (Sound Familiar?).
- Max is a kind, pure, and incorruptible canine who wants to save the world from certain disaster, while Claudius is a stone-hearted, unrepentant and 100% irredeemable tabby who is hellbent on taking over the world and destroying all its life.
- Downplayed: While Max is still the friendly and loyal pooch, Claudius the cat is more of a jerk than a villain.
- Justified: Max is a pet dog, while Claudius is an alley cat.
- Inverted: Leo is a noble, benevolent lion, while Farkas is a savage, bloodthirsty wolf.
- Zigzagged: There are good dogs and bad cats, but there are also good cats and bad dogs.
- Subverted: while Claudius the cat is horrible and Max the dog is nice, Claudius does show redeeming features, and even teams up with Max against an even worse villain.
- Double Subverted: But then it turns out Claudius' nice side was all an act, like when he brushes against humans' legs just to get them to do what he wants.
- Averted:
- Dogs and cats are on the same side, bad or good.
- Whether they're dogs or cats has no effect on their morality.
- There are only cats or dogs, or neither.
- Cat/Dog Dichotomy
- Enforced: A creator is a dog person who thinks Cats Are Mean, so they create a show about it.
- Lampshaded: "Look, he's Max the Superdog who will defeat Claudius the terrible!"
- Defied: Max invites Leona, a nice Catgirl to form the Female Feline, Male Mutt Battle Couple, so there's a heroic cat beside a villainous cat.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
Back to Heroic Canines, Villainous Felines
