Crazy Cat Lady
Eleanor Albernathy
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Character Information
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Eleanor Abernathy, known as the Crazy Cat Lady(voiced by Tress MacNeille) is a woman with the appearance and behavior of a stereotypical mentally ill person.
Abernathy is always surrounded by a large number of cats, and in every appearance she screams gibberish and/or throws cats at passersby. She gives Lisa one of her cats, Snowball V, who looks exactly like her original Snowball II.
Contents
Role in The Simpsons
Biography
Abernathy has an unfortunate past. When she was eight, she was a smart and ambitious young girl who wanted to be both a lawyer and a doctor "because a woman can do anything." She was studying for law school at 16, and by 24 she had earned a MD from Harvard Medical School and a JD from Yale Law School. However, by 32, suffering from burnout, she had turned to alcohol and became obsessed with her pet cat. By the time she turned 40, she had assumed her present state as a drunken, raving lunatic.[67] Abernathy briefly reverts to her sanity and high intelligence thanks to some pills that she shows the Simpsons, but after Marge mentions that the pills are actually Reese's Pieces, she abruptly resumes her deranged behavior.[68] When participating in a mayoral election she lucidly discusses topics such as health care, economy, public education and cats in between her screams and gibberish.
Illness
Medication
The Cat Lady enjoys "brief moments of lucidity" after taking psychoactive medication[1]. She abruptly resumes her usual bizarre behavior when Marge mentions that the "pills" are actually Reese's Pieces. Her medication helps her speak intelligibly rather than her usual gibberish.
Intelligence
Even without medication, she appears to be very intelligent. When Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby is recalled, she runs for the mayor's office. During a candidate debate, she is asked what public-policy issues are important to her; unlike the other candidates (who act as stereotypical dishonest politicians), Abernathy discusses issues such as health care, economy, and public education in between her screams and gibberish (and a call for cats "in everyone's pants").
Past
Moe once calls her a man, and she replies that he should know she is a woman because they had a cat together[2].
Behind the Scenes
The Crazy Cat Lady first appeared in Girly Edition. Originally meant to appear only in that episode, she eventually became a recurring character.
Appearances
Episode – "Girly Edition" - Episode – "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot"
- Episode – "Treehouse of Horror XV"
- Episode – "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass"
- Episode – "Springfield Up"
- Episode – "Home Away From Homer"
- Episode – "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe"
– The Simpsons Movie
