fame.
The question of who exactly created Felix remains a matter of dispute. Sullivan stated in numerous newspaper interviews that he created Felix and did the key drawings for the character. On a visit to Australia in 1925, Sullivan told The Argus newspaper that “The idea was given to me by the sight of a cat which my wife brought to the studio one day.” On other occasions, he claimed that Felix had been inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s “The Cat that Walked by Himself” or by his wife’s love for strays. Members of the Australian Cartoonist Association have demonstrated that lettering used in Feline Follies matches Sullivan’s handwriting. Pat Sullivan also lettered within his drawings which was a major contradiction to Messmer’s claims. Sullivan’s claim is also supported by his 18 March 1917, release of a cartoon short entitled The Tail of Thomas Kat, more than two years