44 Cats is an Italian animated children's television series created by Iginio Straffi. Co-produced with Antoniano di Bologna in collaboration with Rai Ragazzi, the series is produced and distributed by the Rainbow studio. Viacom's Nickelodeon channels broadcast 44 Cats worldwide, while RAI's YoYo network airs the series in Italy. The series follows the adventures of four kittens who make up a musical group called the Buffycats. The series was inspired by a song from the 1968 Zecchino d'Oro competition called "Quarantaquattro gatti". The series was renewed for a second season, which began airing in Italy in March 2020. It is expected to air internationally later in the year.
Characters
Cats
Lampo is the lead singer and guitarist of the Buffycats. He is a tabby cat with a blue lightning bolt symbol over his right eye. Lampo's whiskers act like a compass, guiding him to where he needs to go.
Milady is the Buffycats' bassist. Her fur turns pink whenever someone tells a lie.
Pilou is the Buffycats' drummer. She uses her enchanting wide eyes to distract the show's villains.
Meatball is the Buffycats' keyboard player. He has a big appetite and can sense danger.
Boss is Winston's pet cat. The only animal that Winston likes, Boss is a bullying tomcat who is always trying to trick the Buffycats, but they always outsmart him.
Blister and Scab are 2 cats closely linked to Boss. Blister is the tall white and blue thin cat, while Scab is the small grey fat cat.
The Boom-Boom Steppers
*Fancy Dancey is the leader of the Boom-Boom Steppers. He has grey fur and wears a hat that looks like a Mexican hat.
*Lola is the second Boom-Boom Stepper. She is a white cat with a princess outfit. Towards the end of season 1, She becomes a mother in "Pilou the Kitten Sitter".
*Hope is Lola's daughter. Her first word was "Pilou" because she was the one who "cat-sitted" her before she brought her back to her mom.
*Jumpy is the third Boom-Boom Stepper.
Cosmo is an astronaut cat who is a good friend of the Buffycats and sometimes goes along with them on their adventures.
Gas is a stinky cat with droopy whiskers. He is mostly stinky because of an event that happened during his kittenhood and is useful when villains come in to play.
Snobine is a sophisticated cat and Gas's love interest and the only cat who doesn't mind his stench.
Gaby is a reporter cat who used to spread false rumors, but now only reports negatively on villains. She sometimes works as an announcer.
Igor is a strong Birman cat that can lift others with just one arm.
Neko is a cat with a bell collar who usually has good luck and likes collecting four-leaf clovers.
Fleur is a yellow cat who is obsessed with flowers.
Cato is a black cat who is a master of a cat version of Kung fu called "cat fu".
Wrench is a brown cat who works as a mechanic. He has a Canadian accent in the English dub.
Edison is an inventor cat who has a backpack with wings that can help him soar through the air.
Piperita is a chef cat that looks like an ocelot who runs a restaurant.
Astricat is a pink alien cat who sleeps upside down and lives on Planet Meow.
Cats in Black are a group of secret agent cats who help space cats like Astricat in the sky and were inspired by Men in Black.
LaPalette is a French cat with an eye for art.
Quatermain is an adventurer cat who searches for ancient treasures.
Tutankatmon is an ancient cat who is surprisingly still alive despite the fact that his owner is dead, and has a golden scratching post.
The Pinky Paws are a Group of Musical Cats who all have pink fur and when they like something, they call it “furtastic”.
*Cherry is the lead singer of the trio and wears Magenta.
*Lolly is the second Pinky Paw who wears purple.
*Betty is the third Pinky Paw who wears mint green.
Milky and Choc are two circus cats who are twin brothers.
Snoogie AKA Masked Cat is a superhero cat who can fly using his tail.
Olympio is a teal cat who plays basketball and has never dropped the ball in his whole life.
Archibald is Lampo’s prim and proper uncle, but despite being proper, he’s not afraid to rock out with his nephew.
Corney is a farmer cat who lives at his country farm.
Baby Pie is a baby kitten who constantly causes trouble only because he just either wants to play or eat.
Dr. Fisby is a doctor cat who looks after sick cats and makes them feel better.
Jungle is a wildcat who lives in a botanical garden with his parrot friend Tata. He loves bananas and can only communicate by growling due to the fact that he isn’t intelligent enough to talk because he never lived near or with humans and instead, in the wild.
Glitter is a blue cat dressed as Santa Claus.
Humans
Granny Pina is the owner of an old house where the Buffycats live. She cooks the pasta that gives the Buffycats their special powers.
Winston is Granny Pina's wealthy neighbor. He lives in a luxurious villa and despises both the Buffycats and their unsightly house, which he is constantly trying to have torn down, never with any success since the Buffycats always thwart his schemes.
Brutus is a Catcatcher.
Chef Alfredo is an Italian chef who is Piperita's owner.
Abdul is an Indian man who is Kataly's owner.
Other Animals
Bucky and Zoe are two puppies who first appeared in "A Puppy to Save". Their mom, Sandy would usually appear alongside them, but in one episode, she makes the Buffycats pupsit them.
Terry is a pug who wears a green collar who likes cats, especially Pilou, so much that he wants to be one himself.
Ginny is a sunflower loving cream colored guinea pig wearing a sunflower tutu/hat who performs a dance called "The Sunflower Dance".
Kataly is a camel who lets cats ride on his humps.
Tata is a red and purple parrot who is Jungle's best friend who lives with him in the botanical garden and is the only one who understands him.
Bongo is a white orangutan who can do the tango. He has stage fright, but feels better if someone else does the tango with him on stage.
Episodes
Broadcast
In September 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on Rai YoYo in Italy on November 12, 2018. The Rai YoYo debut set a ratings record for the channel, exceeding 520,000 viewers with a 2.7% share. In May 2018, it was announced that the show would air on Nickelodeon's various international channels in countries outside of Italy. In the United States, the series previewed on Nickelodeon on May 25, 2019, followed by the official premiere on June 10. The May 25 preview of the show was the highest-rated children's premiere of the day. The series was added to Netflix on May 1, 2020.