Q&A with the Creator of YouTube Sensation 'Simon's Cat'

When your new kitten paws at you to feed him, it's usually not worth sharing with the world. But Simon Tofield thought otherwise. Inspired by his own three cats at his Bedfordshire, England home, Tofield, 38, creates line-drawn films depicting the hilarious relationship between a man and his ever-hungry feline companion.

Thanks to YouTube and more than 30 million viewers around the world, the films are now an Internet sensation and fodder for Tofield's new book "Simon's Cat." The paperback came out just last month, but Tofield is already hard at work on a second title due next year. Tofield took some time away from the drafting table to talk to Paw Nation.

So when did you fall for cats?
My first cat was a tiny barn kitten I found in a stable when I was nine years old. I wanted so badly to keep it and I was crying for weeks before my mum finally said I could have her.

But you've got more cats now...
Yeah. Jess is about nine years old and she's a real lap cat. She's never more than a meter away. Then there's Maisie, a lovely marked gray tabby who's seven, and Hugh, who's two. I thought two cats was enough, but it didn't take too much persuasion to convince me to get Hugh. But he was worth it -- he started the whole "Simon's Cat" phenomenon.

He's the inspiration for your films?
He was my first ever boy cat and the inspiration for my first film, "Cat Man Do." He was on top of me one day, pawing at me and trying to get my attention for a long while before I finally got up to feed him. As soon as I got up, he just jumped off like he knew he was getting what he had been after. I just thought, "That's brilliant! That'd be great to animate!"

Are all your films based on real experiences with your pets?
I like to base them on reality. It's important that you put things in there that cat owners can relate to, like cats' mannerisms. Great cartoons have to be based on realisms that appeal to people. That's the secret.



You do all the sounds for the films yourself, don't you?
[Tofield meows] I've always done silly voices. When the first film was made, I was on a shoestring budget and I just thought I could do the cat noises. But the sounds have become a big part of the films. People look for certain sounds in the films and get upset when they don't get to hear the burp or whatnot. It's funny that it all came out of not having money.

When did you realize that your little film was headed for greatness?
Well I got bad news walking through the supermarket one day. A friend came up to me and said, "Your video's on YouTube." At the time, I thought it was a disaster. The film wasn't even titled because it wasn't meant to be released. I was miffed! But I quickly realized people were starting to love this little cat and I ought to do some more films. With this book release, I get to draw this cat all year. It's great!

How did your new book come to be?
A childhood dream of mine was to do a book. I always thought I'd be illustrating for an author, but because of the success of the films on YouTube, I had a few publishers approach me and ask if I'd ever thought about a book. They were starting to realize people love this cat.

So this whole thing started out with a hungry kitten and now you've got a worldwide fan base, a recently released book and another one on the way. Did you ever imagine this could happen?
It's a dream come true, it really is. And I've got so much stuff I want to do with it. I'm not done yet!

Tags: simon tofield, simons cat, SimonsCat, SimonTofield