Mitties was named for a next-door neighbour's cat named Mittens. He was a big, fat, remarkably vicious creature, sort of like a cross between a furry Jabba the Hutt and Freddy Kreuger. This didn't deter the neighbour's daughter from tormenting him all the time while calling him "Mitties", which I figured must've been really humiliating for him in front of all of the other neighbourhood cats.
Mitties is noteworthy in that she's the only animal cast member besides Liska to be directly inspired by another character in The Cunning Little Vixen.
In one episode of the original book (ommitted in the opera), Sharp Ears raids the Forester's pantry and is caught in a trap. When the Forester attempts to finish her off with a club, they wind up becoming engaged in an epic battle in which the entire contents of his pantry are destroyed. With the household in a complete uproar, Sharp-Ears gets away in the confusion. As she makes good her escape, she notices that Whisker the tom cat is the only indivdual on the farm not to become involved in the ruckus, and yells at him, "You're the only sensible creature around here!"
It was from that brief passage that I decided that I wanted the female farm cat to be the most sensible character in my comic strip. And so, it's worth noting that in the capacity of protecting Farmer Fred's chickens, Mitties has proven herself to be the most competant member of the cast. She's smarter than Skippy and Liska put together, has better judgement, and could easily take Liska on in a straight-up fight. Fortunately, Mitties chooses to use her powers for good... most of the time.
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