Top 10 Worst Things That Happened to Tom From Tom and Jerry

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse” (1947)

To keep Jerry away from his milk, Tom concocts a potion to exterminate the mouse for good. Instead, it turns Jerry into a hybrid of Mr. Hyde and Mighty Mouse. Jerry usually bests Tom with his wits, but with brute strength on his side, the prey becomes the hunter. Since the potion’s effects are temporary, the power keeps fluctuating. Even as a normal mouse, though, Jerry flattens Tom’s tail into a waffle. Jerry devises a potion of his own, although Tom beats him to it. Unfortunately for Tom, Jerry’s potion has the opposite effect, shrinking the cat down to Jerry’s size. With every hit, Tom only becomes smaller. By the short’s conclusion, he’s the size of an insect and Jerry has a flyswatter on hand.

Various

Tom’s gone through a variety of owners and almost all of them would’ve gotten a call from PETA in this day and age. While Tom’s selfishness sometimes lands him in trouble, he’s usually berated for failing to catch Jerry or over a misunderstanding. In any case, hitting a cat with a broom is just cruel and shooting at him is next level. Of all his owners, the most short-tempered would have to be DeWitt Clinton Clobber. Introduced to the series during the Gene Deitch era, Clobber is guilty of beating Tom with a frying pan, burning his head, and sandwiching him between an elephant and a hard place. Clobber was apparently too mean-spirited even for this franchise, as he was removed after only three cartoons.

“The Cat Concerto” (1947)

In some shorts, Tom is a domesticated housecat. In others, he’s a functioning member of society. In this classic cartoon, nobody questions how a cat manages to sit up straight, put on a tuxedo, and play the piano. Despite only having four fingers, Tom is an expert pianist, but his performance of Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” is continually interrupted by Jerry, who was sleeping inside the piano. Jerry flattens Tom’s fingers in one instance and tries snapping them off with scissors in another. Even when caught in a mousetrap, Tom conceals his pain and powers through. In the end, Tom is left exhausted while Jerry steps in to steal the spotlight. They may be a duo, but Jerry often gets all the glory.

“Jerry’s Cousin” (1951)

Most of the time, Jerry can handle Tom on his own. In this cartoon, however, Tom becomes so antagonistic that Jerry has to call his cousin, who’s fittingly named Muscles Mouse. Although he’s almost identical to Jerry, Muscles has a wider vocabulary and an inflatable fist. While Tom attempts to defend his territory with a bowling ball, a shotgun, and a few fellow cats, Muscles is a one-mouse army not to be reckoned with. Tom finally submits and to make sure that he doesn’t mess with Jerry anymore, Muscles gives his cousin an identical set of clothes. Tom presumably catches on eventually since things return to the status quo in the subsequent short. Still, Muscles left his mark on Tom, both figuratively and literally.

“The Yankee Doodle Mouse” (1943)

Produced during World War II, the franchise’s first Oscar winning cartoon finds the duo locked in combat. Instead of grenades, however, Tom and Jerry wage war using lightbulbs, bananas, and - most notably - firecrackers. Victory is in Tom’s grasp as he starts strapping Jerry to a rocket. Jerry ends up tying Tom’s hands to the explosive, and the cat is sent flying off in a blaze of red, white, and blue glory. Nobody ever said that war isn’t without its casualties. Even after getting blown up, Tom doesn’t learn his lesson about playing with fireworks. In another cartoon several years later, Tom grabs ahold of an ignited rocket and is once again launched to an explosive end. Fourth of July just isn’t his holiday.

Various

Being a cat and dog, it only makes sense that Tom and Spike would have their differences. To Spike’s credit, he rarely goes out of his way to cause Tom harm. In most cases, Spike is trying to get some sleep, looking after his son, or minding his own business when he gets caught in the middle of Tom and Jerry’s shenanigans. On occasion, he’ll even give Tom a warning before striking. When pushed to his limits, though, Spike lets the beast off his leash. Since his debut, Spike has tossed Tom into the washing machine, turned him into a musical instrument, and skinned him alive. Although his appearance seems brutish, Spike can get quite creative when it comes to punishing Tom.

“Mouse Trouble” (1944)

After an ineffective mouse-catching book leaves him bald and hiccuping a variation of Mae West’s famous line, Tom decides to go all out. He loads Jerry’s mousehole with as many explosives as he can find, including a blockbuster bomb. The overeager Tom accidentally blows up himself and the house, but Jerry somehow remains unharmed. Gazing up, Jerry sees a frustrated Tom floating up to heaven… still bald and with the hiccups. Given everything he’s endured, Tom should’ve died as many times as Kenny on “South Park.” However, this is one of the few shorts that ends with a confirmed - albeit not permanent - death. At least Tom goes to cat heaven, although we wouldn’t be surprised if he got turned away at the golden gates.

“Heavenly Puss” (1949)

Speaking of which, this cartoon sees Tom ride an escalator to heaven after getting crushed by a piano. Tom is denied entry due to the way he treated Jerry, but hell has a spot wide open for him. Tom is given a chance to earn Jerry’s forgiveness, although his hour runs out before he can make the deadline. Plummeting into the fiery underworld, Tom lands in a cauldron where a devil dog resembling Spike stabs him with his trident. This would likely rank even higher on our list if the cartoon ended there. It turns out, though, that Tom was dreaming and he makes nice with Jerry… at least until the next cartoon. Nightmare or not, Tom’s glimpse of hell surely traumatized him for life.

“The Two Mouseketeers” (1952)

Over the years, Tom has been crushed, blown up, and turned into a feline punching bag. Yet, one of the franchise’s most violent moments takes place off-screen. During the era of “Mouseketeers,” Tom is tasked with defending a banquet from Jerry and Nibbles. When he fails, Tom is apparently sent to the guillotine where he receives the Ned Stark treatment. Although we don’t see Tom lose his head, the blade dropping paints a grim mental image. Strangely enough, it’s what we don’t see that makes Tom’s supposed fate so disturbing. It’s a darkly funny yet unsettling ending that’s only made more shocking by Nibbles’ nonchalant “such is war” line. Thankfully, Tom lives to fight another day in “Touché, Pussy Cat!” where he’s sliced in half.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Shredded by a Lawnmower, “Cat Napping” (1951)
Turned Into a Paper-Thin Cutout

Attacked by Bees, “Tee for Two” (1945)
Who Knew Golf Was Such a Chaotic Game?

Turned into a Bowling Pin, “The Bowling Alley-Cat” (1942)
No Cat is Spared

It’s All Downhill From Here, “Kitty Foiled” (1948)
Say Hi to Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat For Us

Rock Head, “Salt Water Tabby” (1947)
We Know It’s Animated, But That’s Gotta Hurt

“Blue Cat Blues” (1956)

For all the pain Jerry has caused Tom, it’s a feline fatale who breaks his heart and his spirit. Attempting to win over a beautiful white cat, Tom spends all of his money. He even signs away his arm, leg, and life, but Tom can’t compete with the wealthy Butch. After hitting the bottle, Tom finally gives up when he sees that his love has gotten hitched. Sitting on the train tracks, the depressed cat waits for the inevitable to happen. He’s soon joined by Jerry, who also lost his girlfriend to a rival. Once again, we don’t see Tom’s demise, but the heartbreak, desperation, and failure that led him to his moment is arguably worse than any of the physical torment that he’s suffered.