Tabby drawn in the books
Tabby is Mildred's cat through her years at Cackle's Academy and Weirdsister College. Tabby is the only non-black cat at Cackle's, and the only one not specifically bred as a witch's cat, and it's clear that he's not the ideal familiar for a young witch. He's hopeless at flying (he struggles to stay on the broomstick) and also a pretty dimwitted and cowardly. He is however very friendly and affectionate, and remains Mildred's faithful companion throughout. Tabby is very cuddly and curls up to sleep with Mildred at night.
Books[]
Although Tabby is perpetually useless at flying, being continually terrified in the air even after over three years of training with Mildred, he is still valued by Mildred as a companion, particularly for his emotional support when she feels depressed after such instances as Ethel sabotaging her role in the broomstick formation flying. She was ordered to send Tabby to the kitchens and substitute him for Ebony, a cat whose original owner had transferred to a different school, but although Mildred acknowledged that Ebony was the better flier, she still preferred Tabby's comfort over Ebony's skill, eventually stealing Tabby from the kitchens to take him on holiday while leaving Ebony in his place. In Mildred's fourth year (The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star), she acquired a dog, Star, who proved to be a far more skilled flier than Tabby, culminating in a public display that led to judges acknowledging that there was no rule that a witch's flying companion had to be a cat. As a result, Mildred was allowed to keep Star as her broomstick companion while Tabby remained as a general companion.
1998 TV Series[]
In the 1998 series, every witch was originally intended to have a black cat each, but since Miss Hardbroom found it unlikely that Mildred would ever pass the broomstick test, she didn't get a cat for her. Fortunately, Mildred succeeded and the school granted her Tabby. They try to swap Tabby for a black cat named Ebony in Carried Away, but Mildred quickly swaps it back. Tabby's mother is Mrs Tapioca's cat, Lightning.
2017 TV Series[]
In the 2017 series, they don't have enough cats because Mildred wasn't originally enrolled for Cackle's, and they already had the kittens before Mildred was accepted into the school. In "Spelling Bee", Tabby is sent to the kitchens to catch mice while Mildred competes in the titular contest, with Maud] and Enid's attempts to help him catch mice only resulting in the destruction of the kitchen. Mildred gets him back in the end. In this series, he is a darker gray, with some brown.
In the books and the 1998 series, Tabby is grey, while in the 1986 film and the 2017 Series he is brown and white. (During the show, tabby's colors changed like in the episode 9, in which Tabby is not the same cat during the episode and switches colour during the episode.)
‘I must admit, it does look a bit dim, doesn’t it?’ said Mildred, scratching the tabby kitten’s head. ‘But I don’t really mind. I just have to think of another name, I was going to call it Sooty."- The Worst Witch.
Trivia[]
Tabby’s name in other languages:
- French: Petipas
- German: Tapsi
- Dutch: Streepje
- Spanish: Tigre
Appearances[]
- The Worst Witch (Book)
- The Worst Witch Strikes Again
- A Bad Spell For The Worst Witch
- The Worst Witch All At Sea
- The Worst Witch Saves The Day
- The Worst Witch To The Rescue
- The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star
- The Worst Witch (TV Series)
- Weirdsister College (TV Series)
- The Worst Witch (1986 Telemovie)