Mystery of cat screech heard in hundreds of movies solved

The mystery of a cat screech that sparked internet debate after being used in hundreds of movies has been solved.

The 23-second audio clip appears in Toy Story, Babe, and Home Alone 3 among other blockbusters; an entry on TVTropes.org entitled That Poor Cat laments: “Every time a vehicle crashes, trash cans fall over, something blows up, or any chaos occurs off-screen… we hear some poor cat yowl.”

The Guardian traced the famous meow to an LA sound designer who in 1988 recorded his new kitten Cheeta — “a remarkable small female with a confident voice and racy physique” — in his living room. “Once you’re familiar with her work, you start to hear her everywhere,” the newspaper wrote.