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American comic strip
the comic strip

Cathy is an American gag a day comic strip, drawn by Cathy Guisewite from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life: food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes fun at the lives and foibles of modern women. The strip's debut was on November 22, 1976, and it appeared in over 1,400 newspapers at its peak. The strips have been compiled into more than 20 books. Three television specials were also created. Guisewite received the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award in 1992 for the strip.

Initially, the strip was based largely on Guisewite's own life as a single woman. "The syndicate felt it would make the strip more relatable if the character's name and my name were the same," Guisewite said in an interview. "They felt it would make it a more personal strip, and would help people know it was a real woman who was going through these things. I hated the idea of calling it 'Cathy'. Guisewite had Cathy's long time boyfriend, Irving, propose on Valentine's Day 2004. The two characters married in the February 5, 2005 strip. That same year, Cathy appeared in the 75th anniversary party of Blondie and Dagwood. On August 11, 2010, Cathy Guisewite announced the decision to end the run of Cathy. On June 1, 2020, Cathy Commiserations, a single panel cartoon, began on GoComics. The earliest entry was dated March 20, 2018. The series paused May 9, 2021, but resumed on October 29, 2021.

Cathy Andrews Hillman: the protagonist of the strip and the only one not shown with a nose (although a small one was occasionally seen in side views). Cathy is also the only character that does not have beady eyes; instead, hers are drawn in an inverted heart shape. Andrea: Cathy's feminist foil and best friend. Andrea's role was reduced in the later years. Andrea is married to Luke, whom she met during an online chat, and has two children, Zenith and Gus, who grew from infants to uninhibited teens (not seen in the strips), illustrating—especially Zenith—that the characters do age, albeit very slowly. With Zenith, Andrea was obsessed with motherhood, to the point of eating special diets while pregnant and playing music on headphones into her pregnant womb to ensure her baby was born with a high IQ, and then bonding so tightly with Zenith that she understood her baby babble perfectly. Gus, however, entered a playgroup and she did not have as strong a connection with him (which initially left her distraught). Electra: Cathy's dog—rescued from the animal shelter as a puppy. Vivian: Irving's dog—also a rescue dog from the shelter. Both Cathy and Irving said that the dogs rescued them. Anne Andrews: Cathy's mother. Just as likely to provide frustration as inspiration. Refused to throw anything out, even online. Was highly marriage obsessed and was constantly either asking Cathy when she was getting married or trying to fix her up. Bill Andrews: Cathy's father. More often than not, a helpless bystander to Cathy's mom. Cathy went to him when she needed advice about work, something Cathy's mom (even though she had created jobs—M. O. Ms, Mothers on the Move, or Granny Nannies, the day care centre in Flo's house) said she knows little about. Charlene McGuire: one of Cathy's best friends, receptionist at her office. Charlene's role expanded greatly once Andrea got married. Charlene announced her pregnancy on Sunday, May 20, 2007. Simon: Charlene's husband. He and Cathy dated ten times before she decided that he wasn't for her. But (at first) Cathy was adamant that Charlene should have adhered to the "woman's rules" one of which is to never date a woman's old boyfriend. He and Charlene broke up briefly, which led to both her and Cathy signing up for video dating, but they eventually got back together. Irving Hillman: former on again off again love interest, golf and electronics addict and her husband as of February 5, 2005. The more complex the machinery, the better he liked it—even if he did not understand how to set it up. Mr. Earl Pinkley: Cathy's boss, who often managed to make what little control he actually had of his work environment go a very long way. At one point, he sexually harassed Cathy by coming on to her in her apartment. Cathy solved the problem by telling Charlene what really happened and the gossip about her boss "spending the night" (he forgot to mention it was due to the fact that he was knocked out when Cathy punched him in the nose). Mrs. Hillman: Irving's mother. She did everything in her power to aggravate Cathy, especially regarding the 2007 Hillman family reunion. Mr. Hillman: Irving's father. He seemed content to let his wife do all the talking. Mabel: a Frank Nelson type character who would show up as the salesperson at any given store, bank, travel agency etc. that Cathy or other characters went to (including Andrea's nurse when she had Zenith), always had a pencil in her hair, and whose interactions would usually escalate until she or her customer had a meltdown. She sometimes had a co worker with her. In at least one strip, the co worker was referred to as Edith. Emerson was one of the first boyfriends introduced (Irving was first) when the strip debuted. He pursued Cathy who figured she could do better and irritated Irving. He was eventually dropped in favor of Irving, but is often mentioned in Cathy's list of those she dated.

Three animated specials were made from the strip: Cathy, Cathy's Last Resort and Cathy's Valentine. All aired on CBS, and the former won Guisewite an Emmy Award.

Defined by Cathy Guisewite, the four basic guilt groups are four types of temptation that the character Cathy faces in her daily life.

Cathy has a love/hate affair with food (especially carbs). She loves food, but suffers from body dysmorphia from her weight. She is often shown in a department store fitting room trying to stuff herself into a bathing suit. She is overweight, but not obese, and has some success with weight loss over the course of the comic. Cathy is particularly fond of chocolate, pizza, and her mother's cooking.

Cathy dates extensively, but is unable to find "Mr. Right." She has a number of love interests throughout the comic, though none more consistent than Irving. Later in the series, they marry. At the end of the comic series, Irving and Cathy find out that they are expecting a child.

Although well meaning, Mom's advice often frustrates Cathy. Cathy is from the era of feminism, women's rights, and the sexual revolution. Mom is from the earlier, more conservative World War II—1950s era. Although presented as an equal in her marriage to Cathy's Dad, Mom holds many old fashioned ideas. Prior to Cathy's marriage, she seems to have an obsession with seeing Cathy married, keeping a current copy of Bride magazine in her purse and trying to send Christmas cards to Cathy's ex boyfriends.

Cathy has to juggle many tasks at Product Testing, Inc. Her boss, Mr. Pinkley, often asks the impossible. Cathy always seems to pull through in the end and gives him and the client exactly what they want, albeit with quite a bit of drama.

The following books are smaller than the works above. They may have a short storyline and are intended as gifts.

The June 18, 2017 strip of the relaunched Bloom County featured a dismayed Cathy awakening in bed alongside Steve Dallas. She also appeared in the strip the following day. The comic strip Luann featured Mabel (in the October 5, 2016 strip) as a worker of the 'Bridal Barn' wedding gown store where Toni Daytona went to purchase her wedding gown with the help of Nancy and Luann DeGroot.