Cheshire Cat (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

“	Oh, you can't help that, we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.	”
	— The Cheshire Cat

Cheshire Cat
Illustrated by John Tenniel
Naming
Others	Cheshire Puss
Personal information
Species	Cat
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Wonderland
Affiliation	The Duchess
Current status	Alive
Biology
Body type	Feline
Abilities	Full or partial disappearance
Sentience	Sentient
Sapience	Sapient
Behind the scenes
Universe	Alice's Adventures
Created by	Lewis Carroll
Designed by	John Tenniel

The Cheshire Cat is a supernatural inhabitant of Wonderland. His appearance is similar to that of a normal cat, but with a wide grinning mouth of sharp teeth and the ability to disappear and reappear at will.

Biology[]

The Cheshire Cat is a talking cat that grins, and is described as looking good-natured, but still somewhat menacing due to his very long claws and numerous teeth. On observing that, Alice concluded that he was a creature that should be treated with respect. He turns out to be very friendly, but proudly proclaims that he's mad, as is everyone else in Wonderland according to him, Alice herself included.

He is most notable for his ability to disappear and reappear at will. Whether he does that by becoming invisible or by other means is not known, but he's capable of vanishing both suddenly and slowly, beginning with the tip of his tail and ending with the grin, which remains behind for a few seconds even as the rest of his body has already faded. He can also make only part of himself appear, for instance, showing up as a disembodied head while the rest of his body remains presumably invisible.

History[]

Alice first encountered the grinning cat in the Duchess's house. When she asked the Duchess how a cat could grin, the Duchess explained that it was a Cheshire Cat and that they all do that; implying that Cheshire Cats in Wonderland might possibly constitute a separate species or breed; rather than a cat that originates from the real English county of Cheshire.

When she left the Duchess' house, Alice met the Cheshire Cat again, this time perched on a tree branch. When she asked for directions, without having any specific destination in mind, the Cat simply informed her that she would get somewhere regardless of the direction she took, if she only walked long enough. He then told Alice about some of the other inhabitants of the country, such as the Hatter and the March Hare; and informed her that these two were both mad, as are all inhabitants of Wonderland, himself included.

The Cat's reasoning for considering himself mad stems from the fact that, unlike a dog, who growls when it's angry and wags its tail when it's happy; a cat does the other way round. Although Alice pointed out that "growling" in the cat's case would be more correctly called purring, the Cheshire Cat shrugged off the difference and changed the subject, asking whether she would play croquet with the Queen. Even though Alice told him that she hadn't been invited, the Cat still bid her farewell with an "You'll see me there", before vanishing into thin air. He then reappeared briefly to ask about the baby that had been turned into a pig, and again to ask whether she had said "pig" or "fig". On this second return, Alice informed him that his habit of vanishing suddenly was unnerving, and so the Cat vanished very slowly instead.

As expected, the Cat did show up again during the croquet match, although making only his head visible. When the King asked what should be done about him, the Queen gave her usual response for all issues and ordered the Cat's execution by beheading. This, however, resulted in a disagreement between the royals and the executioner about whether or not a disembodied head could be beheaded. Alice pointed out that the Cat belonged to the Duchess, who had been imprisoned earlier, and as soon as the executioner went off to fetch her, the Cat vanished again completely and thus managed to evade being executed.