As a cat lover I am gratified that the LITB folks decided to do a cat episode. Even though the episode as such is fairly bland, it's still worth a watch especially for cat fanciers. Beaver has attracted a strange feline - a fluffy, silver number named Bootsie who, it turns out, belongs to a lady named Mrs. Prentice. Mrs. Prentice comes to collect Bootsie, but Beaver unfortunately has been feeding him, and you know what that means! Sure enough, Bootsie soon returns for more handouts. How will Beaver shake his feline friend? The cat himself is photogenic and the sound mixers spliced in some effective meows here and there.
7 Reviews
The Bootsy & Archie Show
vitoscotti4 July 2021
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly because the writers ran out of ideas
pensman24 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Ours was a dog neighborhood. Not only did people feed their own, we kids made sure every stray got a meal, to our parents dismay at times. But we would have fed a cat should one have ventured by. So Beaver actions would have been perfectly normal, as would have Ward's and June's.
When Beaver finds a cat on the stoop, he brings it right up to his bedroom. Why bother the parents. Wally figures someone will be looking for the cat, so Beaver shouldn't get too attached. And Wally's right, Mrs. Prentiss calls inquiring if anyone has seen her cat Bootsie. Ward informs Beaver the cat has an owner. Beaver and Wally each receive a dollar each as a reward. Ward says it's lucky Beaver didn't feed the cat (he did), because cats return if you do (it does). First time Bootsie got salmon; this time it's night, so it's milk. Worse, the cat spends the night sleeping next to Beaver.
Now we have to break the cat of the habit of returning; and make sure we don't break Beaver's heart; it's easy for a kid to get attached to an animal. Anyway, Beaver is returning the cat and he runs into Gilbert. Beaver gets a reward, again. He uses the money to get ice cream for himself and Gilbert. There is Bootsie again. How to discourage Bootsie? Borrow Gilbert's dog, Archie. And when Bootsie reappears, the dog barks and the cat runs off; then the dog gets a reward: a hamburger. Now Archie is back. But this time the writers took the easy way out: Beaver has a talk with Archie; Archie being a dog, listens and goes home. Problem solved.
When Beaver finds a cat on the stoop, he brings it right up to his bedroom. Why bother the parents. Wally figures someone will be looking for the cat, so Beaver shouldn't get too attached. And Wally's right, Mrs. Prentiss calls inquiring if anyone has seen her cat Bootsie. Ward informs Beaver the cat has an owner. Beaver and Wally each receive a dollar each as a reward. Ward says it's lucky Beaver didn't feed the cat (he did), because cats return if you do (it does). First time Bootsie got salmon; this time it's night, so it's milk. Worse, the cat spends the night sleeping next to Beaver.
Now we have to break the cat of the habit of returning; and make sure we don't break Beaver's heart; it's easy for a kid to get attached to an animal. Anyway, Beaver is returning the cat and he runs into Gilbert. Beaver gets a reward, again. He uses the money to get ice cream for himself and Gilbert. There is Bootsie again. How to discourage Bootsie? Borrow Gilbert's dog, Archie. And when Bootsie reappears, the dog barks and the cat runs off; then the dog gets a reward: a hamburger. Now Archie is back. But this time the writers took the easy way out: Beaver has a talk with Archie; Archie being a dog, listens and goes home. Problem solved.
Is there no loyalty among the pets of Mayfield?
AlsExGal28 April 2024
Beaver finds a very elegant looking long haired cat on his front porch when he comes home from school and brings it up to his room. It turns out the cat is named Bootsie and belongs to Mrs. Prentiss, a neighbor a few streets over who dotes on the cat. Before he returns home, Beaver feeds Bootsie some salmon. It is only after Bootsie returns home with his owner that Ward informs the boys that if you feed a cat it will always come back. And return it does, time after time, looking for another snack. In the meantime, everybody, including Mrs. Prentiss, seems to be tiring of the situation. How will this work out? Watch and find out.
This old story about a cat that's been fed returning may be true for strays, but I doubt it's true of cats that have homes. But even that would be an impossibility if the cat was kept inside most of the time. I guess times have changed and 65 years ago many people were less than one generation removed from life on a farm where cats and dogs commonly ran loose, but today it's a recipe for a short life for the pet if it's left outside.
I like how Beaver and Wally are portrayed as animal lovers in not only this episode but the series, always interested in the welfare of whatever animal crosses their paths.
This old story about a cat that's been fed returning may be true for strays, but I doubt it's true of cats that have homes. But even that would be an impossibility if the cat was kept inside most of the time. I guess times have changed and 65 years ago many people were less than one generation removed from life on a farm where cats and dogs commonly ran loose, but today it's a recipe for a short life for the pet if it's left outside.
I like how Beaver and Wally are portrayed as animal lovers in not only this episode but the series, always interested in the welfare of whatever animal crosses their paths.
WHY'D YOU PUT AN EMPTY MILK BOTTLE IN THE FRIDGE?
tcchelsey30 July 2023
I will always say the one-liners on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER were the absolute best. Also, as I got older, I began to watch Mr. And Mrs. Cleaver more than the Beave and Wally! The quips and the surprised looks between Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley were priceless. Behind the scenes, Hugh Beaumont was not always thrilled with his role, so when he looked baffled --he WAS baffled! Of course, he also directed many of the episodes... so what can you say?
This is another episode all of us kids at heart could relate to; the proverbial cat that wanders to your home and stays and stays. The cat is called Bootsy, which Beaver makes the big mistake of giving it too much TLC, and is rewarded with a life-long friendship. Now how to get rid of it? Bootsy also happens to have an owner, a senior named Mrs. Prentiss (played by Grace Wallis Huddle) who would appreciate her companion back.
Now what? Get a dog?
There's lots of memories here, and somewhere along the way it's happened to all of us. An interesting footnote is that Grace Huddle was actually a distinguished voice actress, and the mother of comedian Sue Ann Langdon. Huddle later taught at Texas A & M, among many other colleges, and may have been a voice teacher at Universal, which probably got her the role in the first place.
Also watch carefully; Beaver and Gilbert are talking on a street corner and a car races by them. Really fast! Typical California driver! The guy should have slowed down, ya think?? Where was the director? David Butler, whose career went back to the 1920s, and even directed Shirley Temple, missed that one by a mile!
SEASON 5 EPISODE 5 CBS dvd box set.
This is another episode all of us kids at heart could relate to; the proverbial cat that wanders to your home and stays and stays. The cat is called Bootsy, which Beaver makes the big mistake of giving it too much TLC, and is rewarded with a life-long friendship. Now how to get rid of it? Bootsy also happens to have an owner, a senior named Mrs. Prentiss (played by Grace Wallis Huddle) who would appreciate her companion back.
Now what? Get a dog?
There's lots of memories here, and somewhere along the way it's happened to all of us. An interesting footnote is that Grace Huddle was actually a distinguished voice actress, and the mother of comedian Sue Ann Langdon. Huddle later taught at Texas A & M, among many other colleges, and may have been a voice teacher at Universal, which probably got her the role in the first place.
Also watch carefully; Beaver and Gilbert are talking on a street corner and a car races by them. Really fast! Typical California driver! The guy should have slowed down, ya think?? Where was the director? David Butler, whose career went back to the 1920s, and even directed Shirley Temple, missed that one by a mile!
SEASON 5 EPISODE 5 CBS dvd box set.
Gilbert (!) to the rescue...
DeepHurting31 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This was a cute show. The cat... it's ginormous! It's also adorable. The plot's straightforward, but Grace Wallis Hubble, who plays the cat's older owner, is great and may be one of tv's earliest cat ladies.
I think one of the most remarkable things about this episode though is, for once, one of Beaver's friends (in this case Gilbert) doesn't do anything to cause him problems. Gilbert, in fact, acts like a friend, going with Beaver to return the cat and then lending Beaver his own dog to "discourage" the cat from returning to Beaver's house.
I have always suspected Stephen Talbot wanted to stay distanced from LITB as an adult because Gilbert was something of a junior rat (on the Eddie Haskell scale). He almost never had a bad idea that he couldn't pawn off on Beaver!
I think one of the most remarkable things about this episode though is, for once, one of Beaver's friends (in this case Gilbert) doesn't do anything to cause him problems. Gilbert, in fact, acts like a friend, going with Beaver to return the cat and then lending Beaver his own dog to "discourage" the cat from returning to Beaver's house.
I have always suspected Stephen Talbot wanted to stay distanced from LITB as an adult because Gilbert was something of a junior rat (on the Eddie Haskell scale). He almost never had a bad idea that he couldn't pawn off on Beaver!
Meow!
StrictlyConfidential27 December 2020
(*Ward to June quote*) - "Just because they're quiet doesn't mean they're up to something."
Beaver may not like girls, but he sure does like cats.
Bootsy is a beautiful Persian cat that Beaver brings into the house, secretly hoping to make this furry animal his own pet.
But, as expected, things don't go as Beaver had planned and Bootsy must be returned to her rightful owner (which is easier said than done).
Beaver may not like girls, but he sure does like cats.
Bootsy is a beautiful Persian cat that Beaver brings into the house, secretly hoping to make this furry animal his own pet.
But, as expected, things don't go as Beaver had planned and Bootsy must be returned to her rightful owner (which is easier said than done).
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