Producer of the studio at the time, Edward Selzer, had suggested that Friz Frelelng not use Tweety but instead start using the little woodpecker from the earlier Sylvester solo cartoon "Peck Up You Troubles" (1945) as Sylvester's chief nemesis. Selzer was notorious for having no sense of humor or funny ideas, so Freleng decided that Tweety had to be the right character. However, aside from the tweety series, Sylvester was one of the most versatile characters in Warner Bros.

cartoons, starring in many other cartoons without Tweety. -Tweety keeps score of how many puddy tats he's outwitted (from "Tom Tom Tomcat", in which he and wild west settler Granny must defend themeselves against an army of Sylvester-like Indian wildcats!) Sylvester remained one of the studio's most useful characters, with a filmography rivaling that of Bugs Bunny and a costar list to match. The cat was paired with Tweety most often, but had other encounters with characters such as Speedy Gonzales, Spike and Chester, Porky Pig, Hippety Hopper, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, and Wile E.

Coyote. Sylvester was used not only by his creator, Freleng, but also by Bob Clampett in "Kitty Kornered", Arthur Davis, for the cartoons "Doggone Cats" and "A Hick, A Slick, and a Chick", Chuck Jones in "Scaredy Cat", "Claws for Alarm" and others, and Robert McKimson, who created Hippety Hopper and Sylvester Junior and directed many Speedy Gonzales cartoons starring the lisping cat. Here is a Looney Tunes character that has become forgotten in recent years. Sylvester's annoying little son, Sylvester Junior, is often seen in the classic shorts hunting mice with his father, only to be embarrassed and forced to put a paper bag over his head, with the line "Oh, the shame of it all!" -The ever-faithful (and ever-griping) son of Sylvester, Sylvester Junior. Junior was created by Robert McKimson, for the cartoon "Pop 'Im, Pop!" . This cartoon was one in a long-running series of cartoons featuring the kangaroo Hippety Hopper, whom Sylvester always mistakes for a giant mouse.

Sylvester would often meet Hippety solo, without Junior, however the chemistry always worked better when Junior was added. In several cartoons, such as "Birds of a Father" and "Goldimouse and the Three Cats", (the latter of which was the only Junior cartoon directed by Friz Freleng) the father/son team were without Hippety. These are overlooked masterpieces, and thought by LT fans to be far superior to the Hippety Hopper series. When McKimson created Junior, he looked at the designs of Sylvester used by his unit, and decided that Junior should not look like a child, but be a scaled-down version of his father, identical except for size. The personality was a parody of radio, movie and later TV comedies involving fathers and sons, (mainly "Father Knows Best") most all of which were extremely wordy, sappy and corny.. Usually, the father was idolized by the son, as in the cartoons. Sylvester seemed to fit perfectly into that picture, creating the perfect dysfunctional father-and-son team. Chuck Jones directed Sylvester in four cartoons in the classic era. All but one focused on the concept of Sylvester as Porky Pig's pet cat, and noticing dangerous situations which Porky Pig is completely oblivious to. In "Scaredy Cat" (1948), Porky rents an abandoned mansion, which turns out to be infested with Hubie and Bertie (Chuck Jones' mouse team usually seen with Claude Cat) and other mice, all trying to murder the cat and pig.

Jones directed Sylvester as the evil Duke in "The Scarlet Pumpernickle" (1950), a parody of "The Scarlet Pimpernel" starring Daffy Duck. The "murderous mice" plot continued in 1954, in "Claws For Alarm". In this cartoon, Porky decides to stay in the "Dry Gulch Hotel", not realizing that it is a condemned inn in a middle-of-nowhere ghost town. The next year, Jones directed one final Porky and Sylvester cartoon, 1955's "Jumpin' Jupiter", in which a birdlike Martian from Marvin Martian's army lands in Porky's campground. Sylvester also was Speedy Gonzales' chief nemesis.. Before the Warner Animation department's closing in 1964, Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson directed the entire Speedy Gonzales series, and both directors employed Sylvester very often.

The cat's cunning evil streak and sneaky tendencies would serve him well in this series, but Speedy Gonzales always stayed one step ahead of him . -from "Here Today, Gone Tamale" (1959). Sylvester's final appearance alongside Tweety was 1964's "Hawaiian Aye Aye", the only Sylvester and Tweety teamup to be directed by Gerry Chiniquy. All previous cartoons in the series had been directed by Friz Freleng. After this cartoon, Tweety was never used again in a theatrical cartoon. The Warner Brothers cartoon department closed and reopened as DePatie/Freleng Enterprises in late 1964, and the studio was best known for the series of "Pink Panther" movie titles and cartoon series. Sylvester was used for a while in a series of limited-animation shorts, all involving Speedy Gonzales. Sylvester's final appearance in a theatrical cartoon was McKimson's "A Taste Of Catnip" (1966), in which Daffy Duck, living near a catnip factory, suddenly gets the urge to chase Speedy Gonzales.

When he decides to eliminate the problem by blowing up the factory, Sylvester and other cats attack him. This was one of many Daffy and Speedy teamups, each one with a different reason for a duck to chase a mouse. Sylvester was then never used again until the 1969 closing of the studio, presumably due to the limited theatrical market, with the favorite characters of that market being Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales. Sylvester later starred in "The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries", a half-hour series on the WB network from 1996 to 1999. This series was, unfortunately, not very funny, but featured cameos by countless lesser-known Looney Tunes characters, and very creative background designs patterned after the late 1950's shorts with UPA-influenced, abstract scenery. Joe Alaskey replaced the late Mel Blanc as the voice of Tweety and Sylvester, and June Foray returned as the original voice of Granny.

Also in 1996, Sylvester, Tweety, and Hippety Hopper appeared in the movie "Space Jam", a live action and animation basketball adventure starring Michael Jordan. Sylvester also became a regular in commercials after this time, appearing in a series of Space-Jam themed ads with Jordan "keeping in touch" with his cartoon pals. Sylvester's role in a Miracle Whip mayonainse commercial even got him nominated for an animation award in 2000. Most of the Sylvester and Tweety classic shorts have been airing on Television since the 1960's, and since the 1980's have made up the majority of the content of ABC's "The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show." Sylvester cartoons have aired on many networks and cable channels, including CBS, ABC, TNT, TBS, Nickelodeon, the WB, and Cartoon Network.

However, in fall 2000 ABC gave up the rights to air the "Bugs and Tweety" show, which is the last non-cable package of Warner Brothers cartoons on US television. By 2001, all Warner Brothers classic animation became the exclusive property of the Cartoon Network, Sylvester included. Viewers who get CN and did not receive the "Bugs and Tweety Show" (It was often carried at ridiculous hours or pre-empted by Disney or football programming) can rejoice, as an entirely new selection of cartoons, many of them starring Sylvester, Tweety, and Sylvester Jr., will become available for viewing. Cartoon TV packages and series die, but the Looney Tunes cartoons have proven again and again that enduring characters like Sylvester (and Bugs and Tweety and Elmer and Daffy and Wile E.,and Foghorn Leghorn and many others) don't. Sylvester is possibly the most diverse cartoon character ever created.