Catbert
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Catbert icon.gif Catbert is the "evil director" of human resources in the Dilbert comic strip. As with Ratbert, he was not a planned regular, originally introduced for a series involving an attack on Ratbert the optimist. When the two got home (and after Bob shows his stupidity by stomping on Ratbert's head instead of Catbert), Catbert rebooted Dilbert's computer. Dogbert eventually forced him to leave.
Readers of Dilbert enjoyed the character so much that they spontaneously named him "Catbert", encouraging creator Scott Adams to bring him back. He was reintroduced as the "evil director" of human resources, and in a parody of typical cat behavior he "plays" with his "prey", coming up with sadistic and illogical policies to enforce on the employees. He often works in tandem with the Pointy-Haired Boss.
Catbert officially entered the strip in March 1995, when Dogbert hired him to the company to handle "the downsizing". Indeed, downsizing is Catbert's greatest joy, and he has numerous binders on this subject (and one that says, "hire losers").
The character of Catbert might have been derived from (or accidentally debuted in) a 1994 strip, where Dogbert invited a hairless cat over to the house, then promptly sprayed him with Hair in a Can. The result was a cat that looked eerily similar to what Catbert looks like today.