Don't call him Tom Cat. The proper name is Tom the All American Cat. This distinguishes him from other, less American cats.

I’m guessing Tom was neutered, too, given how he clears that hurdle.

This must have really inrigued the children at the drug store. Who didn’t want to read about the adventures of a generic cat and his friend, the corpulent pig whose feelings are so unimportant Tom can run past him, arms wide to accept the accolades of the crowd, rubbing little Fatso’s snout in his own unpopularity? (The pig kills Tom in the third story, and we learn he is a Russian Communist.)