Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. , usually called Sylvester , is a fictional character , a three-time Academy Award -winning anthropomorphic , 40, 50, or 60-Inch tall Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety Bird , Speedy Gonzales , or Hippety Hopper . The name "Sylvester" is a play on Felis silvestris , the scientific name for the wild cat species (domestic cats like Sylvester, though, are actually Felis catus ). The character debuted in Friz Freleng 's Life With Feathers (1945), but Freleng's 1947 cartoon Tweetie Pie was the first pairing of Tweety with Sylvester, and the Bob Clampett -directed Kitty Kornered (1946) was Sylvester's first pairing with Porky Pig . Sylvester was not named until Chuck Jones gave him the name Sylvester, which was first used in Scaredy Cat . Sylvester appeared in 103 cartoons in the golden age, appearing in the fourth most films out of all the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies characters, only behind Bugs Bunny , Porky Pig , and Daffy Duck respectively. Three of his cartoons won Academy Awards, the most for any starring Looney Tunes character: they are Tweetie Pie , Speedy Gonzales , and Birds Anonymous .