The Simpsons: How Every Snowball The Cat Was Killed

In The Simpsons, the loss of the family cat Snowball has been a long-running joke. Four Snowballs, including one also known as “Coltrane,” have died in the long-running series, and each cat has been replaced to complete the Simpsons family.

Snowball is mentioned in the very first episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” and has been a fixture of The Simpsons ever since, albeit through a series of different cats with the same name. The first Snowball is a white Persian cat, shown mostly in flashbacks until the second Snowball comes on the scene.

Snowball runs through many iterations until the Crazy Cat Lady gives Lisa a cat after Coltrane dies. The cat looks exactly like Snowball II, so though the cat is technically number five in the line-up, Lisa names the black Persian cat in honor of her second cat – and possibly to save a little money by not having to purchase a new food dish.

Snowball I: Chrysler Car

When Marge mentions Snowball in the first episode, she is already dead, having been run over by a Chrysler car. It is later revealed that Snowball was run over by the drunk brother of Mayor Quimby, Clovis. Her grave has changed locations, first seen in the Springfield Pet Cemetery but then shown in the Simpsons’ backyard. Snowball I is a white Persian cat with green eyes that has occasionally been shown as black like Snowball II.

Snowball I not only appears in flashbacks, but in the afterlife, popping up in about seventeen episodes as well as fanfiction. Sideshow Bob uses her name to commit voter fraud when he runs for mayor, and Lisa scolds him. Several characters including Bart see Snowball I in flashback sequences, despite Lisa’s Sunday school teacher telling her that cats cannot go to heaven.

Snowball II: Dr. Hibbert’s Hummer

Lisa gets Snowball II in “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” Though the cat doesn’t like Homer, she heroically saves him from a burning treehouse when Santa’s Little Helper the dog is unavailable. Snowball II is around for a while, finally perishing in season fifteen when Dr. Hibbert runs her over immediately after running over Bart’s bicycle.

The family has a funeral for Snowball wherein Bart makes a crack about Lisa outliving her pet, Homer nods to Santa’s Little Helper to cover the grave, and Marge has a flashback to the death of her guinea pig Cinnamon: “It should have been me that chewed through that extension cord!“

Snowball III: Aquarium Miscalculation

Snowball III first appears in the season fifteen episode, “I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot,” as the Simpsons attempt to replace Snowball II. Marge reads in a book When Bad Things Happen to Cute Children that “a new pet will pull you out of your sorrow cycle.” Lisa is doubtful, saying she’s not ready and that the book doesn’t know how she feels. Marge insists that the book must be wise because it is written by a surfing rabbi, and Lisa finds a brown cat that suits her fancy. Lisa leaves the room to get him his first serving of cat food and the cat goes to catch a fish, drowning.

Snowball IV/Coltrane: Saxophone Scare

The third cat to appear in “I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot,” Snowball IV is dubbed Coltrane at the shelter, and Lisa likes the name. She brings him home and plays him some jazz music by his namesake, and the cat immediately leaps out of the window to his tragic death. The final cat funeral in The Simpsons is even shorter this time around, and attended by Lisa and Marge. Marge scolds God, saying that she won’t be making any more lemon bars for Sunday service if he keeps killing off the Simpsons’ cats.

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