[3] In contrast with their source material, the Jellicles in Cats possess many kinds of coat-patterns, diverse personalities, and individual talents.
Many of the ensemble characters were created by the original 1981 London cast through extensive improvisation sessions held during the rehearsal process.
[2] Musical theatre scholar Vagelis Siropoulos noted that the level of detail given to each character was crucial in fleshing out the fantasy world of Cats, with even the minor cats having established personalities, relationships, and hierarchies within the tribe.
Since 2014, the refrain of “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats” from the musical cast recording has been a running gag on the animated series BoJack Horseman; the refrain plays on a loop as the “on hold” music for anthropomorphic cat Princess Carolyn.
[7] Madame Tussauds New York displays wax figures of some of the musical's Jellicle cats since 2019, including Grizabella who performs the show's theme song.