The character did not originally have a permanent name; she was alternately referred to as "Penelope", "Fifi", and "Fabrette", and animator Chuck Jones' 1960 model sheet calls her "Le Cat".

[2] While the skunk had been used in several earlier cartoons since Odor-able Kitty (1945), the addition of his main love interest in For Scent-imental Reasons solidified his characterization and the structure of all further Pepé films.

In current Warner Bros. merchandise, Penelope and Pepé are portrayed as sharing a mutual attraction towards each other, whereas the Looney Tunes comic book series maintains their chasing relationship.

Carrotblanca featured her as the Ilsa analogue to Bugs Bunny's Rick, with Sylvester portraying her husband and Pepe being a minor pursuer.

Penelope Pussycat partly inspired the Tiny Toon Adventures character Furrball, a male cat who, in one episode, is chased by an amorous female skunk (Fifi La Fume) due to getting a white stripe painted down his back and tail.