CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery

CatDog and The Great Parent Mystery
Episode	Season 4, Episode 1
Airdate	November 25, 2000
Previous Episode	Back to School
Next Episode	Harasslin' Match

CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery is the three-part premiere episode of Season 4. In the episode, CatDog are on a quest to find their parents.

Characters

• CatDog
• Mom
• Dad
• Cliff
• Shriek
• Lube
• Hound Dog McDog
• Pussy Catfield
• Winslow
• Rancid Rabbit
• Randolph Grant
• Mr. Sunshine
• Lola Caricola
• Eddie the Squirrel
• Aliens
• Bessie the Lake Monster
• Mr. Sunshine's Dad
• Rancid's Dad
• Randolph's Dad
• Shriek's Mom
• Shriek's Dad
• Lola's Mom
• Elly Mae Sue
• Zeke
• Zem

Plot

Part 1

It's the big Parents' Day celebration in Nearburg, but Cat and Dog are left out because they don't have any parents, so they watch from a fence. Dog remembers the wonderful times they had with their Mom and Dad but Cat tells him that the only thing he can remember is that they've been on their own and it's been that way since then. Dog tells Cat that the day that they will reunite with their parents has finally come, but Cat tells him that they will never find them. After they got home, Dog told Cat to not be upset because Parents' Day happens every year. Then Dog plays some keys on a piano which leads to his Parents' Theory Room where he stored some balloons that he took from the Parents' Day celebrations. Dog told Cat that their parents have tried looking for them but they encountered many perils which stopped them from doing so, however, Cat says that they don't care about them anymore, but Dog was still adamant that they do care about them and that they will go looking for them. Later that night, Cat secretly enters a secret room under their bed containing his blankie and pacifier, the only mementos he has of their parents. Cat says to himself that they might be looking for them, but then he says he's kidding himself and goes back to sleep.

The next morning, there is a news bulletin saying that Old Uppenchuck is due to erupt in the next 24 hours. Winslow remarks that the last time Old Uppenchuck erupted was when CatDog came to Nearburg, and then there is a flashback of the day when Winslow first met CatDog, and then Winslow said that it was the best day of his life. Cat asked Winslow why he never told them in the first place, then Winslow said that they never asked him to begin with. Cat ponders this and deduces that he and Dog were from Yonderland, a vast wasteland where Old Uppenchuck is. The minute he mentions that, Dog asks if they're going there to look for their parents and then Cat agrees to go looking for their parents for his sake. As they are driving, Cat explains to Dog that they aren't stopping for anything until they get there. Meanwhile, Winslow has the house all to himself and when the Greaser Dogs show up, Winslow told them that CatDog wasn't home and that they went to Yonderland to look for their parents.

Back with CatDog, Dog annoys Cat with sock puppet versions of their parents. Afterward, Dog tells Cat he needs to use the bathroom and then they stop at a rest area and then encounter aliens returning everyone they ever abducted, but then get abducted themselves and get locked in the ship Cat tries desperately to open it but it was no use suddenly Aliens come to the hallway and CatDog were forced to hide in the hole in the hallway CatDog sees a light of their parents' shadows and races down the hallway they saw some people who got abducted unfortunately the get caught by the aliens. CatDog run to the control room and blasted off into space, and because of Dog's stupidity he fools around with the controls witch causes the ship to go out of control the aliens got scared and head to the escape pod, Winslow shows up but are dragged by the aliens thinking it's a "Earth Creature Trick" CatDog got shot back to Earth and The Greaser Dogs See CatDog upside down and Crashes. However, they narrowly escape into a frozen lake, where they encounter Bessie the Lake Monster who is about to gobble up CatDog and eat them.

Part 2

And as they're being digested, Cat comes up with a plan to escape by making a hairball and succeeded. As they escaped, the Greaser Dogs attempt to pursue them but are gobbled up by the monster. As CatDog lands, their fur returns and they landed on a very sharp rock. Dog sniffs around looking for signs that their mother and father may have been there and then Cat, having been getting tired of Dog's theories and detours, tells him that they are going straight to Yonderland, until they come upon a sign for the town of Yokelburg, home of two happy hillbilly clans, the McDogs (a clan of dogs) and the Catfields (a clan of cats), who are celebrating 50 years of peace between each other.

CatDog then thinks that Hound Dog McDog and Pussycat Catfield are their parents, but it turns out that they‘re actually the parents of Lube. However, during the celebrations Cat drinks some moonshine and burps in front of Pussycat Catfield's daughter. Unfortunately for Cat, the custom in Yokelburg is when you burp in a lady's face, that means you want to marry her. Cat refuses to marry her, and that instigates a feud between the Catfields and McDogs. 

Part 3

The Catfields and McDogs were about to begin their feud and the Greaser Dogs watch from the McDogs' side, and CatDog blame each other for the feud. The fighting continues until both the Catfields and McDogs run out of ammo to use against each other, forcing both sides to engage in close combat until the entire town ends up a wreck because of the excess weight on CatDog, who escape on a log. Meanwhile, the Catfields and McDogs continue to blame each other for the destruction their town, but then Cliff tells them that CatDog is to blame for their feuding. Meanwhile, back with CatDog, they are on a raging river and then they get down a waterfall  

CatDog finally arrive at Yonderland, where Dog goes running looking for their parents, but is sad and disappointed in not finding them. After a well deserved lecture from Cat, Dog finally agrees that looking for their parents was stupid, dumb and silly, and that he wishes he was more like Cat, but then Cat said that he wishes he was more like Dog because Dog was determined to find their parents and never gave up hope looking for them. CatDog are suddenly caught in a small earthquake, but are rescued by a large, teal, four-eyed monster, who takes them into a cave and says Dog's catchphrase, and Dog immediately recognizes her as their long-lost mother, but Cat yells out she has four eyes. The middle pair of eyes reveals itself to be a small, green frog with a very large nose and CatDog's father. Dog hugs their father, but Cat points out that they are not a CatDog, but this was because they are actually their adopted parents. Then, they flash back to the wonderful times they had together, culminating in that horrific day when they got separated from them in a powerful vortex. Then CatDog's mother 

Cat and Dog reunite with their Sasquatch mother and frog father.

explains that they were looking for them ever since then, and then CatDog's father proves that most of the theories that Dog had mentioned in the previous episodes were true. Cat and their father then recognize each other and hug, and then Cat shows the other half of their pacifier and Cat starts to cry, and then they embrace with their mother when Winslow shows up and gets startled by CatDog's parents and CatDog's mother gets startled by Winslow and accidentally squishes their father and then Dog introduces Winslow to their mother and father, and then when Winslow is sad because CatDog won't be around anymore, Dog offers to let him stay with them, but he refuses and tells him that the Greaser Dogs, the McDogs and the Catfields have come to pound them and manage to back them into a corner. Cat has no choice but to overcome his fears. CatDog's Dad is ready to fight the Greaser Dogs, Catfields and McDogs until Cat tells Dog to scare them to back up just so them and their parents are safe. Just then, a vortex just like the one that separated CatDog from their parents appears. Cat ties himself and Dog to their parents and then they escape in the vortex back to Nearburg. The Greaser Dogs, Catfields and McDogs afterwards are swallowed by Bessie. The episode ends with CatDog and their parents celebrating their own Parents' Day and their new lives in Nearburg.

Trivia

• The Catfields and McDogs are a reference to the Hatfields and McCoys, two real-life hillbilly clans that feuded in the 19th century.
• Old Uppenchuck is a reference to Old Faithful, a geyser in Wyoming.
• The episode features two guest stars: Jane Krakowski and Billy Bob Thornton as CatDog's parents.
• It’s also known as The Great Foster Parent Mystery by developers.
• The episode changed a lot during its development and is the longest CatDog project produced.
• During the Parents Day celebration, The Butt Buster roller coaster from "Remain Seated" is seen.
• While many people consider this episode the show's finale, it actually isn't as ten more episodes aired after this before the series ended, including an episode where CatDog's parents come to visit.
• Error: When CatDog finally meet their parents and Dog reaches up to his dad to hug him, Dog's arms are the same colors as their mom's.

Transcript

For a full transcript of CatDog and The Great Parent Mystery, click here.