Stimpy J. Cat

Stimpson J. Cat or Stimpy for short, is one of the two titular protagonists of The Ren & Stimpy Show. He is a fat, red and white, rotund Manx cat, with a blue nose, purple eyelids, no tail, human-style buttocks, flat feet and a brain size of a peanut (despite some intelligence, such as cooking and inventing; he is also a talented musician), Stimpy is idiotically yet adorably cheerful and completely devoted to Ren Höek, as he is, to him at least, a good friend. However, Ren abuses Stimpy constantly with both physical and verbal abuse. His trademark facial expression is a blissfully ignorant smile with tongue flopping out.

Stimpy is named after an art school classmate of Kricfalusi, whose nickname was "Stimpy Kadogan" (the classmate appeared in one episode as the wrestler "Killer Kadogan", and in the "Craftwork Corner" segment at the end of "A Scooter for Yaksmas", Stimpy is actually referred to by this name). He was voiced by Billy West in the original series, the albums, and Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots, but has also been voiced by Eric Bauza in the Adult Party Cartoon episodes and Nicktoons MLB.

Sexuality
From its start, there were hints at the characters' sexuality. During the Spümcø years of the show on Nickelodeon, a running gag would have Ren and Stimpy engaging in something intimate (such as Stimpy bathing Ren during the episode "Nurse Stimpy"), with Stimpy assuring Ren that "no one will know" about the private and rather embarrassing encounter, only to pan towards a window in the room and showing several characters (including Mr. Horse) witnessing the event. The episode "Svën Höek" shows Stimpy having a romantic affair with Ren's cousin Svën, including an intimate "private" moment in Stimpy's litterbox and scrawling "Svën ♥ Stimpy" all over the walls. This was dropped after Spümcø was fired from the show.

Kricfalusi discussed the sexuality of the characters in a January 28, 1997 interview with the San Francisco Examiner, confirming their sexuality, saying: "Totally. In Ren's case, it's not completely by choice. He'd rather have a beautiful human woman if he could get away with it. Since he can't, Stimpy's easy. Stimpy's madly in love with Ren."[9]

Jeffery P. Dennis said in the journal article "The Same Thing We Do Every Night: Signifying Same-Sex Desire in Television Cartoons" that Ren and Stimpy are within a world where "gay identities cannot exist," so the series portrays same-sex romantic desire as "anomalous and perverse." Dennis added that the critics of the series "made much" of the gay connotations of Ren and Stimpy, such as their sharing of a house and bed, their reminiscing of a wedding, and Stimpy's "giving birth" to flatulence.[10]:135 Dennis said that Ren is "socially and sexually" the aggressor in the relationship; in addition he says that some episodes portray Stimpy as "a stereotypical 1950s wife" who cleans, cooks food, and irons Ren's underwear. Dennis stated that the aspects "may adhere to a reading of a sexual relationship." Dennis concludes that the relationship between Ren and Stimpy is a parody of heterosexual relationships rather than an actual gay or an actual romantic relationship. Dennis adds that in other situations Ren and Stimpy are "read more appropriately" as coworkers, enemies, friends, and house pets. Dennis argues that Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo are more consistently gay than Ren and Stimpy.[10] Dennis also stated that the scenes of Ren and Stimpy as a couple emulate a heterosexual couple instead of being a union between two men.[10]:136

In a response to Dennis' statements, Martin Goodman of Animation World Network said that Kricfalusi had outed Ren and Stimpy as gay and adds that while the Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" had not yet been released and therefore Ren and Stimpy had not been explicitly portrayed as gay, Ren and Stimpy would qualify as a consistently gay couple since they share a bed, live as partners, discuss a planned wedding, and had a "child," with the child being flatulence.