Pussycat

Pussycat was an unusual "pyramid" shaped robot with four wheels at the bottom and a cutting four-toothed (sometimes two and eight) blade at the top. The robot was given its name due to its ability to always land on its feet. Pussycat could drive any way up: often it would enter the arena upright, then flip down horizontally to bring the blade into action. Pussycat competed in Series 3, 4, 5, and 7 plus both series of Extreme of Robot Wars. "The Erazer!"

- On the side of Extreme 1 Pussycat, next to a crossed out picture of Razer

The Pussycat robot is also notably the only robot that truly defeated Razer by KO, and has also won all three of the major side competitions in the UK Series; an Annihilator, a Tag Team Terror and an All-Stars Tournament. Pussycat also briefly competed in the American version of Robot Wars - Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors - where it won the War of Independence event. Ironically, if you count the fact that Pussycat did not win the sumo, the cat did use up its nine lives.

There were three Pussycat chassis; one for Series 3, 4 and 5. The Series 3 and 4 chassis now reside, alongside both Bodyhammers, in Alan Gribble's garden workshop, stripped of motors and wheels. The Series 5 chassis was largely upgraded for Series 7, but little change was actually that noticable, excluding the steel bodywork. Like many Robot Wars competitors, the team entered Techno Games. They entered a weaponless Pussycat in the football in the team known as "Pink Pants", but lost to Typhoon Rover.

Unfortunately, David Gribble, the original driver of Pussycat died in a motorcycle accident between the filming of Series 5 and 6, this being the main reason for their Series 6 absence and a large change of team members.

Sadly, like the team's other robots (Katnip and Kitty), Pussycat has retired from full-on competitive combat but still appears in certain live events around the UK fighting in demonstration battles and fun events. Stuart Barnwell also operates the Roaming Robots website under the name Mr. Stu.

Appearances in Merchandise

 * Pussycat/Pullback
 * Pussycat/Minibot

Series 3
Pussycat's first appearance was in this wars, after Team Cold Fusion retired Bodyhammer. It started a very promising run, pitting Hammerhead convincingly, and was put against the previous year's runner-up, Cassius 2. Cassius 2 started quickly and smashed into Pussycat, knocking it over. Pussycat attacked and bounced over Cassius 2, Cassius 2 then used its long spike, knocking Pussycat over a short distance. Lining Pussycat up with the pit, Cassius reversed strongly, but Pussycat drove out of the way and Cassius fell in the pit itself. The huge shock put Pussycat through to the heat final against Scutter's Revenge. This was a controversial battle. Scutter's Revenge pushed Pussycat into the wall, before it was driven over by Pussycat. Pussycat then hit the arena wall and its blade shattered. Scutter's Revenge were then immobilised and attacked by the house robots. Pussycat was declared the winner of the battle, but due to the rules stating that "hardened blades that may shatter are prohibited", Pussycat was disqualified, and Scutter's Revenge was through to the Semi-Finals instead. "Gutted!! That is the only way to describe it. I think the decision was harsh. Nobody was hurt, we gained no advantage from using the blade and in the end we beat Scutter's Revenge without a weapon at all. Ya Boo Sucks!"

- Alan Gribble in answer to the disqualification from Series 3

Series 4
As number 19 seed, a new Pussycat returned, equipped with a new blade. It began its redemption by facing off Reptirron and Milly-Ann Bug in the melee. Pussycat smashed into Reptirron twice, and managed to sever Reptirron's fuel line to its circular saw. Fuel was leaking out of Reptirron and it was set on fire by Sgt Bash. Pussycat then attacked Milly-Ann Bug, and ripped off one of the hubcaps, while the new Refbot extinguished burning Reptirron. In the next round Pussycat met Robochicken and, after weathering some attacks from the flipper, Pussycat cut one of Robochicken's eyes off, and ripped off some of its armour. Pussycat rammed Robochicken into the wall and attacked it from behind, while Sir Killalot attacked the front. It then met the World Champions, Razer, in the Heat Final. When the battle started, the two robots hit each other and Pussycat escaped Razer's grip. One of Razer's components then got damaged, leaving it stuck in forward drive and wedged against the arena wall. Pussycat then attacked the rear of Razer, ripping its rear half apart. In the meantime Ian Lewis, Razer's driver, had turned his back on the battle in disgust. Shunt attacked Razer, and Dead Metal put it into the pit. Pussycat met the lobster Thermidor 2 in the first round of the Semi-Finals. Thermidor 2 flipped Pussycat many times at the start of the battle, tossing it into the air. It also managed to avoid the invertible Pussycat's blade. However, Pussycat recovered and attacked, slicing through the top armour of Thermidor 2. It chased Thermidor 2 at the end and attacked the rear, before the judges' decision put Pussycat through. Next they faced another promising newcomer, Dominator 2. Pussycat attacked Dominator 2's weakness - its wheels. Dominator 2 then chased Pussycat, but its wheels were attacked again. Dominator 2 then attacked with its axe and pushed Pussycat into Matilda's CPZ. Pussycat then rammed into Dominator 2's side and the unseeded robot's body shell started to come off. Once again, the judges decided on the winner, putting Pussycat into the Grand Final. Pussycat now faced off against the most destructive robot in the series and the previous runner-up, Hypno-Disc. Pussycat drove into Hypno-Disc's rear and put a dent in one of its wheel guards. This stopped the wheel from moving properly, causing Hypno-Disc severe control problems. Pussycat pushed it into Shunt's CPZ, although Pussycat made contact with the disc in the process, bending the blade of the Team Cold Fusion machine and stopping it from working. Shunt slammed its axe down into Hypno-Disc's disc. The momentum of the disc smashed Shunt's axe into the chassis of Hypno-Disc underneath the disc, disabling a gearbox and immobilising the right-hand side of Hypno-Disc, before it was picked up and dumped in the Pit by Sir Killalot. The severe damage caused to Hypno Disc meant that it could not take part in the third-place playoff. In the Grand Final, Pussycat had repaired their blade and met their biggest challenge yet; the reigning champions Chaos 2. Pussycat drove into Chaos 2's side, and the champions used its flipper. It dodged Pussycat and flipped Pussycat onto its side. Chaos 2 tossed Pussycat around the arena, until Pussycat retaliated by driving into the top seed's front and rear, ripping the rear cover off. Chaos 2 seemed to be going slowly at the end, but Pussycat was also having grip problems and got stuck on its side. Chaos 2 nearly flipped Pussycat out of the arena at the end, but cease was called and the judges decided the winner, declaring Chaos 2 as champion once again, and Pussycat as the runner-up.

The team entered the Celebrity Special with Eastenders actor Adam Woodyatt. In round 1 Pussycat faced Iron Awe, who was being controlled by fellow Eastenders actress Natalie Cassidy. Pussycat had problems as its blade did not spin throughout the entire first round battle. It drove towards Iron Awe, who tried to hit Team Cold Fusion's machine with its axe, but missed twice. Pussycat attacked Iron Awe's front and was hit by the axe, but sustained no damage. After avoiding more axe blows, Pussycat rammed Iron Awe into the Arena Wall, knocking off Natalie Cassidy's number plate in the process. Iron Awe sat motionless as Dead Metal tried to slice into it with its saw, before Iron Awe started moving again. Iron Awe drove into Matilda whose tusks lifted it up, before Pussycat charged into Iron Awe's underbelly causing it to tip over onto its side. The Grimm family's machine tried to self-right, but its axe pushed against Pussycat causing Iron Awe to move over the Flame Pit. Sir Killalot then cut Iron Awe's axe head off, before picking it up and dropping it in the pit. Natalie Cassidy decided to join the Pussycat team for the rest of the tournament and they faced Sir Chromalot and Shane Lynch in the second round. Pussycat's blade was working this time and it attacked Sir Chromalot, ripping its drills off. Pussycat kept using its blade to cause scratches and dents in Sir Chromalot's shell until it became immobilised over the flame pit. Sir Chromalot was then flipped over by Sir Killalot, who started cutting into its self-righting arms along with Sergeant Bash. Sir Chromalot was thrown by the Floor Flipper and dumped into the Pit. Pussycat advanced to the final, where it faced Vic Reeves and Diotoir. Pussycat's first onslaught on Diotoir caused fur to wrap around its blade and immobilise it. Pussycat tried to use an Arena flame to burn the fur off, but its blade still wouldn't spin. Pussycat still managed to push Diotoir around, who was beginning to lose mobility. Diotoir was then attacked by the House Robots, thrown by the Floor Flipper and pushed into the Pit, leaving Pussycat to be crowned Champion of the Celebrity Special.

Extreme 1
Pussycat competed in six separate events during Extreme Series 1, more than any other robot. Like several other robots, such as Behemoth, X-Terminator and Napalm, two different models were used - The Series 5 model (in the Vengeance, Annihilator and Challenge Belt) and a slightly slimmer model with a two toothed blade (Mayhem, All-Stars and Tag Team Terror).

Its first appearance was in a Mayhem with S.M.I.D.S.Y. and Sumpthing, the latter being a robot Team Cold Fusion had always wanted to fight. Pussycat was able to cause significant damage to both robots, damaging S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s drive and Sumpthing's weapon chain and won on a judges decision after pitting S.M.I.D.S.Y., putting it through to the annihilator later in the series.

Pussycat's next appearance was in a Vengeance battle against Razer, after it had been severely damaged by the pyramid shaped robot in Series 4 after it had broken down. The battle started with Razer easily piercing Pussycat and carrying it over the flame pit. Pussycat, however, fell off and attacked Razer's side twice, the second of which took out a wheel, rendering Razer immobile. Pussycat activated the pit and continued to attack Razer, just like in Series 4, although it caused less damage this time, before Shunt finally pitted the beaten Razer.

In the Annihilator that Pussycat had earlier qualified for, it found itself up against two robots it had beaten in Series 4 - Thermidor 2 and Hypno-Disc, it was also up against Arnold A. Terminegger, Splinter and X-Terminator. It largely stayed out of the action for the first two rounds, but started to show more activity in the third round, when it pushed Hypno-Disc down the pit (although not without being pushed in itself by Splinter). In the fourth round, Pussycat was bullied by both Splinter and Arnold A. Terminegger, but came through getting behind Splinter and cutting its aerial off, although the bolt that held the blade on had started to unscrew. Arnold A. then pushed Pussycat onto its side, and its blade eventually came off. Luckily, Pussycat had already qualified and met Arnold A. in the final. A long, drawn out battle ensured, with neither robot really able to cause much damage to the other. However, as the fight drew on, Pussycat was able to get a few slices in with its blade, and Arnold A. seemed to lose mobility. The battle went to the judges decision and Pussycat was given the victory on damage.

Being runner-up in the last UK series, Pussycat competed in the All-Stars and found itself against the 3rd placing Stinger. The battle started evenly, with both robots trading blows. Eventually, Pussycat struck Stinger's tyre, ripping out some protective foam. Pussycat continued to land attacks on Stinger's tyres, tearing out more foam, but was unable to immobilise Stinger. Nevertheless, it won the judges decision, and went through to meet Tornado. Instantly, Tornado pushed it into the arena wall, ripping bits of polycarbonate off. Pussycat was then pushed onto the side grinders, which managed to rip a wheel off. This left Pussycat at a severe disadvantage for the rest of the competition and it was pushed all around the arena and into the CPZs before being pushed onto its side, where it was unable to get back up due to a tyre being dislodged. Unable to move, Pussycat was pushed onto the flame pit. It managed the consolation of forcing Sir Killalot to be set alight, but still lost.

The next appearance of Pussycat was in an event it had not intended to enter - the Tag Team Terror. Diotoir and Mega Morg were due to face Comengetorix and Spawn Again, but Mega Morg broke down irrepairably before the fight started, so Pussycat was bought in as a substitute partner. It started off against Spawn Again and ran into trouble after being pushed into Matilda's CPZ. It managed to come back strongly, attacking both Comengetorix and Spawn Again before the latter broke down and was pitted. This put the two into the final against The Steel Avenger and Suicidal Tendencies. This ended up as two one-on-one battles, with Pussycat fighting Suicidal Tendencies and Diotoir fighting Steel Avenger all the way through. Although Suicidal Tendencies was able to crush into Pussycat's armour several times, the judges felt that throughout the whole battle, Diotoir and Pussycat had been the more dominant, and awarded them victory on a very close judges decision.

Pussycat made one last appearance in Extreme, to take on Tornado again, this time for the Challenge Belt. Although it stayed largely in one piece this time, it was still pushed around the arena and into Matilda's CPZ. It eventually lost drive close to the pit, which allowed Tornado to push it in.

Series 5
The second seed Pussycat used its destructive capabilities to wear newcomers The Executioner down, slicing off the weapon tip and pushing it into the pit. It then caused major damage to Clawed Hopper, burying its blade in the side spinning drums and breaking them off. The glory of being the first main competition walker to pass round one wore off as Clawed Hopper fell to pieces at the cease. In the Heat Final, it was a major scare for the 2nd seed, as Fluffy ripped off Pussycat's blade and castor leaving the robot with impaired mobility and no weapon. Pussycat was on the ropes and close enough to taste defeat when its opponent conked out, Fluffy was counted out and Pussycat was sent narrowly through to the Semi-Finals.

Pussycat savaged Panic Attack in the first round of the Semi-Finals with much less difficulty, with the Welsh former champs unable to return any damage. Pussycat slashed at its fork mechanism, before crumpling one of its side skirts and winning on a judges decision. Pussycat faced Firestorm 3 in the next round. Firestorm continually got underneath Pussycat's massive ground clearance and threw it around the arena for the majority of the fight. Pussycat started to come back in the dying seconds of the fight and cause minor damage to Firestorm but it was too little, too late and it lost on a judges decision.

This was the final series David Gribble drove the robot before his untimely death.

Extreme 2
This was the first appearance of Pussycat since the death of David Gribble. Pussycat and Diotoir didn't put up much of a defence of their Tag Team Title. They were up against Bulldog Breed and Robochicken in Round 1. Pussycat was flipped out of the arena almost instantly by Bulldog Breed, who then flipped Diotoir over, who was then counted out by Refbot, attacked by Matilda and burnt on the flame pit.

Pussycat redeemed itself slightly in the Iron Maidens, with Ann Gribble at the controls. It played a minor role in the first battle, hooking Chompalot with its blade and dragging it around, before slicing Spin Doctor slightly. It was then attacked by Chompalot, who nudged it onto its side, before biting it and dragging it around. Breaking free, Pussycat darted around the arena, before slamming the immobile Spin Doctor repeatedly. With Spin Doctor out, Pussycat fought Kat 3. It was a tentative and slow battle between nervous drivers, with Kat 3 only landing a single axe blow and Pussycat flailing around more than attacking. Pussycat managed to buckle the front wedge and dislodge parts of the armour, before ripping side panels clean off. With Kat 3's armour hanging off in pieces and relatively little damage done to Pussycat, it unanimously won the judges decision and proceeded to fight Chompalot again in the final. Despite Chompalot skewering its lower beak on the floor flipper, it was on top the entire battle, biting around Pussycat's neck and dumping it in the pit. "Well she had practice, whereas I didn't, if I'd had practice I would be the best driver in all of Robot Wars"

- Excuses from Ann Gribble after loss to Chompalot

Series 7
"Pussycat has been with Robot Wars since the very first first day, has to be my favourite..."

- Jonathan Pearce

Pussycat returned to the main competition for the first time after the tragic death of David Gribble. It was seeded ninth for the competition despite not entering in the previous series. Its first round melee put it up against Brutus Maximus, the Dutch robot Twister, and Roobarb. It shot on the offensive, doing severe damage to both Twister and Brutus Maximus, the circular blades cutting into the latter's wooden armour easily. Both of these robots were eliminated, and Pussycat fought M2 in the second round. However, M2's tough shell prevented Pussycat's weapon from doing any damage, and this cost them severely on the judges decision. M2 threw Pussycat around the arena, and Pussycat's blade inflicted only superficial damage. Pussycat was eliminated on the judges decision.

Pussycat returned to fight in the All-Stars. The team equipped Pussycat with the double blade, hoping to tear off the armour of King B Powerworks. However, little was seen of Pussycat in the first round, as Dantomkia tossed out Behemoth, before stealing King B Powerworks away. King B resisted, until Pussycat landed blows on both robots with its blade. Dantomkia shrugged off the blow, but King B Powerworks' resistance slackened, and Dantomkia tossed King B Powerworks out of the arena. A battle against Kat 3 followed, but the design of both robots made it difficult for either robot to damage each other; both weapons were uni-directional, and when side-by-side, neither weapon could make contact. However, Pussycat carved long slashes in Kat 3's armour, which put it through to the Final. Dantomkia was the favourite, but one of Pussycat's blows caused it to become immobilised, and Pussycat - after fending off some vicious attacks from House Robots - pitted Dantomkia to claim the title of All-Stars Champion, the only robot ever to win the competition besides Razer.

US Series
Pussycat entered the War of Independence of the first season of Extreme Warriors. By the time it got to fight, it was the only UK representative left. Its first fight was against $6 Million Mouse and, after hitting each other several times, Pussycat bent the rotor blade of $6 Million Mouse. Another attack rendered the American robot immobile and Refbot counted it out. Despite $6 Million Mouse starting up again after being counted out, the House Robots attacked and pitted it. This sent Pussycat through to face Rosie the Riveter. At the beginning, Rosie the Riveter pushed Pussycat all around the arena and seemed to show high resilience to the weapon of the British machine. However, after dominating the fight, Rosie slowly began to lose power. Pussycat hit Rosie a few times with its blade, damaging its frame and knocking several ornaments off. By now, Rosie was only able to move slowly forwards and backwards, and Pussycat hit the pit release. Finally, it shoved the now immobile Rosie into the pit, but not without going in itself. In the final against General Chompsalot, Pussycat was pushed into the CPZ, but both robots were attacked by Shunt. After struggling to get out, Pussycat escaped and attacked General Chompsalot's mouth. Eventually, it damaged both of Chompsalot's eyes. General Chompsalot tried to push it onto the flame pit, but then drove too close to the CPZ, where Matilda tore some of its teeth out.

"Looks like he's been demoted from General to Buck Private....buck teeth, but no more teeth in this case"

- Stefan Frank on the state of General Chompsalot's jaws

Pussycat pushed General Chompsalot onto the flame pit, but it escaped and held on for the judges decision. Based on damage, Pussycat was declared the War of Independence champion.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * UK Wins: 31
 * UK Losses: 8
 * US Wins: 3
 * US Losses: 0

Series Record

 * Series 1-2: Entered with Bodyhammer
 * Series 3: Heat Final
 * Series 4: Runner-up
 * Series 5: Semi Finals, Round 2
 * Series 6: Did not enter
 * Series 7: Heat, Round 2

Trivia

 * Pussycat was one of 16 competitors from The Third Wars to appear in Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem.