Soft Kitty facts for kids
"Soft Kitty" is a well-known children's song. It became very famous because of the characters Sheldon and Penny in the American TV show The Big Bang Theory. Sometimes, the song is also called "Warm Kitty".
In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon says his mother used to sing "Soft Kitty" to him when he was sick. The words used in the show are: "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur! Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr!" An episode of Young Sheldon, which is a show about Sheldon's younger life, showed how the song started. This episode aired on February 1, 2018. It showed Sheldon's mom, Mary, singing the song to him when he had the flu.
Other versions of the song exist. An Australian children's singer named Patsy Biscoe released one. The long-running Australian TV show Play School also uses the song. Play School started before The Big Bang Theory. Their version has the words in a different order: "Warm kitty, soft kitty, little ball of fur. Sleepy kitty, happy kitty, purr purr purr." The song is still a regular part of Play School. Presenters often sing it for young viewers.
By Christmas 2011, you could buy "Soft Kitty" toys and other items. These included a stuffed singing Soft Kitty toy. You could also get T-shirts with the song's words from The Big Bang Theory.
Who Owns the Song?
In December 2015, some people started a legal case. They were the family of Edith Newlin. They said that Edith Newlin wrote the words and music for "Warm Kitty." They claimed it was in a book called Songs for the Nursery School. This book was published in 1937 by Willis Music. The copyright for the book was renewed in 1964.
Willis Music, the company that published the book, said on their website: "In 1937, we published a book called Songs for the Nursery School. We sold many copies of it. It was a hardbound book with over 150 songs for children. Laura Pendleton MacCarteney wrote the book. On page 27 of that book is 'Warm Kitty'.... Warner Brothers and we worked together to get the rights for The Big Bang Theory. They have been using the song ever since."
However, Edith Newlin's daughters said they owned the copyright. They claimed they never gave permission for the song to be used. They also said Willis Music did not have permission to let others use the words. They were upset that the words were used in the TV show and on many products without their permission.
On March 27, 2017, a judge named Naomi Reice Buchwald decided on the case. She said that Edith Newlin's family did not show enough proof that they owned the copyright for the song's words. The court found that when Willis Music renewed the book's copyright in 1964, it did not also renew Edith Newlin's copyright for "Warm Kitty." So, the case was closed.
