It's a memorable moment from the closing credits of The Flintstones, part of the show's enduring legacy. You likely recall this comedy bit at the end of episodes. Fred Flintstone puts two empty milk bottles (in later episodes, it's just one empty bottle) outside the front door… then returns carrying the saber-toothed cat that served as the family's lesser-known pet. The cat races back indoors, slamming the door on Fred and locking him outside. Fred pounds on the door and shouts, "Wilma!"

Dino factored into many episodes of the show. However, this prehistoric "house cat" could only be glimpsed every once in a rare while — not counting his comical closing-credits moment. Oh, and the joke changed over the years. In the first version, the cat runs back inside, shutting the door on Fred. In the later version, the cat carries Fred outside and plops him on the porch for a taste of his own medicine. You can see how he slightly changes color, too, going from a yellowish coat to orange fur.

That being said, the cat with plenty of attitude did add splashes of chaos during a handful of Flintstones episodes, too.

You can spot Baby Puss — yes, the saber-toothed cat is named Baby Puss — napping on the floor in "The X-Ray Story" midway through season two. 

Baby Puss in ''The X-Ray Story''

A year later, in the third-season episode "Nothing But the Tooth," Barney has a horrible toothache and Fred is motivated to help him fix it so they can go to a sporting event. One of Fred's schemes involves stringing Barney's tooth to Dino's collar, then setting the cat out, so Dino would chase the cat and Barney's tooth would come out.

Not trusting Fred's caveman logic, Barney chickens out, and it's Fred who ends up dragged behind his house pets, as Dino takes off down the street chasing the cat. The scene ends when Fred gets flattened into a pancake by a steamroller, gifting us with a classic Hanna-Barbera moment.

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The next two appearances of the saber-toothed cat come during plots that revolve around Pebbles, starting with her birth in the third-season episode "The Blessed Event." In this episode, Fred is nervously preparing for Pebbles' birth when Dino chases the cat up the tree. Fred shouts at the pets, "I want quiet!" and later, we see the two pets sleeping in the same positions, only now the cat is up on the branch with a sign that says "Meow!" and the dog on the ground with a sign that says "Bark!"

One last appearance of note comes at the start of the fifth season episode "Pebble's Birthday Party." It begins with a night scene where we see the cat sleeps on Fred's stomach as the caveman snores loudly. This snoring eventually sends the cat flying off the bed, resulting in a rude awakening.

In this rare scene, we hear the saber-toothed cat speak, saying, "That's it. I'm turning myself in at the animal shelter. At least I can get a night's sleep!" He then leaves the house, while Dino covers his head trying to block out Fred's snores.

Even though the saber-toothed cat isn't seen much in episodes, the closing credits scene maintains his prominence on the show. He may be rare, but he's part of the family.

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