op Cat (called T.C. by his close friends) was a New York alley cat who used his skills as a smooth-talking manipulator to con his way into others' trust or to get himself out of trouble. He led a group of five feline friends who acted as cohorts in his scams. For all of their shenanigans and get-rich-quick schemes they were, however, nearly always penniless, generally taking life easy and working out scams only when opportunities presented themselves or they were in need of cash. Top Cat definitely needed some help with a personal budget since most of his time and money was spent getting out of trouble.

The cats hung out in Hoagy's Alley, which Top Cat considered his home. Along with Top Cat (who had yellow fur and wore a purple vest and hat) there was Choo Choo (pink fur—white turtleneck shirt), whose voice had the same neurotic, unsure quality as actor/director Woody Allen; Spook (green fur—black tie) was a mellow, beatnik type; Fancy-Fancy (brown fur—white scarf) was popular with the ladies; Benny (blue fur—white sport coat) was short and chubby and wasn't much brighter than Brain (orange fur—purple shirt), a droopy-eyed cat whose name was a misnomer unless it was in reference to bird brain.

The group's main opposition was Officer Dibble, a beat cop with the misfortune of having Top Cat's base of operations within his jurisdiction. Officer Dibble caught Top Cat and his gang in the act of breaking some ordinance or other often enough, but Top Cat's quick wits and fast-talking arsenal of skills were usually enough to keep him and his friends one step ahead of the law and out of jail. Dibble faced the unending struggle of getting Top Cat to keep the alley where he lived clean (it was always a mess), and was especially annoyed when Top Cat used the police phone located on a telephone pole in the alley for his own personal use. Dibble's propensity for getting duped landed him in hot water with his commanding Sergeant time and again.

Top Cat premiered on ABC in 1961 and ran for thirty episodes. In 1985, Top Cat was added to the cast of Yogi's Treasure Hunt, where he once again took the leadership role, transmitting orders to the crew of S.S. Jelly Roger and doing little work himself.