In the first season of The Big Bang Theory, the song “Soft Kitty” made its debut when Sheldon (Jim Parsons) insisted Penny (Kaley Cuoco) sing it to him when he caught a cold. Knowing it comforted her friend, Penny sang it a few more times later on, whenever Sheldon felt down, in an attempt to cheer him up.
By season 8, Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny used it as a lullaby, hoping to put their friend to sleep after he refused to go to bed. The last time “Soft Kitty” was featured on the show was in season 10 when Amy (Mayim Bialik) sang it to her stressed-out boyfriend in three different languages: English, German, and Mandarin.
While none of the shows confirmed its origin, the main idea was that it was an original creation of The Big Bang Theory. However, the melody of the song comes from a 19th-century Polish lullaby called “Wlazł kotek na płotek” about a kitten on a fence, written by Oskar Kolberg and composed by Stanisław Moniuszko. The contemporary version of the song, on the other hand, is known as “Warm Kitty,” written by Edith Newlin. It appeared in a book titled Songs for the Nursery, first published in 1937 by Willis Music, based in Kentucky. This is where the controversy surrounding “Soft Kitty” from The Big Bang Theory began.
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In December 2015, Newlin’s estate, led by her daughters Margaret Perry and Ellen Chase, filed a copyright lawsuit against Warner Bros., Chuck Lorre Productions, CBS, Turner Broadcasting, and Fox for the allegedly illegal use of their mother’s work. Besides using the song on the show, CBS also had a range of merchandise tied to it, including Soft Kitty T-shirts, plush toys, keychains, coffee mugs, and hoodies, capitalizing on its popularity.
The case dragged on for a couple of years until a final verdict was issued in March 2017, where a judge dismissed the lawsuit, explaining that the plaintiffs simply couldn’t prove they held the copyright to Newlin’s lyrics. Citing section 24 of the 1909 Copyright Act, the judge said it was not “a model of clarity,” as Willis Music’s 1964 renewal registration for Songs for the Nursery School did not include Newlin’s copyright for “Warm Kitty.”
Interestingly, however, even though CBS won the case, the song was never used more prominently in either The Big Bang Theory or Young Sheldon, with both shows featuring it only once after the debacle.
