The story is predominantly set in 1895 Paris but starts on a farm on rural Provence farm. The lovely cat Mewsette and the accomplished but shy mouser Jaune Tom are in love until Mewsette becomes frustrated with Tom Juan's plebeian ways (and those of farmlife), and calls him a "clumsy country clod". Inspired by the human Jeanette's stories of the glamour and sophistication of Parisian life, Mewsette runs away to Paris. Upon arrival, she encounters the slick con-cat Meowrice. Taking advantage of Mewsette's country naivete, he puts her in the sultry Madame Henrietta Reubens-Chatte care. She promises to turn Mewsette into a dainty debutante known as "The Belle of all Paris". Unbeknownst to Mewsette, Meowrice is grooming her to be the mail-order bride of a rich American cat known as "Mr. Henry Phtt" ("The Money Cat"). Meanwhile, Jaune Tom and his sidekick, Robespierre, arrive in Paris to search for Mewsette.
Mewsette's training does not go well. Just as she about to give up and return to the farm, Meowrice takes her out to see Paris' feline side of the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées, the Mewlon Rouge, and then a buggy ride back to Madame Henrietta's. Reinvigorated, she returns to her studies. Jaune Tom and Robespierre arrive in Paris but get waylaid by one of Meowrice's shadowy cat henchmen and barely escape drowning in Paris's labyrinthine sewers. By coincidence, Jaune Tom displays his incredible mouse-hunting skills in front of Meowrice, who seeing a money-making opportunity, gets them drunk, and sells them as mousers on an Alaskan-bound ship. On the ship, Robespierre consoles a depressed Jaune Tom, telling him that any problem can be broken up into manageable pieces.
Mewsette finishes her training and is now lovely enough to impress even Meowrice, who commissions a series of portraitss of her to send to Phtt. Meowrice quietly writes a check with invisible ink to pay Madame Reubens-Chatte for her services, then takes Mewsette to his hideout in Notre Dame. He reveals his plan to ship her to America and tries to coerce her into a luggage crate. After seeing a portrait of Phtt, Mewsette escapes Meowrice and his sidekicks. She leads them on a chase to a bulldog, who injures Meowrice badly enough to put him out of action for six weeks. Meanwhile, his sycophants unsuccessfully comb the city for Mewsette. Meanwhile, not long after reaching Alaska, Jaune Tom and Robespierre strike gold. Now wealthy, the two cats hurry back to Paris.
A disillusioned and homeless Mewsette wanders around Paris. She stops atop a bridge over the river, considering ending her misery. Just then, Meowrice and his cohorts ambush and capture her. She is taken to the Gare du Nord railway station, en route to a boat bound for America. All hope seems lost until Jaune Tom and Robespierre arrive. They have been aided by Madame Henrietta, who is outraged that Meoworice double-crossed her. Fighting inside the train, the three heroes defeat Meowrice and pack him into the packing crate a
