CatDog has been judged unfairly...
Yeesh! I'm SO SICK AND TIRED of people bitching and whining over this cartoon! CatDog was a fine cartoon, people! It had wit and enthusiasm, something that is lacking in many cartoons made today. Both Cat and Dog had good chemistry...Cat was the overly uptight 'Mr. Perfect' and Dog was the goofy, adventuresome, man-child. They were surrounded in a world that didn't respect them because of their appearance, which made for a good backdrop for the series. Not every episode was perfect, but who can honestly say they've seen a perfect A+ cartoon series?
No, CatDog did NOT start Nickelodeon's downfall. Nick's decline really began around 2001-2002; around the time they canceled "Invader Zim" (the LAST good Nicktoon), they started to screw with their scheduling (too many back to back repeats of shows), and they upped the ante with too many TEENcoms. The closure of its studios in Orlando was the final blow.
CatDog was a good cartoon, probably one of the last to really make an impression on Nickelodeon before the network went down the tubes.