Whoosh! The animal catcher's net scoops up a stray alley cat in a lonely downtown alley. Locked in a cage in the city pound van, the spunky alley cat struggles to get away. The van hits a bump on a steep San Francisco street, and the door to the alley cat's cage jiggles loose. When the van stops to pick up a stray hound dog, the alley cat makes a gutsy escape. In the middle of the night, Dan and Catrina hear noises outside their house. A burglar? Yes, it's a cold, scared, wet "cat burglar" cowering in a corner of their window well.
Because the cat is so hungry, Dan and Catrina nickname it Starvin' Marvin. The name sticks, even though they later learn the furry bundle is a female cat. They quickly fall in love with Marvin and keep her.
Everyone in the neighborhood loves Marvin. Everyone except Nosy Nellie, the snoopy 82-year-old lady who lives next door. For Nellie, all cats spell trouble! The spry woman with the long, gray braid down her back gets her nickname because "when it comes to business, Nellie is more interested in other people's." Being a busy body will finally get her the credit she deserves. The mayor selected her to get the city's Good Neighbor Award, and she has her speech all ready for the big day.
Trouble doubles when Dan and Catrina adopt another cat from the shelter, "so Marvin can learn to be a house cat." The new cat named Skinny Minnie looks just like Marvin. When Nosy Nellie learns about another cat, she plots to cause some trouble of her own and force the cats out of the neighborhood.
But while Dan and Catrina are at work, a burglar sneaks into an open window. The noise awakens Marvin and Minnie from their naps in the basement. They jump off the couch and pounce on the TV remote control. The booming voice from the TV says, "I'll shoot anyone. I've shot my parents, my children, even the dog." The talk show is about shooting people with a camera, not a gun. But the burglar thinks a real person is coming after him and dives out the window, injuring his leg. He can't run away and the police capture him.
From her kitchen window, Nosy Nellie sees the whole thing.
Later that day, Marvin and Minnie sneak out through the window. They climb along a tree branch over the sidewalk, but it's not strong enough to hold them. Meanwhile, Nellie's other neighbor, Janet, strolls her baby toward home. But she trips on a bump in the sidewalk, and the baby's stroller comes out of her grip. It races down the sidewalk toward the busy street.
At the same time, the branch holding Marvin and Minnie breaks and lands right in front of Andy's runaway baby stroller, bringing it to a gentle stop.
Nosy Nellie sees the whole thing.
After falling with the tree branch, Marvin and Minnie scurry to Janet's backyard. A fierce storm looms overhead. Lightning strikes a pile of cardboard boxes stacked in the yard and sparks a fire.
The cats are frightened and run toward the open window at their home at Dan and Catrina's house. On the way, Minnie pounces on the lawn sprinkler, and water soaks the bonfire of cardboard boxes. The flames go out just as the fire trucks arrive. The fire fighters don't see how it all happened.
But Nellie does. She sees the whole thing.
Cheers fill the San Francisco city auditorium when Nellie unexpectedly gives her treasured Good Neighbor Award to Marvin and Minnie! But the surprises don't end there. Who comes to present Nellie, Marvin and Minnie with America's first Good Neighbor Award? Barack Obama, along with his wife, Michelle and their daughters, Malia and Sasha. (Bo the dog stayed home!)
