AACK! After 34 years, 'Cathy' comic strip bids farewell

She's been a staple of newspaper comics pages — and the refrigerator doors of women everywhere — since her debut in 1976. In October, Cathy Guisewite's beloved, iconic "Cathy" comic strip will come to an end.

Universal Uclick has announced that the final daily "Cathy" comic strip will run in newspapers Oct. 2, with the final Sunday strip running Oct. 3. The strip has run in The Oklahoman since 1978.

The end of the strip comes as Guisewite finds herself longing to spend more time with family and pursue new creative venues.

"After almost 34 years of meeting newspaper deadlines," Guisewite said, "I'm facing some personal deadlines whose requirements simply exceed my ability to procrastinate any longer: an 18-year-old daughter who needs a full-time mom to help her through her last year of high school and beyond ... beloved parents I want to be able to visit more often... and a creative biological clock, which is urging me to try something else while I can."

One of the most influential female characters to ever grace the comics page, Cathy has won fans among women of all ages over her three decades of newspaper stardom. Guisewite's lovable, relatable shopaholic has struggled — always humorously, of course — with issues including body image, balancing life inside and outside the office, and Cathy's famous "four basic guilt groups": food, Mom, relationships and work.