I believe this was before the cat in the duo that eventually became Herman and Katnip was named.

One noticed two things immediately:

1) Unlike in most cat-vs-mouse or cat-vs-bird cartoons from the era, it's made very clear that this cat does in fact catch and eat mice, just not this mouse.
2) Yes, Virginia, when a cat eats a mouse, the mouse dies. And is missed by his family, just like when your grandpa died last year!
3) Unlike in most cartoons from this or any other era, dynamite is depicted as actually having the ability to kill someone. Who'd a thunk?
4) The cat's reaction to the "100 proof" cat nip is pretty awesome.
5) With all this, it's less funny than Tom and Jerry. (Or Itchy and Scratchy)