now and forever?

[Gordon, Matthew J.]

Is the use of "cats" in the sense of "guys," "dudes," etc. making a
comeback? I noticed it in a recent shoe commercial featuring youngish
African American streetball (basketball) players. I think one of the lines
is "They call me the calculator, 'cause I'm the cat you can count on."
I thought "cat" was hip in the 60s and 70s, probably earlier too, but had
died out except as the sine qua non of Sammy Davis Jr. impersonators.
Is "cat" coming back into vogue or has it been used throughout and is just
now being noticed by mainstream advertisers?