The Milky Waif is a 1946 American one-reel animated cartoon and is the 24th Tom and Jerry short directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by Fred Quimby in Technicolor, released in theaters on May 18, 1946, and re-released in theaters on January 9, 1954 by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. It was animated by Ed Barge, Kenneth Muse and Michael Lah, with uncredited animation by Ray Patterson and Irven Spence. The name is a pun on "The Milky Way".