Cats in Interactive Fiction

Let's look at cats! Housecats and alleycats, that is.

For big cats (eg: lions, tigers, etc.), see felines.
For cat's cradles, see strings.

"Cat" icon by Iconic from Noun Project (CCBY3.0)

Additional Tales from Castle Balderstone (2019)

> x cat (@ Nursery)

Yvette loves this cat, and the cat loves her—and it hates everything else.

Aesthetic Deletions (2003)

> x cat (@ Lounge)

He, and you can clearly see that the cat is male, has shiny black fur. He seems quite friendly, but does not seem comfortable. It looks like his paws are wounded.

Ailihphilia (2018)

> x senile felines (@ Moo Room)

They are just lazing around, swatting at the late petal but never reaching it. You guess it must be fun for them.

Apartment F209 (1997)

> x cat (@ Living Room)

He appears to be quite hungry, and not at all pleased with you.
He no longer seems hungry, but you can still tell he hates your guts.

ASCII and the Argonauts (2003)

> x cat (@ ALLEY)

[if you're a mouse:] GIANT CAT WANTS TO EAT ME!
[else:] NOT SO SCARY NOW

Basilica de Sangre (2018)

> x cat (@ Chapter house)

A fat orange cat is curled up in a little basket in the corner.

The Bibliophile (2014)

> x cat (@ Among the Books)

He's an old cat; an American long-hair. He is gray with a white belly and sports a wizened face. He likes to sleep most of the day and take it easy the rest of the day.

You've been calling him Bookstore Cat but you can NAME your cat anything you want, of course.

Birmingham IV (2018)

> x cat (@ Shepherd's Hut)

[early in the game:] The cat is a big one - not far off the size of a small lynx - orange-yellow and very fat. It has a smug expression on its face and an unnerving look in its eye. [if tied, add:] The cat is tied up with what seems to Phil to be excessively strong rope, and clearly with the intention of ensuring it can't get near the door.
[late in the game:] It is just possible to see where its feet, eyes, nose and mouth are, but otherwise the cat is now an almost perfect furry orange-yellow sphere, after swallowing every occupant of the village other than the Phil.

Biscuit (2001)

> x Snowy (@ kitchen)

A small black and white cat. She is wearing a red collar with a gold disc attached.

The Bony King of Nowhere (2017)

> x cat (@ Outside the Forsaken Cavern)

A mean looking Bengal Cat, light brown and spotted like a leopard. It flashes its needle like teeth at you, and then looks at Dylan and scrunches up its nose in distain.

Catventure (2019)

> x white cat (@ Main Street)

You see a sleek white cat preening herself. She looks very pretty and she knows it.

Charming (2018)

> x Arthur (@ Pentacle Chamber)

Arthur is your familiar. He looks a lot like a well-fed black housecat.

Citizen of Nowhere (2019)

> x cat (@ Outside Number 10 Clowning Street)

A brown and white tabby cat belonging to the Prime Minister, a bit of a celebrity, his name is Larry.

Cragne Manor (2018)

> x cat figurine (@ Court)

The form of a cat is unmistakable, but far from photorealistic; it's easy to make out stray chisel marks and brush strokes. The figurine is mounted on a circular base.

There's also a cat named Little Nifty who appears in the Cold Storage Room, but never stays long enough to be examined.

Crocodracula: The Beginning (2020)

> x lost cat poster (@ Sheriff's Station)

The poster describes a gray and white tabbie named Omar who's gone missing. There's a phone number and a promise of a reward.

The top of the poster has numerous pinholes poked in it, which you take to mean the sign has been taken down and re-posted multiple times.

The Day of the Queen (2015)

> x cat (@ Garden Area)

It's a fluffy ginger cat, that looks at the going-ons with a certain aloofness.

Dr. Dumont's Wild P.A.R.T.I. (1999)

> x cat (@ Mid Catwalk)

This is an extra-large cat, complete with long fangs and a twitching tail. It reminds you of a saber-toothed tiger.

The Enigma of the Old Manor House (2022)

> x cat (@ Kitchen)

You think the ghost is in here somewhere, but you certainly can't see it. You'll have to approach it a bit less directly, or maybe confine it more somehow.

Fifteen (1998)

> x kitten (@ Back Yard)

She's wearing SILVER collar!

After taking the collar, the cat gets a default description.

The Four Eccentrics (2019)

> x cat (@ Tower Floor)

Blue-lavender arcs crackle across its fur, which also frequently emits golden sparks. Its whiskers quiver and it looks at you expectantly.

The Frenetic Five vs. Sturm und Drang (1997)

> x Tractor (@ The Clapper's room)

Tractor is a large-boned cat with a sweet face, with tortoiseshell coloring all over but for a few tabby stripes on her head. She looks at you out of deep green eyes with a mixture of suspicion and affection.

Galaxy Jones (2023)

> x cat (@ South End Of The Building Management Office)

It's really a beautiful cat, sleek and black.

Geist (2014)

> x me (@ Reading Room)

[as cat] Just purrrrrfect.

Gnu in the Zoo (2016)

> x Tabby (@ Lakeside)

Tabby by name, tabby by nature.

Goodbye Cruel Squirrel (2017)

> x cat (@ Blackberry Entrance)

The cat is orange with white variegations all around its tail and belly. She appears athletic and its throaty purr sounds like more of a low chortle. If cats can smile, she certainly peers down at you with smugness. All of this is making you extremely nervous in her presence.

In a Tomb with a Donkey (2023)

> x cat (@ Tomb entrance)

The mummified cat sits, serene yet indignant, inside the small sarcophagus. Its neck is primly adorned with lockets and amulets.
[if map untaken, add:] Something is tucked into the mummified cat's bandages.
[after fed:] You glance at the small sarcophagus containing the mummified cat. All you can sense now is the same sort of contentment you feel from your own cat, Avocado, when she's just eaten her favourite meal.

Internal Documents: A Memo (2003)

> x rotting cat carcass (@ Smelly, Mottled, Dim, Dirty Store Room)

Eewww!

Jon Doe - Wildcard Nucleus (2019)

> x cat (@ Kitchen)

This is a beautiful black cat. It has a slim black collar around its neck.

The Legend of Horse Girl (2022)

> x cat (@ Mortuary)

A large, sleek animal, more resembling a mink than a cat, but with a cat's pointed ears and green eyes. Wampus cats are known for their beautiful fur, but are notorious for their awful hairballs. She glares at you reproachfully.

The Mage Wars: Statue (2003)

> x kitten (@ Boardroom)

The fluffy white kitten mewed happily.
The kitten, neither fluffy nor white any longer appeared to be a small statue chiseled out of stone, a petra-eikon.

The Magnificent Museum of Masterly Masterworks (2020)

> x cat photo (@ Artsy Photography Hallway)

A black and white photograph of a white cat. The cat has a few black spots on the end of its tail. The slight overexposure of the photo makes the cat look almost ghostlike. Below the photo is a name plate that says: "Gideon the cat".

The Mouse Who Woke Up For Christmas (2018)

> x cat (@ Greenhouse)

A vicious Bengal Cat called 'Precious', light brown and spotted like a leopard.

You've had run ins with her before and only just escaped with you life.

Thankfully she is alseep; be careful not to wake her.

Moving (On) (2020)

> x Milo (@ The School Yard)

A small, grey tabby cat belonging to the headteacher. He is very cute, and far more popular with you all than his owner is. Nobody seems to know how he made it onto the roof, but he doesn't look happy about it. He peers over the edge, and miaows sadly.

MythTale (2002)

> x Apollo (@ Office)

Apollo is the oldest of your cats. His fur is a bright ginger-orange that seems to glow in the light from the sun. His eyes are closed, but his ears and tail occasionally twitch as he dreams.

> x Aphrodite (@ Bedroom)

With her long pale coat immaculately groomed, her features delicate, her voice smooth, and her movements graceful, Aphrodite is undoubtedly beautiful. It is only occasionally that you think that you could do without the yowling of the nightly catfights on her behalf.

> x Ares (@ Ares Room)

Ares' fur is grey with darker markings on his face, his eyes are alert and ever watchful, and his size alone would make any other creature, cat or human, pause before giving offence.

> x Artemis (@ Hallway)

Black from nose to tail tip may be lucky for Artemis, but not for any of the small animals in your neighbourhood. Small and sleek, Artemis chases everything that moves, or might be persuaded to.

> x Hestia (@ Kitchen)

Hestia could best be described as "homely". A tabby with a friendly nature and boundless appetite, her girth increases with every meal, of which there are as many as she can contrive.

> x tom (@ Bedroom)

You cannot see the ginger tom anymore. On one of the bottom branches of the tree there is something that might be the sheet of paper though.

Napier's Cache (2020)

> x cat (@ Living Quarters)

The cat is a fierce-looking animal. Must be some age too, and clearly it's been in some scraps over the years.

Nine Lives (2015)

> x me (@ Death's Chamber)

You take a moment to examine yourself and smooth your soft black fur. Four clawed paws, one graceful tail, two sharp green eyes, a bundle of fine whiskers, one keen kitty nose, two pointed ears. Yep: you're all here!

You currently have [number] lives left.

> x Kittygoddess (@ Death's Chamber)

Her coat gleams like moonlight on water, and her eyes shine like fire.

You look away from those eyes. They are too bright for you to gaze at.

Not Much Time (2002)

> x black cat (@ The Loft)

As you examine the black cat a bit closer, you notice that its face strangely resembles that of your Auntie's...
As you peer into its green eyes, it suddenly looks astonished.
[I'm omitting the huge text dump where the cat explains she's your aunt, transformed, and what you need to fetch to restore her.]
Strangely enough, this black cat is your Auntie. In order for her to change back into a person, you must get the items she asked for so she can eat them.

Piece of Mind (1996)

> x cat (@ Chamber of the Meko-mind)

Stinky the cat is a fine tortoishelle beast, with an intelligent expression and large green eyes. I feel very strongly about her continued wellbeing. [if she's trapped, add:] She is currently trapped within a cruel web, its filaments rendering her immobile. Her sad cries are breaking my heart.

Poppet (2019)

> x cat (@ Hallway)

It looks like it's been dead for quite some time; it's nothing but brittle papery skin stretched over bones. Its eyeless sockets are two black pits in its grinning skull, patches of raggedy fur still cling to its flanks, a few stray whiskers still poking from its dessicated face.

Ralph (1996)

> x cat (@ Lawn)

Red-and-white, the usual sly look on his face.

The robocop_is_bleeding scenario (2009)

> x cat (@ Winning Meadow)

The declawed cat is brown.

Stuff of Legend (2020)

> x cat (@ Loft)

Sassy Britches is one of Annabelle's most appropriately named pets. The cat is sassy and, due to the unusual color pattern of her fur, does indeed appear to be wearing a pair of black britches. [if contemptuous} She regards you with a look that is severely contemptuous, even by feline standards. [else if terrified] She looks terrified for her life. [else if calm] Of course, it is difficult to see the color of her fur since she is currently covered from head to tail with blue antidote. She looks relaxed and focused. [end if]

Stupid Kittens (2000)

> x me (@ In Karen's Room)

Tiny tabby-- with a fuzzy tummy, wide blue eyes, big ears; a paragon of adorable animal companionship.

stupidgame (2001)

> x kitten (@ Basement)

A sweet little fluffy wide-eyed soft-pawed kitten, which will, unless you are very incorrect indeed, will shortly fall off that pipe it's clinging onto, land in the nitroglycerine, and make a big enough splash to blow it up.

The Temple (2002)

> x cat (@ Dead End; Public Square)

[at Dead End:] The cat is almost completely white. Only a spot on its tail is black. It is sitting on an overhead bridge and looks frightened.
[in Public Square:] The cat is visibly agitated, and paces back and forth on the spot where the sound can be heard.

Through the Looking Glass (1995)

> x white kitten (@ Drawing room)

What a beautiful kitten the white kitten is. Why, it's quite definitely your favourite of the pair, and much prettier than that naughty black kitten.

> x black kitten (@ Drawing room)

What a beautiful kitten the black kitten is. Why, it's quite definitely your favourite of the pair, and much prettier than that naughty white kitten.

Tryst of Fate (1995)

> x cat (@ Mark's Room)

The old black stray is not all that much to look at, but he gets along well with the children.

A Very Hairy Fish-Mess (2009)

> x black kitten (@ Pink Princess Chambers)

The kitten stumbles over its own paws, doing a cute little somersault and looking up at you with an expression of unendurable adorability. [if has tile, add:] There is a small square object in its mouth.

WOODEN CAT vs. ROBOT MONKEY (2001)

> x cat (@ Outside)

A large, wooden cat. It is sitting on a railway line, mewing distressedly. There is a hatch on one side.

The Xylophoniad (2016)

> x cat (@ Sappho's house)

A small ginger cat with dabs of white on its nose and paws. It lies in a circle shape [if in house] in the middle of the floor, somehow managing to take up most of the room. [else] by the side of the path.

Default response instances

Catventure (2019): me @ Hut.