You’ve either come to this article because you understand some Japanese words that have been transplanted into the American internet language or actually know the mobile app. No matter, let’s learn and-or reflect as a community on this addicting cat game.
1. Cats
For those reading out of curiosity, “Neko Atsume” roughly translates to “Kitty Collector,” and boy, are there a lot of kittens! There are about 56 unique cats of a variety of patterns and interests. Each one is adorable, and one way or another, you’ll end up finding a favorite and succumbing to buying the plush toys.
2. Special Cats
Amongst the total number of cats, there are 20 rare cats. They are harder to attract to your kitty yard, have peculiar tastes, and special costumes. I don’t want to spoil some of the names, but if you know them, the item they are attracted to are pretty easy to guess. However, guides exist all over the internet.
3. Cat Descriptions
Each cat isn’t just an adorable looking character on your screen — they are individual! Once you see the cat for the first time, your Catbook, or kitty catalog, will reveal additional personality traits, power levels, and specific color pattern. It’s an extra adorable feature that makes the game more personal and addicting.
4. Customizable names
While the cats come with default names, there is an option to rename them. Make them related to real life, your favorite things, funnies — anything really. Personally, I love to make puns out of the names with the ones I can.
5. Cute Toys
The cats don’t come to your yard simply for the food and free pettings. It’s the toys that are the main attraction, and you as the cat collector have a wide variety to purchase from. There are balls, cushions, scratchers, pots, beds, teasers and so much more.
6. Cat Antics
Each toy comes with different cat poses. Sometimes they are sleeping, other times they are staring; the best is when they hold their butts up in the air out of curiosity or playing with one of the more interactive toys. It’s always a delight to see them and what they are doing!
7. Photos
Save your favorite kitty actions with photos! Build an album of cute, silly, and down-right adorable photos specific to a cat. The app also allows you to build an album containing whatever photos you’d like to add. Once you have a variety of photos, pick your favorite as that cat’s icon in the Catbook.
8. No-Money Needed
The best part is this: it’s easy to earn in-game currency. The cats leave fish — sounds kind of gross, right? — which you use to purchase toys and other in-app features. And as long as you play the game consistently, aka visiting the app and feeding your cats, you’ll always receive fish. There are options to buy and exchange for fish, but there is no pressure to.
9. Daily Password
Another way earn fish is the daily password. It’s a common feature most games do, but “Neko Atsume” doesn’t reset if you miss a day. There are no worries if you only remember to put in the password once a week, maybe even a month; the value of each password continues to grow with every entry. And, typical of daily passwords, you get an extra nice reward once you complete the seven day week.
10. "Meow-mentos"
So once you’ve spent all your fish on toys, cats will start coming more frequently and eventually give you more than fish. Eventually, they’ll give you a memento — or as I like to call it, a “meow-mento” — as a token of their appreciation. They play to their personalities and add to the excitement of collecting and trophy hunting.
11. House Models
If you don’t spend all your fish on toys and save up those precious gold fish, you can buy different yard environments. They don’t add or subtract from the frequency that cats come, but they are nice to expand on your photo collections. I especially love them for photo-ops with the rare cats, which have costumes and designs in addition to their fur patterns.
12. Gallery
Wow, already collected the models? Time to work on the extra gallery photos! It’s a nice feature that allows players to unlock and download some “Neko Atsume” phone wallpapers. They remain a mystery until you fulfill a certain requirement that unlocks them, but I guarantee, all of them are extremely adorable and worth downloading.
13. Collecting
What makes “Neko Atsume” great is not only the cuteness of cats but the game of collecting. The mobile app utilizes the addiction that is trophy hunting with its many features: luring cats, photographing them, purchasing toys, receiving mementos, unlocking environments, and downloading the gallery. “Neko Atsume” updates seasonally with new cats and toys, so it’s a never-ending hunt.
14. Catchy Jingle
Did I forget to mention the unbreakable loop that is the “Neko Atsume” theme song? You either love it or hate it, but honestly, it’s hard to hate it. And sometimes, they change it up a little for the seasons, which is always a delight.
15. Fun With Friends
“Neko Atsume” is a single player game, but it brings together a community of cat, cute, and game lovers. Since downloading the game for myself, I’ve spread the disease to my group of friends. We have avid discussions about who has visited and how close we are to completing a cat’s full file. Throughout my college, I’ve found other students — some who are extremely different from I and who I never talk too — who share the love for the game. How did this little Japanese app touch our hearts so much? There’s a special simplicity about the game only everyone could love.
