There isn’t a doubt that the anime world is dominated by cats more than any other furry creature, the internet itself is obsessed with cats.
People from all over the world are obsessed with these furry creatures, although there are many cats that have always been on top. Some of these anime cats are quite mysterious and some are just flat goofballs.
Another reason can be the Japanese culture since many households do have pet cats, the community is obsessed with the “nekos” and do adore them very much.
And Since cats are more adaptable to living in small and congested places, they’re perfect pets for Japanese small space homes.
Let’s start the list of best anime cats of all time!
1.Happy, Fairy Tail
Starting with the most popular anime cat on the internet, Happy is the mascot of the fairy tail guild. Even though he is not truly a cat, his cat-like features are definitely enough to count.
He is among the magical beings known as “Exceeds” which hatch from eggs and the only cat who can fly, talk and do magic.
His main role throughout the series has always been stress release with his wacky and loveable side, he has won many hearts.
Happy and Natsu are best friends which is one of the reasons why he is so memorable.
When he’s sad or worried you better have some tissues because the waterworks are going to start.
2. Jibanyan, Youkai Watch
Not really a cat but technically yes… a ghost of the cat is still a cat.
Jibanyan is the ghost of a cat who was crushed by a truck but instead the afterlife, he’s come back to exact revenge on the big wheels who were the cause of his death.
While he may not succeed in winning against those trucks he definitely won our hearts.
Jibanyan is very determined and fierce, ready to fight other Yo-Kai’s who are causing trouble in his turf, though he does slack off on occasions if he is feeling lazy, depending on his mood.
3. Mao, Darker Than Black
Again, not really a cat but technically yes he is a cat. Mao is a contractor who lost his original body due to circumstances and now resides within a black cat.
Fun-Fact, Mao means cat in Chinese.
His main role is to create a distraction for the enemies and help Hei in battle, his main ability is to possess the body of other animals while also maintaining the connection to his original body via a ‘network’ so the natural instincts don’t take over.
Mao is always very keen and subservient to the situation, always making logical decisions but Hei’s irrational decisions leave him quite interested where he is always interested in seeing how Hei handles the situations.
4. Nyanko-Sensei, Natsume’s Book of Friends
Nyanko-Sensei or Madara is an adorable little pudgy cat, while he may look like an ordinary fat and lazy cat, he is actually a really powerful Yo-kai.
His true form is quite majestic and grand but he prefers the Maneki-Neko form for some reason.
He plays the role of Natsume’s guardian on the condition that if Natsume dies, he will take the book of friends and control the vast majority of youkai.
But like many cats, he is quite condescending and selfish. Madara has magical powers like many other cats on this list, he can transform, fly, and talk.
He likes to play with toys like an ordinary cat and eat like there is no tomorrow until he can’t move an inch.
5. Meowth, Pokemon
In the Pokemon universe, there is no other cat more popular than Meowth, even the non-anime fans know him.
Being part of the troubling trio definitely has some perks, being part of the biggest kids show ever to hit television can sure be good for publicity.
He is among the very few pokemon who has appeared in almost every Pokemon movie and shows, shown as the bandit who just wants to steal pokemon from our heroes.
Meowth’s most defining features are how similar he is to a human, he stands on two feet and even talks and he has the brains to plan the operations and operate machines to trap our heroes.
6. Luna and Artemis, Sailor Moon
Luna and Artemis and somewhat inseparable, they may appear like cats but they are aliens from another planet known as Mau. But in hearts, they will always be remembered as cats.
They play a huge role in guiding the protagonist of the series throughout being their animal companion.
They’ve lived for centuries before the events of the show, they have vast knowledge and magical powers.
They can also give the Senshi a special item that allows them to awaken their powers.
Luna and Artemis do end up in a romantic relationship that ends up with a kitten named Diana, but the shocker is that she came from the future.
7. Arthur, Code Geass
Personally I think Arthur is a very chill cat, he hangs in the background doing his own thing.
There is no magical involvement with him, he’s normal living in a normal world but he still managed to stir up trouble for Lelouch.
Remember the time when Arthur stole Zero’s mask, running around the whole school and starting the most intense games of Catch the cat ever.
Arthur usually hangs around Suzaku, biting him or doing his thing away from the camera.
8. Sakamoto, Nichijou
From the many cats listed here, Sakamoto is my favorite one.
He isn’t some magical being with superpowers or transformation, he is just an ordinary cat living an ordinary life until he escapes his cage leaving his owner behind.
But he’s not entirely an ordinary cat, you might be wondering how is he able to talk like a human being, well that’s with the power of technology!
Finding his new family in the Hakase household, he is the oldest one among them but he still slips up and acts childish in front of them.
My funniest moment of him is when Hakase uses a rope as a leash for Sakamoto.
9. Chi Yamada, Chi’s New Address
This anime is perfect for any cat lover as this is quite similar to a slice of life anime but it is for a cat, not high school kids.
The story begins when Chi is living with the Yamada family but they decide it’s not fair to hide her in their “No pet allowed” apartment, so they decide it is better to let Chi go because it is for her own good.
She gets adopted by a family and the story continues, there are a lot of episodes for this anime so if you’re a cat-lover I recommend you give it a try. However, the episodes are 3 minutes each, not your typical 20 minutes episode.
10. Haru, My Roommate is a Cat
The story is about a stray cat who is struggling to survive and feed herself along with her for siblings, where one of them dies.
She is soon adopted by Subaru who takes care of her and feeds her, Haru doesn’t understand many things since he was a stray cat.
The story somewhat is shown from Haru’s point of view which is quite the unique approach to a cat anime.
She believes that her name is called for food because it is the name of the girl who once gave her food.
11. Doraemon, Doraemon
If you’re like me, someone who grew up watching Doraemon, you know how much of an iconic anime this is.
Doraemon is a cat robot who came from the future or more specifically he sent to pass by Sewashi, Nobita’s grandson, to help Nobita make better decisions in his life.
There are thousands of episodes in this series, and many movies included. Many say that Doraemon is among the most popular shows in Asian countries.
I’ve read in the news media that Doraemon never really became popular in western countries so if you haven’t heard about it, just move on to the next character.
12. President Aria, Aria the Animation
Now the cutest, funny adorable and a dumb-looking kitty on this list is … President Aria who is just namesake for the company, and also the entire show.
You look at him and see a cat who doesn’t know which way is forward, but he is actually a very smart cat who understands human speech.
President Aria loves to eat and eating he does which is the reason behind his pudgy body.
The other characters often make fun of President Aria, taking his food or feeding him something bad, which often turns out to be quite hilarious.
13. Kirara, InuYasha
The InuYasha series is full of magical creatures, demons, and mysterious beings one of’em is demon cats.
Kirara is a Hauntingly cute nekomata in her who was always following around sango, what makes her special is her ability to transform into a giant saber-tooth who can also fly.
She is quite useful in many situations but isn’t so overpowered to break the balance of the show, which is something I really like about it.
Unlike many other cats in this list who can talk and communicate freely, Kirara never really spoke but made cute squeaky sounds. She’s a wonderful travel companion and always ready to fight with her owner.
14. Blair, Soul Eater
One of the unique cases we have here is Blair from Soul Eater, she is known as a monster cat in her true form. Though she also has a human form which is actually quite cute.
She is a fun character in the series who is just trying to have fun and make the best of the current situation, which sometimes causes more than good.
She is often mistaken for a witch which she isn’t, she is a really powerful monster cat who lives in a pumpkin.
Her magical powers always have something to do with pumpkins which can be troublesome? She can shoot pumpkin beams or pumpkin blasters or just drop huge pumpkins on enemies.
15. Kuro, Blue Exorcist
If you ask me which cat had it rough but still stuck with it till the end, I would say Kuro.
Kuro was a kind demon, a protective god to the humans until they started rejecting him and broke down his shrine, Kuro fought back the humans which in circumstances he ended with being the Familiar of Shiro Fujimoto.
Shiro was the standing exorcist at the time and was very much known throughout the country, He eventually died at the hands of Satan.
We often see how sad Kuro is after the death of his master, the bond they both shared together.
Kuro eventually becomes the Familiar of Rin Okumura, the adoptive son of Shiro.
16. Jiji, Kiki’s Delivery Service
One of the oldest cats on this list, Jiji goes back to 1989. He is a travel companion of Kiki while she is training to be a witch.
One of the most memorable things Jiji is that she is a black cat for a witch which is kinda cliche but it is something very popular among people.
The thing about Jiji is that her character personality changes quite a bit depending on if you watch the show in subbed version or English dubbed.
In the Japanese version, Jiji is quite a humble and cautious cat with a feminine personality who doesn’t speak if he doesn’t have to while in the English version, Jiji is somewhat of a cynical, prideful and sarcastic cat which actually sounds realistic for a cat.
There’s a difference even with the plot! In the Japanese version, Kiki loses her ability to speak to Jiji which symbolizes the innocence of a child. However, in the English version, things don’t appear that way.
17. Kyou, Fruit Basket
So this might sound a bit weird but just go with it.
Kyou is actually a high school boy who is turned into a cat, yes fruit basket is a show like this.
Mainly because the whole family is cursed by the symbols of Chinese zodiacs, Kyou just happened to be the cat.
Fruit basket is among the few shows that have been going around for many years which aren’t too popular like Naruto or Dragon ball z but still manages to capture a viewer base of people who genuinely enjoy it.
And with the reboot, fans are enjoying the show all over again and looking forward to the upcoming season.
18. Baron, The Cat Returns
Now we have the most snazzy-looking cat of them all, Baron’s full name is Baron Humbert Von Gikkingen, and he is truly a gentleman.
You see is quite magical as well, he was actually a statue in an antique shop which later transformed into a cat.
His first appearance was in the movie, ‘whispers of the heart’ which came out in 1995, but his real role big happened 3 years later in “The Cat Returns”
He is a slick-looking son of a cat who dresses up so finely like a human, pretty sure that’s why the fans love him.
Maybe this is how furries came to be, I mean you can’t blame them, Baron is the definition of a true gentleman.
I’ve certainly seen enough furry cosplays, so I’m not saying anything against it.
19. Puck, Re;Zero Starting Life in Another World
Puck is from the very characters who are just so adorable as they are mysterious and strong, we often see the puck as a loveable spirit who is the guardian of Emilia. He once referred to her Emilia as her daughter… but nobody knows why.
He is the current great spirit of fire and has immense power to take down any foe, he can shoot ice shards by manipulating the temperature around him.
Puck is a friendly spirit who likes to occasionally hang out with Emilia and everyone close to him i.e Subaru and Beatrice.
Puck, like many other spirits on this list, has another physical manifestation which is quite terrifying for anyone who witnesses it, I wouldn’t wanna spoil it if you tho.
20. Kuroneko, Trigun
Trigun is among the very few old school anime that messes with your head, the word I would use for this anime world is un-expected in every case.
Kuroneko isn’t like most other cats on this list, if you completely remove Kuroneko from the anime, I don’t think it would make any difference to the storyline at all, she’s just a background character that pops up in episodes for viewers to spot.
Even so, I think she can be a memorable character from Trigun, her appearance can help break the tension in the air during an intense moment or just reduce it.
It’s like a fun brain teaser for the viewers to try and spot as many times in each episode.
21. Takkun, Fooly Cooly (FLCL)
Not to mix up with the cat from Trigun
22. Chomusuke, Konosuba
One of my favorites from this list is Chomusuke. She is a really adorable cat familiar of Megumin, one of the most memorable things about her is the name.. Well, it was either that or kazuma.
Chomusuke is a smart kitty cat, she follows around the group while on their adventures, her favorite resting spot is Kazuma’s head as she spends a lot of time close to him.
Chomusuke is definitely a lucky cat. I wish I could be in her position when she plays with Wiz’s jiggle jogglers all day long.
She likes to be around Wiz and Kazuma probably because they treat her with the most kindness, but chomusuke likes everyone except Aqua because of the water and fire thing.
23. Cat bus, My Neighbour Totoro
His name is Nekobasu and he is really popular in the world of anime, and like every other ghibli film, it holds a special place in our hearts.
He is a magical cat bus who appears in the forest, who is met by Mei, Satsuki, and Totoro when they are lost and scared, when the bus arrives at the stop to help out the girls and Totoro It meows and glows it’s car light eyes a wide scary grin (it was scary to me at first).
Over the years, the character of Neko-bus did get very popular with fans all over the world.
Now let me surprise you with even more good news, I bet you didn’t know there is a 13-minute special episode featuring NekoBasu that came out in 2003.
24. Bananya, Bananya And The Curious Bunch
Cute overloaded? Yes and very successfully.
In a universe quite different from ours, there live these feline-fruit hybrids who are known as Bananya who are basically cats living inside bananas peels like a shell.
The protagonist of the show is of-course Bananya, even though all the characters in the show have bananya as their last name. They’re usually based on their character design or personality I.e. Kuro (black) bananya who is a black cat or Baby bananya.
But of-course the main bananya is the most memorable cat from them all with his very easy to remember character design and storyline which is the main focus of the show.
The bananya cats were a huge success that their merchandise started popular everywhere because who wouldn’t love cats in banana costumes.
25. Poyo, Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki
Can the cuteness in this anime cure sadness and depression? No.. that would be an understatement. The cuteness in this anime is overloaded so much that it might give you cardiac arrest, so I recommend this anime to my healthy weebs only.
The show is about a family who finds a stray cat named Poyo because of his round shape and who soon becomes a dear member of the Sato family
Poyopoyo is not a very popular show, so I won’t be surprised if most of you haven’t seen it, but it is well worth a watch if I do say so myself.
Every other cat on this list is more well-drawn and realistic looking in character design compared to Poyo but that doesn’t make our Poyo any less cute.
26. All Nekotalia, Hetalia: World Series
