Pet Cat Care

Getting Started

You can get your very own kitten anytime after completing the Gertrude's Cat Quest, and Gertrude (located in Varrock) actually gives you one as a reward for the quest. There are multiple colored kittens that you can get, including blue and gray, white, brown and gray, and black and gray, among others.

Preparation

Of course, before you get a kitten of your own to raise, you'll need some supplies. Before anything else, you should feed your kitten, since he'll most likely be hungry when you first get him. Your kitten will need some Milk, which you can obtain by using a Bucket with a Cow. Your kitten will also eat any kind of raw or cooked fish, except for Seasoned Sardines.

Your kitten also likes to play, like any other kitten does. A kitten's favorite toy is an ordinary Ball of Wool, which you can get by first shearing a wooly Sheep, and then spinning it on a Spinning Wheel.

Like a Ball of Wool, a Mouse Toy is helpful in entertaining your kitten or cat. After completing the Tail of Two Cats quest, you'll receive this item as a reward. When equipped, it will keep your kitten or cat occupied.

A Ring of Charos (a) can be particularly useful if you'd like to choose a cat of a certain color. This ring can be obtained as a reward from the Garden of Tranquillity quest, and if you speak to Gertrude while wearing it, you'll have the option to charm her and choose any colored cat you'd like.

After finishing the Icthlarin's Little Helper quest, you'll get a CatSpeak Amulet which allows you to communicate with your cat (much like how the GhostSpeak amulet lets you speak to ghosts). You'll even be able to talk to any of the various other cats located around RuneScape, such as Bob (the Jagex Cat).

If you have a Player Owned House, you can make a cat blanket or basket for your cat to sleep in. Cat Blankets require 5 Construction, Cat Baskets require 19 Construction, and Cushioned Baskets require 33 Construction, and they can be placed in the kitchen of your house.

Other Useful Info

• Cats and Kittens cannot walk through objects such as walls and doors, and they'll get stuck from time to time. However, if you keep walking it will eventually reappear next to you when it's no longer on the map.
• When you teleport, climb a ladder, sail on a boat or use any other method of transportation, your Cat or Kitten will follow you.
• If you die with a Kitten or Cat in your possession, you will lose your pet forever.
• Placing two or more of any type of cat (of the same color) in your bank will stack them (like coins or arrows).
• The Rat Pitsis an Activity giving your cat a place to train. There are different pits for different types of cats:
  • Kittens - Ardougne
  • Cats - West Varrock
  • Overgrown Cats - Ardougne
  • Wiley Cats - Port Sarim

Raising a Kitten

Once you have your kitten, you'll need to give it lots of attention. Your kitten will wander around with you, but first you'll need to let him out of your backpack first by dropping it. Your kitten can follow you, but it can't walk through walls or other objects, and it can only walk, not run.

After you let the kitten out, you can interact with it in several ways. Since the cat is hungry, you should feed it any of the fish mentioned above, as well as a bucket of milk by using the items with him.

Tip: You'll know when your cat is hungry when you see a message from your character saying so.

It's always a good idea to Stroke your kitten by right-clicking on it, choosing the "Interact-With" option and then selecting the "Stroke" option. He will roll around on the ground and purr after you stroke him. Do this often, as it ensures that your kitten likes you (which is important).

You can also play with your kitten by using a Ball of Wool with it. He'll roll around on the ground, pawing at the ball. It's his favorite toy, so be sure that you play with him often.

Adult Cats

On average, your kitten will grow into a Cat in about two hours of game-play. You can log out and your cat will not be affected. Your kitten must also be walking around with you within this time in order to grow into a Cat.

Anyhow, raising a Cat is slightly easier than raising a kitten. Cats no longer need to be fed fish, although they will still drink Milk (for healthy teeth and bones!). You can also play with the Ball of Wool, which is apparently still his favorite thing to do.

Even though you can have your kitten catch Rats, it will often fail (because it's only a kitten). Now you have a grown-up Cat, which is more agile than a kitten, so he generally has an easier time catching them. When you're near a small level 1 Rat, right-click on your Cat, choose the "Interact-With" option, and then the "Chase Vermin" option to have your Cat try and kill it. By far, the best place to catch Rats is along the south side of Lumbridge Castle, as there are numerous Rats crawling around, and very few people pass by there. There are also lots of Rats crawling around in the Varrock Sewers.

If he successfully catches it, the Rat will disappear. But if the Rat escapes, just try again. For a cool reward, just catch 100 Rats and talk to Gertrude and she will give you a Cat Training Medal. The medal doesn't have any special characteristics, although it shows that you're a good Cat trainer! You can have your Cat traded in for 100 Death Runes from a man in West Ardougne, but you must have already completed the Biohazard Quest before doing so.

If you don't want your cat anymore, you have the option of bringing it to West Ardougne and selling it to a Civilian for 100 Death Runes.

Overgrown Cats

After about 2 hours of caring for your Cat, it will grown into an Overgrown Cat (uh-oh, it looks like someone's been eating too much). Like a regular Cat, an Overgrown one will not eat fish, but it will drink Milk and play with it's favorite Ball of Wool. These cats will try and catch Rats for you, but they are just too big and can't move quickly enough.

Once you have an Overgrown Cat, you can buy another kitten from Gertrude for 100gp by asking her if she has any more. She will gladly sell you one, and you can start over from raising a kitten!

Wily and Lazy Cats

After completing the Rat Catchers quest, you'll be given the opportunity to make an Overgrown Cat into a Wily Cat by speaking to Felkrash in the Rat Pits. Wily Cats have heightened senses and abilities, and they need to get lots of exercise by chasing Rats, Butterflies and Kalphite Larva. If they don't get enough exercise, they will become a Lazy Cat. If your cat becomes lazy, you can train it again by taking it out, giving it exercise and catching Rats. You can also name your Wily Cat whatever you'd like.

If you talk to another Wily Cat with your own Wily Cat (and wearing a CatSpeak Amulet) will allow you to learn about the other cat. The one who caught the most mice will say that it's better, and you'll have the ability to side with either your own cat or the other one.

Hellcats

A Hellcat can be obtained during the Recipe for Disaster quest, after completing the Evil Dave part. All it requires is that you catch 7 Hellrats with your Cat, and then it will transform into a Hellcat... a sinister looking cat with sharp, pointy teeth! Any cat can actually become a Hellcat, and feeding it Milk will return it back to its original form.

You can only have one hellcat at time. If you catch hellrats with a second cat, it will not turn into a hellcat no matter how many you catch.