Role-Playing not Roll Playing: Cats of Catthulhu

Cats of Catthulhu is a simple role-playing game created by Joel Sparks. Originally called Call of Catthulhu, it is, unsurprisingly, a Cthulhu-based game with feline player characters. I consider this to be the best cat-themed RPG.

If you are unfamiliar with the game, it is available on Drivethru. On social media, there is a presence on Facebook and Twitter. The books have entries on Goodreads, too.


Cats of Catthulhu is a rules-light game. To determine success or failure, roll two cat dice (available in the deluxe box set and sold separately). A "happy cat" is a positive result for the cats. A "sad cat" is bad news. If you lack cat dice you can make do with rolling regular d6s. A "happy cat" result is 3-6 and a "sad cat" 1-2. The "right cat for the job" gains an automatic "happy cat" result. Dice rolls are always made from the point of view of cats, even when making skill checks for humans and other animals.

The GM in this game is called the "Cat Herder". When run correctly, this is all too apt!

The game intrigued me. I tried it at a couple of conventions but I found both games lacking. It felt like we were normal characters with cat-like restrictions rather than actual player cats. Both games failed to generate the right atmosphere.


By observing the behaviour of cats, I realised how this game should be played. Humans and cats see and interact with the world in different ways. The human world is mysterious, alien and unknowable to felines. It should be presented and described to the players as such. For example, cats have no understanding of letters, bills and junk mail; they are merely bits of paper delivered by another human through the front door. It is puzzling to cats when humans get upset when they bring dead mice home. We must not forget the collection of curious objects around the house; some of them break when they fall and hit the ground. If humans get so upset when things fall and break, why do they put them in places where they are easily knocked off?

Something as mundane is a group of people sitting down for a chat and sharing a hot beverage is very odd and mysterious behaviour from the point of view of a pet cat. Rather describing this scene as...

"You see your pet human walk into the living room with a tray carrying cups of tea and coffee. Her guests all take one and they settle into their weekly gossip."

Much better...

"Your female pet human emerges from the food preparation room. She carries a tray holding cups of the foul, brown drink much beloved by humans. She places the tray on the table. Her entourage converges. Each takes a cup. The human drinking ritual begins."

I took this approach with my scenario, "The New Lodger". I have taken it to several conventions here in the UK. Each time I have run it, the players have got into character as cats and found ways to indulge in stereotypical feline behaviour, usually with hilarious consequences:

"My human is having one of those weird drinking rituals? I'll teach her to waste cream and not give me any. Just as she is walking in with the tray of drinks, I'll get underfoot and try to make her lose her footing."

There is no way of knowing what names, if any, cats use for themselves. Regardless, there would be no way of writing them down or for a human player to be able to use them. When creating cat characters, I give normal pet cat names to them.

When it comes to naming human characters, I take a different approach. Humans and cats are completely different creatures; there is no way for the two species to communicate, meaningfully.  To emphasise this, I do not give formal names to human characters. Instead, I use meaningful labels that a cat might understand. For example, "Felix' female human", the "man who puts pieces of paper through the door", the "new lodger", etc.


In summary, strive to describe everything, no matter how mundane, as you might expect a cat to understand it. The cats consider their owners' homes to be their territory. Describe it as such. How does the house cat feel, when the female human of the house invites round her entourage of female humans round for the drinking ritual?

Finally, what do our cat heroes make of Amazon deliveries?

The senior twofootologist called the meeting to order. He sat firmly upright to enforce his dominance over the three cats who served under him.
"It has come to light that other humans are visiting our territories. They do this when our humans are absent. They bring brown boxes with black markings on them. They leave these boxes behind in a neighbouring territory. Our humans then collect these boxes later. We have no clue what this practice is, why they do it or what it means. Cats, go out and find out more about this mysterious human behaviour."