Private detective Philip Marlowe has a problem, and for once it has nothing to do with murder or a femme fatale.
At the beginning of Robert Altman’s 1973 film The Long Goodbye, the private detective discovers that he has run out of his cat’s preferred food Courry Brand. Marlowe heads out in the middle of the night, buys a substitute brand and attempts a little culinary deception by transferring the unfamiliar food into the familiar package.
The cat is not fooled. Surprise. Surprise.
The cat sniffs the impostor meal, rejects it and eventually walks out on Marlowe. Before the mystery has even started, the detective has already been outsmarted by a cat with strong brand loyalty.
For anyone in the pet food industry, it may be the most relatable scene in cinema, but it’s hardly the only feline film.
Cats have been appearing in movies almost as long as the silver screen has existed. In 1894, two cats donned miniature boxing gloves for Edison’s The Boxing Cats. Even after 13 decades, the film still garnered 6,200 likes and 644,000 views on YouTube.
Throughout the years, sometimes the cat saves the day, while other times it causes the problem. In some films, the feline serves as an evil mastermind’s minion. In others, the cat is a valiant hero’s sidekick.
Here are 25 notable examples of real cats appearing in live-action films, grouped by the roles they played.
Cat food steals the scene
Sometimes the cat is almost beside the point. The real star is the food.
- The Long Goodbye (1973): Marlowe may be able to handle criminals, but he cannot fool his own pet.
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989): Aunt Bethany accidentally prepares a Jell-O mold containing dry cat food for Christmas dinner. The family notices only after they have started eating it, while Cousin Eddie appears perfectly happy to keep going.
- District 9 (2009): Cat food becomes a prized commodity among the alien “Prawns.” Humans use canned cat food to barter with them, and as Wikus begins transforming into one of the aliens, his growing appetite for cat food becomes a visible sign of the change.
Hero cats
Some movie cats do considerably more than sleep on furniture.
- D.C. — That Darn Cat! (1965): The wandering Siamese discovers evidence connected to a kidnapping and eventually helps humans track down the criminals.
- Tao — The Incredible Journey (1963): A Siamese cat joins two dogs on a trek through the Canadian wilderness to reunite with their family.
- Jake — The Cat from Outer Space (1978): An extraterrestrial cat stranded on Earth uses advanced technology and considerably more intelligence than most of the humans around him to get home.
- Milo — The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1986): The orange tabby’s separation from his pug friend Otis launches their adventure.
- Crookshanks — Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004): Hermione Granger’s large ginger cat realizes that something is suspicious about Ron’s rat Scabbers long before most of the human characters do.
- Goose — Captain Marvel (2019): Goose looks like an ordinary orange cat but turns out to be a Flerken, an alien creature capable of swallowing objects considerably larger than itself and [spoiler alert] wounding Nick Fury.
- Frodo — A Quiet Place: Day One (2024): Samira’s cat survives an alien invasion of New York while accompanying the film’s human characters through the chaos.
- Bob — A Street Cat Named Bob (2016): Based on the true story of James Bowen, Bob becomes a constant companion as Bowen rebuilds his life.
- Bob — A Gift from Bob (2020): Bob returns as Bowen’s companion and emotional anchor.
Villain cats
Despite their reputation for plotting world domination from windowsills, surprisingly few real movie cats are genuine villains. They leave that to cartoon cats.
- Church — Pet Sematary (1989): After being killed and buried in a supernatural burial ground, the Creed family’s cat returns noticeably less cuddly.
- Snowbell — Stuart Little (1999): The Little family’s Persian initially conspires with other cats to eliminate Stuart before eventually switching sides.
Comic-relief cats
Quiter than Teller, Cats do not need dialogue to make humans look foolish.
- Mr. Bigglesworth — Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997): Dr. Evil’s hairless cat parodies the elegant white Persian associated with James Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
- Mr. Jinx — Meet the Parents (2000): Jack Byrnes’ toilet-trained Himalayan becomes another obstacle in Greg Focker’s increasingly disastrous effort to impress his future in-laws.
- Angus — Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008): Georgia’s enormous pet cat contributes recurring feline chaos.
Plot-device cats
Sometimes the cat is the whole reason there even is a story.
- Rhubarb — Rhubarb (1951): An eccentric millionaire leaves his professional baseball team to a street cat, creating the premise for the entire film.
- Pyewacket — Bell, Book and Candle (1958): The Siamese familiar of witch Gillian Holroyd is closely connected to her supernatural abilities.
- Thomasina — The Three Lives of Thomasina (1963): The apparent death and later recovery of a young girl’s cat drive much of the story.
- Keanu — Keanu (2016): Two men enter the criminal underworld for one very important reason: somebody stole their kitten. Hmm, an illicit underground, crimes against pets and the name Keanu, where have I heard that combination before?
- Ulysses — Inside Llewyn Davis (2013): An orange tabby escapes from an apartment and becomes an unexpected companion during Llewyn Davis’ wandering journey.
- Mrs. Norris — Harry Potter series: Argus Filch’s cat patrols Hogwarts and repeatedly alerts him to students who are somewhere they should not be.
Companion and symbolic cats
Some cats do not commit crimes or fight aliens themselves. Instead, they simply reveal something about the humans around them.
- Cat — Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961): Holly Golightly refuses to give her orange tabby a proper name because, she says, they do not belong to each other. Her eventual search for Cat in the rain becomes part of the film’s emotional climax.
- Tonto — Harry and Tonto (1974): An elderly man travels across the United States with his orange cat, who becomes both his companion and a connection to the life he has left behind.
- Jones, or Jonesy — Alien (1979): The Nostromo’s orange ship cat contributes several tense moments and gives Ellen Ripley one more life to save while escaping the alien.
- The Godfather’s cat — The Godfather (1972): The unnamed cat does almost nothing, yet the image of Don Vito Corleone calmly stroking it while discussing decidedly less gentle business became one of cinema’s most recognizable introductions.
- Blofeld’s white Persian — James Bond films: The cat became visual shorthand for the sophisticated supervillain, even though it generally leaves the actual villainy to its owner.
