# The Cat — Just So Stories character guide

> The Cat in Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Cat, O Cat

**First appearance:** 0010-the-cat-that-walked-by-himself

## Snapshot

A wild cat who strikes a bargain with the Woman — three praises, three privileges — and walks by his wild lone even as he inches toward the fire.

## Who they are

The Cat is the one animal who refuses the Woman's terms outright, declaring himself neither friend nor servant, and instead negotiates a wager: one word of praise earns him the Cave, two the fire, three the milk. He then vanishes into the Wet Wild Woods, kept informed by the Bat, waiting for the Woman to forget. His patient scheming — and the moment he pats the Baby's cheek — makes him the story's most modern figure: a creature who wants the comforts of home without ever admitting he wants them.

## Relationships

### [Old Man Kangaroo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/old_man_kangaroo)

_rivalry_

Old Man Kangaroo and The Cat are antagonists, often competing or clashing in the whimsical world of the stories.

### [Dingo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/dingo)

_rivalry_

Dingo and The Cat are natural adversaries, often depicted in conflict or competition within the stories.

### [Old Man Kangaroo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/old_man_kangaroo)

_rivalry_

Old Man Kangaroo and The Cat are antagonists, often competing or clashing in the whimsical world of the stories.

### [Old Man Kangaroo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/old_man_kangaroo)

_rivalry_

Old Man Kangaroo and The Cat are antagonists, often competing or clashing in the whimsical world of the stories.

### [Dingo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/dingo)

_rivalry_

Dingo and The Cat are natural adversaries, often depicted in conflict or competition within the stories.

### [Dingo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/dingo)

_rivalry_

Dingo and The Cat are natural adversaries, often depicted in conflict or competition within the stories.

## In the story

### [The Cat That Walked by Himself](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/chapters/the-cat-that-walked-by-himself)

The wildest animal who walks by himself and negotiates a bargain with the Woman to enter the Cave.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters/the_cat
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/just_so_stories_se/characters