Overview
Humanoid cats largely have their roots in Japanese folklore, as the "bananeko", or demon cats. Later Japanese anime and manga depicted a more innocent version of female feline humanoids, usually referred to as "catgirls" and they have since become somewhat of a symbol of Japanese culture. The large majority of feline humanoids are female and both Japan and some western cultures see women with cat-like features or behaviour (either in the form of costumes or as part of them physically) as cute and/or sexually attractive.
Most feline humanoids appear entirely human apart from cat ears and tails, this way keeping them more human and therefore more sexually appealing, however some feline humanoids have fur or even cat-like faces. It is also not uncommon for feline humanoids to display cat-like body language, cat-like grooming habits, make noises similar to cats, or display a cat-like playfulness and innocence.
Examples of Feline Humanoids
One particularly notable feline humanoid from video games is Felicia from the fighting game series Darkstalkers, a catgirl who was raised by a nun and left her home town to pursue her dream of becoming a musical star. In the fighting game series Blazblue, a clan of cat people called the Kaka exist who were cloned from the DNA of the catgirl Jubei, this clan includes major character Taokaka. The later Sonic the Hedgehog games feature a character called Big the Cat who is a large, rather unintelligent purple cat who lives in a swamp with his pet frog Froggy. Both MMO entries in the Final Fantasy series feature a race of feline humanoids: The Mithra in Final Fantasy XI Online, and the Miqo'te in Final Fantasy XIV and its expansions, The Miqo'te also appear in Final Fantasy XV through a permanent crossover event between the two games. One rare western example of cat people in a video game are the Khajiit from the Elder Scrolls universe, an intelligent and acrobatic race from the province of Elsweyr.
Log in to comment