Cats

What we know

GTA 6 has two kinds of cat. IGN's list of animals spotted in Rockstar's footage and screenshots names "Cats (Domestic and Feral)", and Sportskeeda reports the same from Game Informer's cover story. Game Informer's own write-up puts feral cats in a group of invasive species, with green iguanas, cane toads and rhesus macaques, that share Leonida with native animals such as flamingos and alligators.

That grouping is telling. Rockstar is treating strays as part of Florida's ecology, the way it treats iguanas and toads, rather than as background props in a backyard.

Can you pet cats in GTA 6?

Rockstar has not said. Dogs are the only animal shown being petted: Jason does it in An Extended Look, and IGN reports you can also scold a dog or study it for the animal checklist. Writing up the Game Informer story, IGN guessed that petting will "presumably extend to other animals like cats" if GTA 6 follows Red Dead Redemption 2, but that is IGN's reading, not a Rockstar statement.

Question	Dogs	Cats
In the game	Yes, four breeds spotted	Yes, house and feral
Pet them	Shown in the Extended Look	Not shown
Study them	Yes (IGN)	Not stated
Own one	Unknown	Unknown

Our take: we expect cat petting to arrive with the dog petting. Both are small, friendly animals in a game that rewards small kindnesses through its Criminal Profile, and IGN saw petting a dog trigger a positive "angel" icon. But Rockstar only showed dogs, so treat cats as unknown until November 19. If you are filling the animal checklist, the feral and house cat may well be two separate entries; check alleys, marinas and strip malls for strays and yards and windows for pets. Aftermath ranked cats the best animal in GTA 6 so far, which tells you how many players will try to pet one in the first hour.

What to watch for at launch

• A petting prompt on cats, and whether it moves the Criminal Profile like dog petting.
• Whether house cats and feral cats count as separate studied animals.
• Any sign you can keep a pet (our pets rumor check).