Do you like cats? Do you enjoy sunshine and rainbows? Ice cream? Bountiful meadows of flowers in springtime?
Do you have a soul?
Because if you do, Neko Atsume is the game for you! Hit-Point Co.’s “kitty collector” is a free app for download on both iOS and Android devices. It lets you attract, feed, play with, and take pictures of over 60 different cats. You’ll use fish as in-game currency to purchase them new toys, locations, and fancy chow, all of which will attract different cats to your choice of abode. Simple, warm, and utterly cute this game’s sure to please any cat lover.
While not exactly chess, there is actually a strategy to Neko Atsume if you’re looking to eventually own all the toys, get a steady influx of felines, and a scrapbook full of adorable kittens. We’ve put together a guide on how best to climb up the game’s purr-gression:
Food
Of course , this is rule number one! It’s the golden rule: “Feed me and I am your friend.” The best way to get a cat to like you in Neko Atsume is to prove that they can trust you. Place food in the cat bowl and close out of the app. Fire it back up in a few minutes and there’ll likely be a cat playing with a nearby toy. The first one you’ll have access to is the red ball, Snowball’s favorite. As such, Snowball will likely be your first friend.
There are six different kinds of food in Neko Atsume, ranging from the less enticing to the downright bougie. The ranking is as follows:
Thrifty Bitz : And the cats know it. They won’t be thrilled to see it, and they certainly won’t come in droves, but nevertheless, Thrifty Bits are a cost-effective way to build up your resources enough to soon afford better options. Cost : Free.
Frisky Bitz : The ol’ reliable, filling your food bowl with frisky bits is a good compromise between luxury cat food and thrifty bits. Relatively inexpensive, it’s a good idea to have a solid stock of them readily accessible. We’d recommend at least six. It’ll hold you for a while! Frisky bits will also attract a larger number of cats, and will last longer than the really hot-ticket items. It’s Tubbs’ favorite, by the way, so don’t be surprised if you attract this big kitty who eats it all on his own. Don’t be upset, though; he tips well! Cost : 30 silver fish will give you three helpings.
Ritzy Bitz : Ritzy bits are the first menu choice that will require gold fish as opposed to silver, and will earn you the attention of a good 50% more cats than frisky bits. It gets eaten up faster, though, so check your phone more often if you want to snag those pics! Cost : Three gold fish
Sashimi : Colorful and elegant, sashimi is sure to fill your yard with hungry, excited cats. A great choice since it’s still relatively inexpensive, and just nice enough to get the message across. Plus, you may also get a surprise visit from the elusive Whiteshadow! Cost: Five gold fish
Bonito Bitz : Getting into the really fancy territory, bonito bits are the fois gras, the filet mignon of the culinary cat cuisine. There’ll be so many cats on screen you’ll start to feel like a crazy cat lady. Surprisingly this typically gets eaten pretty slowly, too, so you’ll be getting your money’s worth for sure. Cost: Seven gold fish
Deluxe Tuna Bitz : The pinnacle of your choices, the paradigm of options, deluxe tuna is a feast that no cat can resist. Put this in the bowl for a special occasion if you want to see literally every position on the screen filled up. It’s pricey, but you can’t beat the photo opportunities. It’ll look like they’re taking over your yard! Cost: 12 gold fish
When you buy the fancier treats like Bonito Bitz or Sashimi, you will be offered the option to buy in bulk. Definitely do it! It’ll save you fish in the long run.
Cats and toys
Every cat has a few toys they tend to gravitate toward, be it a favorite cushion, ball, or scratching post. If you want a cat to make more frequent return trips to your yard, definitely note which toys they like best! Once you’ve taken a picture of a cat, you can view it in your album. Here it’ll show the cat’s “power level” (which pertains to how rare they are), as well as how many fish they will leave you as a reward.
Below the cat’s portrait it will show his/her top 3 favorite toys. Leave out all three for your best chance at seeing them come back.
Mementos
If a cat visits you a certain number of times, a “cutscene” will trigger, after which they’ll leave you a reward of sorts. It may be a damaged spoon, an acorn, or even a damp matchbox.
Greatttt.
You can check your mementos screen to proudly scroll through your plethora of useful rewards.
Unique cats
Some cats in this game are funny little pop culture references. Mr. Meowgi , Guy Furry , and Billy the Kitten are some examples. These guys will come only if you’ve got a specific toy (or two) out, so the more toys you purchase the more chance you’ll meet these special cats. Mr. Meowgi likes his wooden log, for example, while Conductor Whiskers is fascinated by anything involving trains. Unique cats will also pay you more fish, so it’s worth trying to get their attention. Plus, they’re adorable.
Tips
Buy the yard expansion first
On the ‘shop’ screen the final option you have (tab left once to get to it faster) is for an expensive yard expansion. We recommend you save up your gold fish and get this as early as you can. This will double the size of every map in the game, which not only provides twice as many spaces for toys, but also a second food bowl. It’ll pay for itself in no time.
Never relocate if there are cats present
If there’s a cat playing in your yard, you can look and take pictures, but don’t try and relocate; they won’t like it. It’s the equivalent of taking them away from their toy. Switching maps before your cats have had their fill will result in your rewards being knocked down to a single silver fish.
Input the daily password
Check out the in-game menu and you’ll see a red exclamation mark at the bottom. Click this and a cat will pop up on top with a sign showing “today’s password.” Click the password and you’ll automatically input the password and get some free fish! Do this five times and you’ll get a free can of ritzy bits!
Exchange silver fish for gold
All the really good toys in this game will cost you gold fish. Scroll past the luxury cat items on the shop screen and you’ll see an option to spend 500 silver fish in exchange for 10 gold ones. Early in the game this seems ludicrous, but as you get a steady stream of silver fish the choice will quickly become more enticing – particularly if you have your eye on the aforementioned yard expansion. Always keep some silver fish on hand, too, but any surplus would be better turned into gold fish than needlessly spent on extra frisky bits.
Auto-set your goodies
In your “goodies” menu where it lists all your purchased toys you’ll see the option to “auto-set” up top. Click it and your yard will randomly fill with toys you’ve collected. This is a good way to quickly clean and reset your yard. Remember that different cats prefer certain toys over others, so varying up your selection is key. Plus it provides with more animations and opportunities for new pictures! Similar to switching locations while there are cats present, never reset your yard while there are cats playing; you’ll be taking away their toys!
Get the cat trees
Toys like the cat metropolis or the sled will be able to hold multiple cats. You should usually opt for a big gymnasium or cat tree instead of two smaller toys. Put in a luxury cat food while the metropolis is out, for example, and you’ll see the whole yard completely filled with cats!
Get the cubes
Boxy objects like the cubes or the tree stump can fit one cat inside and another on top, so if you’re going to use luxury cat food it’d be a good idea to have these out; you’ll get more bang for your buck!
Thrifty bits before bed
Before you go to bed at night, or if you’re not going to have access to your phone for a while, put out a bowl or two of thrifty bits. You won’t be missing any notable cats if there’s only thrifty bits available, so you’re not going to lose your chance to get a rare photo. It’ll be nice to wake up in the morning and find a bunch of fish in your rewards menu, though. Some cats even leave gold fish for thrifty bits!
And that’s about it! We hope this guide has been helpful, and that you’ll post a bunch of cute cat pictures in the comments below.
Related Articles
10 best free to play games ever
4 sites for free retro games
10 best action games
Best video games to play with a partner
