Cat

The domestic cat is a small, hair-covered, mammal. They were valued by humans before the Great War for their companionship and ability to hunt vermin, such as rodents, snakes, scorpions, and other household pests. Live cats are first seen in the Commonwealth, frequently kept as pets and sometimes seen living freely in the wasteland.

Background
Cats survived the nuclear holocaust, subsequently existing in reduced numbers, found commonly in the Commonwealth and Appalachia and less-so on the West Coast in establishments such as Broken Hills. Utilized as food during times of famine, some individuals believe them to be extinct.The Chosen One: "{120}{}{Why the glum face?}" Stacy: "{134}{}{Oh, nothing really. Just sometimes I get thinking about my mom and cat. I miss them so very much.}" The Chosen One: "{135}{}{Cat?}" Stacy: "{137}{}{Yeah, Cuddles. She was such a sweet cat. I really don't feel like talking about it... Well, unless you'd like to buy me a drink. That might help.}" The Chosen One: "{139}{}{Of course I will. I'd love to hear about it.}" Stacy: "{146}{}{I hear there used to be ones that were as big as you and me. They used to eat animals as big as a brahmin. Now that's scary stuff.}" The Chosen One: "{148}{}{Yeah, it is.}" Stacy: "{149}{}{The kind I'm talking about is a small cute animal, bigger than a rat but smaller than a dog. Some are fluffy, like my Cuddles, but others have short hair.}" The Chosen One: "{150}{}{Really?}" Stacy: "{151}{}{They like to be pet like a dog does, but cats make this wonderful relaxing sound when you pet them.}" The Chosen One: "{152}{}{Strange.}" Stacy: "{153}{}{Cuddles always used to help me go to sleep at night. I think of her every night when I try to go to sleep.}" The Chosen One: "{155}{}{Go on.}" Stacy: "{156}{}{I had her when I was a kid, but she disappeared. I didn't know then what happened to her, I was too young.}" The Chosen One: "{157}{}{Why?}" Stacy: "{158}{}{Well, food was awfully scarce back then and people had to eat. It's quite sad really...}" The Chosen One: "{159}{}{What?}" Stacy: "{160}{}{People would hunt them because they were such easy prey. None of them are around anymore because of it.}" The Chosen One: "{162}{}{I can understand that.}" Stacy: "{163}{}{Those were the wild ones, but I'm sure that's what happened to mine. Now I know why Mom always kept a close eye on her.}" (Dcstory2.msg)

None-the-less, several wastelanders encountered across the former United States either own cats, talk about their past pets, or make references to cats as slang and cliches. Similar to before the war, cats are usually found near human habitation.

Variants


Regular cats with standard statistics and characteristics but no special attributes.

Fallout 2

 * Stacy, a resident of the Den in 2241, used to have a cat called Cuddles as a child that was killed for food.
 * A man in Broken Hills mentions his pet cat.
 * The Shark Club comedian makes a joke about Super mutant trying to get a cat out of a tree.

Fallout: New Vegas
A cat can be seen in the slideshow in the sacrificial chamber in Vault 11.

Fallout 4


Commonly found in the Commonwealth, found as strays and owned by others. Some cats can be domesticated with a cat cage and will contribute to settlement happiness. Cats will tend to a cat bowl and stay near to it. They will normally flee when confronted with combat situations, found outside settlement boundaries for a short time before wandering back home.

Fallout 76
Cats return in Fallout 76, as either unique ones or a generated cluster of three level 1's with their name being different breeds, tabby being house cat.
 * A cat named Cheswick could be found at the Wixon homestead.
 * With the release of Wastelanders, Cheswick II instead appears at Wixon homestead.
 * Generic cats can be reliably found between 98 NAR Regional and Maybell Pond.
 * Two can be found in Scoot's shack, to the south of the Southern Belle Motel.
 * One can be found at the billboard to the west of Beckwith farm on the edge of a cliff.
 * Murgle claims a coffee hut in the Mount Blair region, directly between Mount Blair trainyard and Welch station. A painting on the counter may or may not be of Murgle that the cat sits and meows at.
 * Tutti Frutti can be found in Foundation, in the Founder's Hall.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Mr. Pussy, a domestic cat, died in Carbon, Texas in 2208. Ruby the prostitute wanted to find him when he got lost, and asked the Initiate to help. They discovered the cat's corpse in the carbon crater and brought it back to Ruby.

Van Buren
According to the Nursery design document, various cats were to make an appearance there. There would have been friendly domestic cats kept by humans, as well as wildcats, bobcats and panthers that were hostile to the player character.

Related quests

 * Listen to Stacy's kitty story

Appearances
Cats are mentioned in Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, appearing first in Fallout 4 and have since appeared in Fallout 76, and Fallout Shelter.