My Desktop Cat

My Desktop Cat puts a cat on your Windows desktop, where it wanders, naps and plays behind your windows while you work. Its daily rhythm includes eating, grooming, stretching, getting the zoomies and following your cursor. A thought bubble shows when it is hungry, thirsty, sleepy or wants a cuddle. If you allow it, the cat also sniffs new files that appear on your desktop. Your bond grows as you care for and play with it.

Care for your cat

Click the bowls to fill them, pet your cat and choose from six treats, each aimed at one of its six needs. Pick a toy and watch it chase the toy under your pointer. In the grooming room, follow six paths with a brush, one for each spot; a flower blooms for each completed path. Your cat uses a scratching post on its own or when you click it, helping its hygiene. You can sow a variety of grass in a planter, watch it grow and let your cat come nibble it. Each cat has its own temperament, shaped by care and play, and your bond can grow from Shy to Best friend.

Adopt and raise cats

You can adopt more cats, each with its own name, needs and level, and choose which one keeps you company. In the nursery, select a mother and father from your adopted cats; they meet to the sound of a music box. The next day, a kitten waits in a basket, inheriting a real coat pattern from its parents’ genes: tabby, tortoiseshell, bicolour, pointed, blue or lilac. Its rarity, from common to legendary, is revealed at birth. Before naming it, you can redraw its genes once for free, then for 20 Kibbles. A kitten arrives tiny on your desktop and grows up in a week; a new free meeting is available every week.

Level up and earn rewards

Your cat earns XP as you look after it and can reach level 100. Each time it levels up, three cards float above it on the desktop; choose one and your cat hops up to break it. Cards can contain Paw Coins, a lasting bonus to Paw Coin rewards, a need that decreases more slowly, double XP for 24 hours of play, a blue box or a premium item.

Each day brings three goals, including a mini-game mission, and a wish from your cat. You can claim a daily box for free once a day, with every seventh box golden. Fill the weekly notebook with days of care and granted wishes to earn another golden box. If you are away for a week or longer, your cat keeps a golden box for your return.

Missions and mini-games

Six cozy mini-games are available in Missions, from Treat rain to the Radio concert. Each pays Paw Coins for its first win of the day. In Jungle Dash, your cat races toward an old temple and collects kibble: jump over logs, slide under branches and switch lanes before cheeky monkeys catch you.

Make your desktop yours

Choose from 23 illustrated rooms, each with a clear floor for little paws, or keep your own wallpaper. Five optional animated decors add scenes to a room: birds at the window; pumpkin lanterns that wake your cat; a studio with lights that dance to the radio; leaves swept along by the wind; and a jungle treehouse where the sun gives way to the moon and fireflies. You can display your own pictures in photo frames in four styles, facing you or turned aside.

Place up to eight perches to make climbing routes, and arrange the bowls, bed and radio wherever you like. The desktop radio can stream the included lo-fi station or control your own music player, and your cat comes over to listen.

Cats and collections

The game includes eight cats: Maple Tabby is available from the start, Classic White and Mist Chartreux can be obtained for Paw Coins, and five premium cats include Marigold, the golden Bengal. Kittens from the nursery are additional. You can collect more than 200 accessories, including toys, beds, rugs, bowls, perches, radios, scratching posts and planters.

Earn Paw Coins by caring for your cat and playing, then spend them in the shop or on a surprise box. Completing album collections such as Gentle Jungle earns a golden box for each collection, another golden box for every two collections, and the titles Collector and Curator. You can also try the shop’s find of the day on your desktop for free for 15 minutes.

Progress and settings

The base game is free to play. Premium cats, accessories, radios and animated decors are optional cosmetic purchases made with Kibbles, a premium currency sold on Steam. You can also earn Kibbles through play: a little each day, sometimes in boxes, and 100 from three achievements. Premium items have fixed prices with no random draw; Paw Coins are never sold, and boxes cannot be bought with real money or Kibbles.

Full-screen apps pause your cat automatically. A compact desktop menu and tray icon keep the game’s controls within reach. Steam Cloud keeps your progress, and the game includes 20 Steam achievements.