Gameplay Overview
Feed the Cat, Save the Night
The full release introduces the cat as both a comfort mascot and a mechanical safeguard. If you feed it during the day with cat food, the upcoming night resolves with zero fatalities—no residents, guests, or allies will die while the cat is content. Petting or picking it up won’t change the rules, but it reinforces the sense of safety after tense visitor screenings.
Egghead Guy’s dialogue spells it out: schedule your daytime tasks so cat food is always ready before dusk. Skipping a feeding is effectively opting out of your nightly safety net.
How to Recruit the Cat
- Let the Cat Lady In: The only way to gain the feline is to admit the Cat Lady the first time she knocks. Turn her away and the cat never appears in that run.
- A Permanent Resident: Even if FEMA captures the Cat Lady or she dies later, the cat remains in your shelter for the rest of the playthrough.
- Survivor of Last Resort: The cat stays put even if every other character is gone, which is why the community keeps repeating “cat lady no im not human” when discussing late-game stability.
Nightly Protection Logic
Feeding flips an invisible flag for the next night. As long as you delivered food during the day, death-causing scripts are blocked. The protection expires at daybreak, so you must repeat the ritual each cycle to keep everyone safe.
Petting or holding the cat does not extend the buff, but it helps role-players and narrative-focused runs stay grounded between difficult choices.
Handling the Intruder
The cat does not satisfy the Intruder’s “someone else is home” requirement. If the only things inside are you and the cat, the Intruder still counts you as alone and will attack. Plan to keep at least one additional human present on nights when the Intruder is likely to arrive.
Think of the cat as a nightly death shield, not a replacement for human witnesses during scripted confrontations.
Trivia & Speculation
- The cat model is identical to the pet the Cat Lady carries, reinforcing their connection.
- Fans speculate that future updates might let the cat sniff out disguised visitors, but that remains unconfirmed.
Quick Reference Checklist
- Admit the Cat Lady the first time she appears.
- Grab cat food every morning before other optional chores.
- Feed the cat before sunset to secure the zero-death night.
- Keep at least one other survivor indoors when preparing for the Intruder.
- Use downtime to interact with the cat—it keeps morale high even if it doesn’t extend the buff.
Summary
The “no i’m not human cat” is a mid-game stabilizer. Maintain the feeding loop to buy time for smarter visitor screenings, secure the Cat Lady early, and pair the cat’s nightly protection with other defenses to keep your household intact.