Cat

Lore & Background

In the sprawling, multiversal setting of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, items are drawn from a vast pool of objects, creatures, and artifacts gathered from every world the fighters call home. The Cat fits into this grab-bag logic: a small, harmless creature that somehow ended up in the item roulette alongside rocket boots and ancient swords. It carries no narrative weight in any single fighter's origin story, yet its presence reinforces Brawl's signature tone of playful absurdity—where a cosmic deity and a living sword share the same stage, a house cat is perfectly at home.

Fans often point to the Cat as an example of the game's design philosophy: even the most inconsequential element is given a little bit of personality. The cat doesn't flinch when a meteor slams the stage. It doesn't run when a giant hammer swings overhead. It simply blinks, washes a paw, and continues to sit on your head as the world shakes around it. In a franchise built on spectacle, that quiet, unbothered feline dignity is its own kind of character.

In Their Own Story

The stage was trembling. A beam of light split the sky, and two titans clashed in a shower of sparks. In the middle of it all, a small fighter—outmatched, outclassed, barely holding on—sprinted across the platform and snagged a glowing item from the spawn point. A tiny orange-and-white cat tumbled out, yawned, and settled onto the fighter's head with the casual confidence of a creature that has never once been in danger.

The titan roared. The stage cracked. The cat's ears swiveled, considered the noise, and went back to sleep. The fighter, for the first time in the match, laughed.

Reader's Guide

The Cat is a purely cosmetic small item in Brawl's item pool. When it spawns, it appears as a small glowing orb on the stage. The first fighter to touch it collects it, and the cat immediately hops up and sits on their head. From that point on, it is attached to that player for the rest of the round.

It deals no damage. It cannot be used as a projectile. It has no hidden attack, no timed explosion, no status effect. If you are hit, the cat does not fall off. If you are launched off-stage, the cat goes with you, still perched, still unbothered.

Strategically, the Cat is a complete non-factor. In a competitive or semi-competitive set, picking it up is effectively a wasted grab. However, in casual play or a "small items only" ruleset, it becomes a fun visual gag—your opponent will see you charging in with a tiny cat on your head, and that alone can break the tension of an otherwise serious match. For a new player, the Cat is a harmless, low-risk item to grab if you're unsure what else to pick up: you lose nothing, and you gain a very small companion for the rest of the round.

Did You Know?

• The Cat is one of Brawl's few items that is a living creature rather than an object, weapon, or vehicle.
• Once collected, the cat stays on the player's head even if they are launched off-stage, knocked into a wall, or hit by a special move.
• The Cat deals absolutely no damage and has no attack animation, making it one of the few items in the franchise with a purely cosmetic function.
• In a 'small items' ruleset, the Cat is often the safest pick since it cannot accidentally hurt the collector or be misused as a projectile.