{{Short description|Human female character with feline traits}}
{{hatnote group| {{About|the anime/manga trope|the film|Cat Girl|the character|Carrie Kelley|other uses|Catgirl (disambiguation)}} {{distinguish|Cat lady|Catwoman}} }} {{Redirect|Catboy|the musician|Boyd Terry}}
[[File:Neko Wikipe-tan.svg|thumb|alt=Illustration of Wikipe-tan as a catgirl. She is a young girl with blue hair, cat ears and a tail, wearing a maid dress, and is laying down on all fours with one hand forward posing as a cat.|A {{translit|ja|shōjo|nocat=yes}} illustration of Wikipe-tan<!--MOS:SELFREF--> as a catgirl maid, with cat ears and a tail.<!--Mentioning that she is moe anthro Wikipedia, and/or that she is usually not thought of as a catgirl, is too tangential for the lead image caption-->]]
A {{Nihongo|'''catgirl'''|猫耳<!--This is the title on Japanese Wikipedia; see wikt:ねこみみ-->|'''nekomimi'''|{{lit|cat ear[s]}}|lead=yes}}{{efn|Also: {{Nihongo||猫娘|nekomusume|{{lit|cat girl}}}}}} or '''neko'''{{efn|From Japanese {{Nihongo||猫|neko|{{lit|cat}}}} }} is a female character with feline traits, such as cat ears, a tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. The equivalent male character is called a '''catboy'''. As a type of {{translit|ja|kemonomimi}}, catgirls are associated with Japanese anime and manga but may appear in other genres.
Catgirls are descended from Edo and Shōwa period stories of villainous, shapeshifting cat monsters such as {{tlit|ja|bakeneko}} or {{tlit|ja|nekomata}}, whose cat traits signaled their villainous role to audiences. Postwar and more recent media have largely rehabilitated catgirls into docile, {{tlit|ja|moe}} characters.
==Description== {{multiple image | total_width = 320 | align = right | image1 = Toronto 2015 cosplay (16931212845).jpg | alt1 = A young woman wearing a maid outfit with cat ears, presenting a bottle of soda on a tray. | image2 = Cosplay of Azusa Nakano 2024 FF43.jpg | alt2 = A young woman wearing cat ears and a school girl outfit posing for a photograph. | footer = Catgirl cosplayers at fan conventions }}
The term ''catgirl'' is applied broadly to characters with some (often minor or superficial) cat physiology, and usually with at least one of either cat ears or a cat tail. Depending on the narrative, a catgirl may have cat-like mannerisms or verbal tics, or the ability to become a cat.<ref name="Planty-2020" /> A character who wears a cat ear headband, or who is momentarily depicted with cat ears to convey emotion, might also be called a catgirl within that context.{{cn|date=December 2025}}
Whether a catgirl is correctly categorized as a furry, or whether a person who appreciates catgirls is considered {{tlit|ja|kemonā}}, is hotly controversial amongst fans who do not wish to be associated with both furry and catgirl fandoms. This is further complicated by the loose definition of a catgirl as a character who may or may not possess certain cat traits, raising the question of which or how many such traits can be added before a character is better sorted as a furry.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 February 2017 |title=『けものフレンズ』大ヒットの理由とは？ ガチケモナーな東大研究者が語るケモナーの歴史とその深淵 |trans-title=What is the reason for the huge success of "Kemono Friends"? A hardcore furry researcher from Tokyo University talks about the history and depths of furries |url=https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/kikakuthetower/kemono_friends |access-date=4 March 2025 |website=Denfaminicogamer |language=Japanese}}</ref>
==History== [[File:Bakeneko2.JPG|thumb|Actor Onoe Kikugorō III as a cat monster in Utagawa Kuniyoshi's ''The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō'' (1835)]] The oldest mention of the term {{Nihongo||猫娘|nekomusume|{{lit|cat girl}}}} comes from an 18th-century {{tlit|ja|misemono}} in which a cat/woman hybrid was displayed.<ref name="Davisson-2017" /> Stories of shapeshifting {{tlit|ja|bakeneko}} prostitutes were popular during the Edo period.<ref name="Davisson-2017">{{Cite book |last=Davisson |first=Zack |author-link=Zack Davisson |title=Kaibyō : the supernatural cats of Japan |publisher=Chin Music Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-63405-916-9 |edition=First |location=Seattle, WA |oclc=1006517249}}</ref> The ukiyo-e<!--Ukiyo-e is now a loanword; no italics needed--> artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861) depicted the human forms of cat monsters as retaining cat ears, a trait that made them appear untrustworthy or frightening.<ref name="Planty-2020">{{Cite web |last=Planty |first=Blake |date=July 19, 2020 |title=From Bakeneko to Bakemonogatari: The Secret History of Catgirls |url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/features/2020/7/19/from-bakeneko-to-bakemonogatari-the-secret-history-of-catgirls |access-date=March 4, 2025 |website=Crunchyroll News}}</ref> The popularity of the {{tlit|ja|nekomusume}} continued throughout the Edo and Shōwa periods, with many tales of cat/woman hybrids appearing in works such as the {{Nihongo||絵本小夜時雨|Ehon Sayoshigure}} and {{Nihongo||安政雑記|Ansei zakki}}.<ref name="Davisson-2017" />
The villain in Kenji Miyazawa's 1924 work ''{{ill|The 4th of Narcissus Month|ja|水仙月の四日}}'' is the first example of a beautiful cat-eared woman in modern Japanese literature.<ref name="Gow-2012">{{Cite web |date=29 April 2012 |title=ニコニコ超会議のネコ耳人気に嫉妬！最古のネコ耳もかわいいもん |trans-title=I'm jealous of the popularity of cat ears at Niconico Chokaigi! The oldest cat ears are cute too |url=http://magazine.gow.asia/life/column_details.php?column_uid=00001362 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505121210/http://magazine.gow.asia/life/column_details.php?column_uid=00001362 |archive-date=5 May 2012 |access-date=4 March 2025 |website=Gow! Magazine |language=Japanese}}</ref> In 1936, the {{tlit|ja|nekomusume}} experienced a revival in {{tlit|ja|kamishibai}}.<ref name="Davisson-2017" /> Anime and manga such as ''Princess Knight'' (1953) and ''Star of Cottonland'' (1978) began to reimagine catgirls as cute and approachable characters rather than dangerous monsters, though these mediums can still cast antagonistic catgirls as in ''Dominion'' (1985) and ''Bakemonogatari'' (2009).<ref name="Planty-2020" /><ref name="Da Vinci-2013">{{Cite web |date=2 November 2013 |title=なぜ獣耳（けもみみ）娘はかわいいのか？ を検証してみた |trans-title=Why are girls with animal ears so cute? |url=https://news.nicovideo.jp/watch/nw825268 |access-date=4 March 2025 |website=Da Vinci |language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Berndt |first=Jaqueline |title=Phänomen Manga : Comic-Kulture in Japan |publisher=Edition q |year=1995 |isbn=978-3-86124-289-5 |location=Berlin |page=111 |language=de}}</ref> In America, the DC Comics character Catwoman first appeared in 1940, and Cheetah first appeared in 1943.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wallace |first=Daniel |title=DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7566-6742-9 |editor-last=Dolan |editor-first=Hannah |page=31 |chapter=1940s |quote=The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one. With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman.}}</ref>
By the 1990s, catgirls had become common in Japanese anime and manga.<ref name="Azuma-2009"/> Catgirls have since been featured in various media worldwide. Enough of a subculture has developed for various themed conventions and events to be held around the world, such as Nekocon.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-11-07 |title=After Action Report |url=http://hamptonroads.com/2007/11/after-action-report |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914090838/http://hamptonroads.com/2007/11/after-action-report |archive-date=2016-09-14 |access-date=2013-02-03 |work=The Virginian-Pilot}}</ref>
==As an aesthetic== {{CSS image crop |Image = Beanie with cat ears patterned as pride flags.jpg |bSize = 300 |cWidth = 220 |cHeight = 200 |oTop = 120 |oLeft = 48 |Location = left |Description = An example of cat ears used in queer clothing aesthetics – a tuque with sewn-on Polar fleece{{!}}fleece cat ears in the patterns of the lesbian and trans flags. }} In 1980s Japan, cat ears started to appear as a regular accessory in some youth,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kaneko |first=Shobo |date=November 1985 |title=「若者+昭和」ライフスタイル事典 |trans-title="Youth + Showa" Lifestyle Encyclopedia |journal=青年心理 |language=Japanese |volume=54 |pages=49}} {{NCID|BN14331136}}</ref> with limited continuing popularity.<ref name="Da Vinci-2013" /> Recent cat ear headbands sometimes use motorized ears, which emote depending on the wearer's state of mind as determined from electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes.<ref name="Gow-2012" /> [[File:Joyce-stick-soshage-video-thumbnail (cropped).jpg|thumb|220px|A VTuber catgirl avatar, featuring a transgender flag color pattern on the bowtie]] Responsive cat ears may make it easier for audiences to discern a VTuber's expression.<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Yeh |first1=Tzu-Hsuan |last2=Tsau |first2=Saiau-Yue |date=2022 |title=Taking Cat Ears to Improve the Facial Emotions of Virtual YouTuber to Enhance the Immersion of Readers |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9869288 |conference=2022 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics Taiwan |url-access=subscription |pages= |doi=10.1109/ICCE-Taiwan55306.2022.9869288 |access-date=21 December 2025}}</ref> In 2024, four of the ten most subscribed VTubers were characters with animal ears.<ref>{{cite conference |last=Ahn |first=Jungyong |date=2024 |title=An Exploratory Study on Virtual YouTuber Consumption: Focusing on the Worldview, Appearance, Voice, and Personality of Virtual YouTuber |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jungyong-Ahn/publication/388042338_An_Exploratory_Study_on_Virtual_YouTuber_Consumption_Focusing_on_the_Worldview_Appearance_Voice_and_Personality_of_Virtual_YouTuber/links/679c38b252b58d39f25f0c66/An-Exploratory-Study-on-Virtual-YouTuber-Consumption-Focusing-on-the-Worldview-Appearance-Voice-and-Personality-of-Virtual-YouTuber.pdf |work= |book-title=Proceedings of HCI Korea 2024 |p=55 |conference=HCI Korea 2024 |location= |publisher= |access-date=21 December 2025}}</ref> Some Japanese trains and train stations are also decorated with cat ears.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.explore.com/1872230/japan-cat-train-wakayama-electric-rail-kishigawa-line-decorated-charming-journey-scenic-countryside/ |title=Japan's Beloved 'Cat Train' Is A Decorated And Charming Journey Through Scenic Countryside |last=Gleason |first=Grae}}</ref>
In the West, queer or transgender youth may adopt the catgirl as an ideal self, to be expressed on the Internet.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Zaman |first=Hazal Ali |title=Feeling Otherwise: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study of Queer and Trans Youth of Color Who Create and Embody Fursonas |date=23 May 2024 |access-date=4 March 2025 |degree=Ph.D. |publisher=Portland State University |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e49b1a26b7d5e51d433ff90/t/665a3a0400a4dd49e7c18efd/1717189129257/THE+FINAL_DISS.pdf |doi=10.15760/etd.3757}}</ref> In a 2022 survey of trans software engineers, 80.5% indicated they were "kinda" or "very" experienced with the catgirl concept.<ref>{{Cite conference |last=Kychenthal |first=Skye |date=26 March 2022 |title=Why The Trans Programmer? |conference=IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference 2022 |arxiv=2205.01553}}</ref> Some Internet memes flippantly advocate for genetically engineering catgirls,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yeo |first=Amanda |date=2023-11-24 |title='Gay furry hackers' breach nuclear lab, demand it create catgirls |url=https://mashable.com/article/catgirl-real-nuclear-hack |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref> though this is entirely infeasible with current biomedical technology.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Strategic roadmap for research in morphological freedom |url=https://freedomofform.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Research-areas-white-paper.pdf |access-date=2025-04-23 |publisher=Freedom of Form Foundation |language=en}}</ref> {{clear}}
==Analysis== thumb|alt=Black-and-white sketch headshot of a young woman with cat ears. The cat ears are drawn simply with two to three strokes on the top of the head.|Minimal linework is needed to add cat ears to an existing character, which may have contributed to their popularity.
According to the Japanese magazine ''Da Vinci'', the fact that cat ears can often be easily retrofitted to a character or costume without compromise has made the catgirl trope accessible and quickly popular. It is further suggested that the docile image created by cat ears stimulates the viewer's desire to protect cute animals.<ref name="Da Vinci-2013" /> Japanese philosopher Hiroki Azuma has stated that catgirl characteristics such as cat ears and feline speech patterns are examples of {{tlit|ja|moe}}-elements.<ref name="Azuma-2009">{{Cite book |last=Azuma |first=Hiroki |author-link=Hiroki Azuma |url=https://archive.org/details/otakujapansdatab00azum |title=Otaku: Japan's database animals |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8166-6800-7 |edition=English |location=Minneapolis |pages=[https://archive.org/details/otakujapansdatab00azum/page/n77 47], 89 |translator-last=Abel |translator-first=Jonathan |oclc=527737445 |translator-last2=Kono |translator-first2=Shion |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Galbraith |first=Patrick W. |date=31 October 2009 |title=Moe and the Potential of Fantasy in Post-Millennial Japan |url=http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html |url-status=live |journal=Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025065102/http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2009/Galbraith.html |archive-date=2019-10-25 |access-date=2018-05-23}}</ref>
In a 2010 critique of the manga series ''Loveless'', the feminist writer T. A. Noonan argued that, in Japanese culture, catgirl characteristics have a similar role to that of the Playboy Bunny in western culture, serving as a fetishization of youthful innocence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Noonan |first=T. A. |date=Fall 2010 |title="I Can't Get Excited for a Child, Ritsuka": Intersections of Gender, Identity, and Audience Ambiguity in Yun Kôga's Loveless |url=http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf |url-status=live |journal=MP: An Online Feminist Journal |volume=3 |issue=2 |issn=1939-330X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112002434/http://academinist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/MP03_02_02Noonan_Child.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2016 |access-date=10 February 2013}}</ref> In a ''Games and Culture'' review of common oppressive tropes in fantasy video games, Heijman and Vervoort write that "catgirls exist to be wooed" just as "goblins exist to be slain".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heijman |first1=Nicky |last2=Vervoort |first2=Joost |date=2024 |title=It’s Not Always About You: The Subject and Ecological Entanglement in Video Games |url=https://research-portal.uu.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/234554769/heijmen-vervoort-2023-it-s-not-always-about-you-the-subject-and-ecological-entanglement-in-video-games.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Games and Culture |volume=19 |issue=6 |p=744 |doi=10.1177/15554120231179261 |access-date=21 December 2025}}</ref>
==See also== <!--Alphabetically sorted--> * Animal roleplay * Femboy * Furry fandom * Human–animal hybrid * ''Kitsune'' * List of fictional catpeople * {{tlit|ja|Nekomata}}
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite journal |last=Adams |first=M.J. |date=2023 |title=Schrödinger’s Catgirl: Hoyoverse, Cybernesis, and the Ethnography of Metaverse |url=https://webbut.unitbv.ro/index.php/Series_VII/article/download/5278/4123 |journal=Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov, Series VII: Social Sciences and Law |volume=16 |issue=65 |publisher= |pages=19-28 |doi= |access-date=}} * {{cite journal |last=Bartle |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Bartle |date=2020 |title=Unrealisticness |url=https://mud.co.uk/richard/Unrealisticness.pdf |journal=Ludology: revista de investigación sobre juegos y videojuegos |volume=1 |issue=2 |publisher= |pages=24-29 |doi= |access-date=}} * {{Cite conference |last1=Yamamura |first1=Hiroo |last2=Kondo |first2=Ryota |last3=Sugimoto |first3=Maki |date=23 November 2024 |title=Necomimi illusion: Generating Ownership of Cat Ears through Haptic Feedback via Hair |conference=SA '24: SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 XR |location=Tokyo, Japan |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |doi=10.1145/3681759.3688923 |doi-access=free }}
==External links== * {{Commons category inline}} * {{Wiktionary-inline|catgirl|catgirl|catperson}}
{{Stock characters}} {{Portal bar|Animals|Anime and manga}}
Category:Catgirls Category:18th-century neologisms Category:Anime and manga terminology Category:Cats in Japan Category:Fantasy tropes Category:Female stock characters Category:Fictional cats Category:Fictional human–animal hybrids Category:Fictional hybrid species and races Category:Furry fandom Category:Japanese subcultures Category:Moe anthropomorphism Category:Japanese slang Category:Yōkai Category:Transgender culture