Chasing Whiskers Beginner Guide

Welcome to Catworld! Chasing Whiskers is a free-to-play 3D cozy adventure and collectathon game where you play as a grandma who follows her missing cat through an interdimensional portal into a magical land made entirely for cats. Developed by the student team Five High Cats at Breda University of Applied Sciences over 24 weeks, this charming indie title entered Early Access on May 27, 2026, and launched fully on June 9, 2026.

Catworld is a place of gentle wonders — lush meadows, sunny beaches, enchanted gardens, and curious cat inhabitants of every breed imaginable. Your goal is straightforward: find your lost cat, explore this strange world, and help the locals along the way. But the real heart of the experience lies in the journey itself: completing errands for the friendly Cat Cafe owner Ponpon, making new feline friends, and uncovering every secret this cozy world has to offer.

This beginner guide will walk you through everything you need to start your adventure on the right paw.

Your First Steps in Catworld

When you start Chasing Whiskers, the game drops you into a vibrant, sunlit corner of Catworld right after your fall through the interdimensional portal. The portal has closed behind you, your cat is nowhere in sight, and you are surrounded by a world that was clearly not designed for humans — but the cats here are friendly, and one of them is eager to help.

Meet Ponpon at the Cat Cafe. The very first thing you should do is head toward the Cat Cafe, a cozy building that will become your main base of operations throughout the game. Inside, you will meet Ponpon, the cheerful cat who runs the cafe. Ponpon is your primary quest-giver, guide, and friend in Catworld. Talk to Ponpon to receive your very first errand, which serves as a tutorial for basic controls and interactions.

Learn the controls. Chasing Whiskers uses standard third-person 3D controls. You move with WASD (or a controller thumbstick if you are using one), look around with the mouse, and interact with objects and NPCs by pressing a context-sensitive button. The game supports jumping over small obstacles, and you can crouch to approach skittish cats without scaring them away. The camera follows behind your character smoothly, and you can adjust sensitivity in the settings menu if needed.

Explore the immediate surroundings. The starting area around the Cat Cafe is a safe, low-pressure zone designed to help you get comfortable. Wander around, pick up visible items scattered on the ground, talk to any NPCs you see, and get a feel for how the world responds to your actions. Resources, items, and interactable objects glow with a subtle highlight when you get close, making them easy to spot once you know what to look for.

Collect everything you see. Early items may seem unimportant, but they will come in handy. Flowers, stones, herbs, toys — nearly every item you find has a use in an errand or crafting recipe later. The game encourages a hoarder mentality, and there is no inventory weight limit, so grab everything.

Adjust your settings. Before diving deeper, take a moment to check the settings menu. You can adjust volume sliders for music and sound effects (the soundtrack is genuinely lovely), toggle subtitles, and adjust graphics quality if you are playing on lower-end hardware. Chasing Whiskers runs well on modest systems, but tweaking these settings early can save you frustration later.

Understanding the Core Gameplay Loop

Chasing Whiskers is driven by a satisfying gameplay loop that keeps you motivated without feeling repetitive. Understanding this loop is the key to enjoying the game and making steady progress.

Step 1: Receive errands from Ponpon. Ponpon at the Cat Cafe is your central hub for tasks. Errands range from simple gathering quests (collect five special flowers) to multi-step adventures (find a rare cat, obtain its favorite treat, bring it back). Each errand advances the story, unlocks new content, or rewards you with useful items.

Step 2: Explore Catworld to gather what you need. Once you have an errand, head out into the world to fulfill its requirements. The world is divided into distinct biomes — each with its own theme, resources, cat inhabitants, and secrets. Early areas are accessible from the start, while later zones require completing specific milestones. Resources respawn over time, so you can always revisit areas if you missed something.

Step 3: Catch and befriend cats. Cats are everywhere in Catworld, and catching them is the main collectathon element. Each cat has a unique personality and preferences — some approach you when you offer the right treat, others need to be lured with toys or specific items, and a few simply want to be left alone until they trust you. The satisfaction of adding a new cat to your collection is one of the game's primary rewards.

Step 4: Unlock new areas and harder challenges. Completing errands and catching cats gradually opens new parts of Catworld. Each new biome introduces fresh cat breeds, rarer resources, and more complex errands. The loop expands naturally, and the challenge curve is gentle — the game never demands perfection, only persistence and curiosity.

This four-phase cycle — errand, explore, catch, unlock — repeats and deepens as you progress. What starts as simple fetch quests evolves into multi-layered adventures across several biomes, with rare cats that require specific strategies and rare items hidden in hard-to-reach places.

Errands and Progression

Errands are the backbone of your journey through Catworld. Ponpon offers a steady stream of tasks organized in a loose progression that teaches you about the world while gradually increasing in complexity.

Gathering errands are the most common type early on. Ponpon asks you to collect a certain number of specific items — catnip leaves, shiny pebbles, lost toys, or aromatic herbs. These errands teach you where to find different resources and encourage thorough exploration of each zone. As you progress, gathering errands may ask for items from multiple biomes, or rare resources that only appear under specific conditions.

Delivery errands involve taking an item from one location or NPC to another. These serve a dual purpose: they help you learn the layout of each area while also introducing you to new characters. Many delivery errands are part of longer chains, where delivering one item triggers a follow-up request from the recipient.

Cat-related errands are where the game really shines. Ponpon or other NPCs may ask you to find and befriend a specific cat. These errands often require investigation — you need to figure out what that cat likes, where it tends to hang out, and how to approach it. Some cat errands are straightforward, while others are multi-stage puzzles that may involve crafting a specific item or waiting for a certain time of day.

Exploration errands point you toward landmarks, hidden areas, or scenic viewpoints. These errands are the game's way of guiding you toward discoverable content without feeling like a checklist. They reward curiosity and often lead to bonus cats or rare resources.

Your progress is tracked through a simple journal or quest log accessible from the menu. It shows active errands, completed milestones, and hints for errands you have accepted but not yet finished. Check the journal before setting out so you can plan efficient routes and complete multiple errands in a single trip.

A key insight from community feedback: always accept multiple errands at once when they are available, and review their requirements before heading out. You can often complete two or three errands in the same area during one exploration session, saving significant backtracking time. Material requirements often overlap — if one errand asks for herbs and another needs flowers, you can gather both in the same meadow.

Cats: The Heart of the Adventure

Catching cats is not a side activity in Chasing Whiskers — it is the main event. The game features dozens of cat breeds and variants spread across Catworld, each with its own appearance, personality, and catching method.

How to catch a cat. The process varies by cat, but the general approach is consistent. First, locate a cat in the wild. Cats tend to appear in specific areas that suit their personality — playful cats near open fields, shy cats in sheltered nooks, curious cats near interesting objects. Once you spot a cat, approach slowly. Running causes most cats to flee, and some will hide and become unavailable for a while. Walk or crouch as you get closer, and watch for the cat's reaction.

Use the right item. Each cat has preferences. Friendly cats may approach you if you have the right treat in your inventory. Shy cats might need a toy left on the ground to coax them out. Some cats respond to specific items found only in their home biome. Experiment with items from your inventory — the game gives subtle hints through item descriptions and NPC dialogue. The community has also shared effective strategies for particularly tricky cats.

Read the cat's mood. Cats communicate through body language. A purring cat with relaxed posture is ready to be approached. A cat that flicks its tail, flattens its ears, or hisses needs more space — back off and try a different approach. Learning to read these cues is essential for catching the more elusive breeds.

Build your collection. Each cat you catch joins your collection, viewable from the main menu. There is no known limit to how many cats you can collect, so aim to catch every one you encounter. Beyond the joy of collection, some cats have practical uses — they can help you find hidden items, reach high ledges, activate special mechanisms, or unlock secret areas. Pay attention to hints about each cat's unique abilities.

Community reports suggest there are dozens of distinct cat breeds in the game, with color variants and special event cats adding even more variety. Rare cats may require multi-step quests, specific timing, or items from later regions, making them exciting long-term goals.

Tips for a Smooth Start

Based on community feedback and early player experiences, here are practical tips to help you make the most of your first hours in Chasing Whiskers.

Talk to every NPC. Every character in Catworld has useful information. Some give hints about rare cat locations, others offer side errands with bonus rewards, and a few share lore that makes the world feel alive. Do not skip dialogue — the writing is charming and often contains clues you will want later.

Check your inventory often. Items that seem useless at first may become critical later on. The game does not explicitly label crafting or errand materials, so remembering what you have (and where you found it) is part of the puzzle. Use the journal to review active errands before you discard or sell anything.

Return to the Cat Cafe regularly. Ponpon's errand list refreshes as you complete tasks, and new errands often appear after you reach certain milestones. Make a habit of stopping by the cafe whenever you finish an errand — you may find a new one waiting that sends you right back to an area you are already familiar with.

Explore thoroughly. Hidden areas, secret cats, and rare resources are tucked away in corners that are easy to miss. If you spot a path that branches off the main trail, investigate it. If you see something glinting in the distance, go check it out. The game rewards thoroughness generously, and some of the best cats are found off the beaten path.

Do not rush. Chasing Whiskers is designed as a cozy, relaxing experience. There are no time limits on errands, no penalty for taking your time, and no way to lose progress permanently. The world is meant to be savored, not speedrun. Take breaks to enjoy the scenery, listen to the ambient sounds, and appreciate the cat animations.

Prioritize the first few errands. Ponpon's earliest tasks unlock core features and the first new area. Completing them quickly opens up more of Catworld and gives you access to more cats and resources. After that, you can explore at your own pace.

Use the environment. Catworld is full of interactive elements beyond the obvious. Climbable ledges, hidden tunnels, breakable objects, and environmental puzzles are scattered throughout. If you cannot reach a cat or item, look for an alternate route or a tool that might help.

What to Expect as You Progress

As you move beyond the early game, Chasing Whiskers opens up significantly. The cozy pacing remains, but the scope expands in satisfying ways.

New biomes await. Catworld contains multiple distinct environments beyond the starting area. Community reports suggest biomes inspired by enchanted forests, sunny beaches, tranquil gardens, mystical ruins, and more fantastical settings. Each biome introduces its own visual identity, weather patterns, unique resources, and exclusive cat breeds. Reaching a new biome for the first time is a genuine treat.

Rare cats become targets. Some of the most rewarding content is tracking down the rarest cats in the game. These elusive felines may require multi-quest chains, specific items from multiple biomes, or knowledge of secret locations. They are the ultimate collectathon challenges, and the sense of accomplishment when you finally add one to your collection is hard to beat.

Errands grow more complex. Later errands evolve into multi-stage adventures that take you across several biomes. A single errand might involve gathering an item from zone A, using it to lure a cat in zone B, then returning that cat to an NPC in zone C. These extended quest chains are the game's storytelling backbone and reward players who have explored widely.

Hidden secrets reward dedication. Catworld is packed with Easter eggs, hidden areas, and unexpected surprises. The Five High Cats development team poured their creativity into the world over 24 weeks, and attentive explorers will discover plenty of rewards for their curiosity.

For more details on specific game systems, check out our gameplay overview and progression guide. You may also want to review the system requirements to confirm your PC is ready before diving in.

Final Thoughts

Chasing Whiskers is a delightful cozy adventure that wears its heart on its sleeve. As a completely free-to-play title created by passionate students, it offers a charming, low-pressure experience that is perfect for relaxing gameplay sessions. The collectathon mechanics are satisfying without being overwhelming, and the world of Catworld is genuinely fun to explore at your own pace.

Whether you are a dedicated cozy game enthusiast or just looking for a light, pleasant way to spend an afternoon, Chasing Whiskers is well worth your time. Find Ponpon at the Cat Cafe, step into Catworld, and start your journey. Your missing cat is waiting — and so are dozens of new feline friends you have not met yet.

For more beginner-friendly content, check out our collection of beginner tips and the release date article for the full launch timeline.