A querent draws a card. The High Priestess sits between two pillars, a cat with luminous eyes holding a scroll between her paws. The reader knows the meaning: mystery, intuition, the veil between worlds. But the feline face changes the conversation. The card is no longer a woman in a blue robe. It is a creature that sees in the dark. That shift is the point of the Cat Tarot.
The Cat Tarot is a family of tarot decks that replace human figures with cats while preserving the traditional 78-card structure (22 Major Arcana, 56 Minor Arcana) and the core symbolic framework of the Rider-Waite-Smith or Marseilles traditions. The cats are not decoration. They are the figures, and their behavior, posture, and species-specific features carry the meaning.
Definition
The Cat Tarot is not a single deck but a category of tarot decks that reinterpret the standard tarot system through feline imagery. The most widely known example is Megan Wyreweden’s The Cat Tarot (Llewellyn, 2018), a 78-card deck that follows the Rider-Waite-Smith system closely. Each card shows a cat (or multiple cats) acting out the scene: the Fool is a kitten with a bindle, the Emperor is a stern tomcat, the Ten of Swords shows a cat lying with ten blades in its back. The suits are unchanged (Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles), and the court cards are King, Queen, Knight, and Page – all cats. Earlier examples include The Cat Tarot by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov (Baba Studio, 2005), which places cats in historical costumes and settings, and The Cat Tarot by Corinne Kenner and Shelley A. Lee (Llewellyn, 2005), a more whimsical watercolor deck. The category also includes self-published decks such as The Tarot of the Cat People (1985, Karen Kuykendall) – though that deck features humanoid cat-people, not literal cats – and The Cat’s Eye Tarot (1997, Deborah Koff-Chapin) with abstract feline imagery.
The defining feature is that the cat replaces the human figure as the central character. The tarot structure remains intact. The symbolism is filtered through feline behavior: curiosity, independence, hunting, sleeping, purring, hissing. For a practitioner, the difference is not cosmetic. It changes how the cards speak.
History and Origins
The first widely distributed cat-themed tarot deck appeared in 1985: Tarot of the Cat People by Karen Kuykendall (U.S. Games Systems). Its world was a fantasy planet where humans had hybridized with cats. The deck was not a simple substitution – it told a narrative. But the cards still followed the standard tarot layout. The deck sold well, suggesting that cat imagery resonated with readers.
The explicit “cats as humans” approach came later. Corinne Kenner’s The Cat Tarot (2005) was among the first to place a cat in every scene of the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition. The artist Shelley A. Lee painted each card with a single cat in a recognizable pose: the Magician as a cat manipulating a wand, the Hermit as a cat holding a lantern. The deck was published by Llewellyn, a major occult publisher, and it brought cat tarot into mainstream tarot shops.
The most influential version arrived in 2018: Megan Wyreweden’s The Cat Tarot, also from Llewellyn. Wyreweden, a professional artist and tarot reader, spent two years painting the deck. The cards are rendered in a soft, realistic style with a muted palette. Each cat is a distinct breed: the Queen of Cups is a Persian, the Knight of Wands is a ginger tabby, the Death card shows a black cat with glowing eyes walking through a moonlit graveyard. The deck quickly became a bestseller, and it is now the cat tarot deck most often cited in tarot communities.
A separate strand is the Cat Tarot by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov (Baba Studio, 2005), produced in a limited edition of 2,000 copies. It uses a more painterly style, with cats dressed as historical figures: the Empress as a queen in a ruff collar, the Chariot as a cat in a chariot pulled by two mice. The Baba Studio deck is now out of print and commands high prices on the secondary market.
The history matters because it shows that cat tarot was not a forced gimmick. It emerged from the same impulse that produced animal totem decks – a desire to find new mirrors for human experience. The cat, unlike the dog or the horse, carries a specific symbolic weight: mystery, independence, affinity with the night, the border between domestic and wild. That symbolic weight made it a natural fit for tarot, which already trades in archetypes.
Symbolism and Meaning
The shift from human to cat changes the meaning of every card, subtly or sharply. The traditional Fool is a young man about to step off a cliff, representing risk, naivety, and a new beginning. In Wyreweden’s Cat Tarot, the Fool is a kitten with a tiny bundle on a stick, looking over a cliff edge. The kitten’s expression is curious, not reckless. The meaning becomes not just “take a risk” but “trust your curiosity to guide you.” A cat’s curiosity is survival instinct, not foolishness. The card loses its edge of warning and gains a layer of trust.
The High Priestess in traditional tarot is a woman holding a scroll, seated between two pillars – a symbol of hidden knowledge. In the cat tarot, the High Priestess is a cat with one paw on the scroll. A cat’s knowledge is sensory, not intellectual. The card asks the reader to access wisdom through instinct and body, not through study.
The Magician traditionally shows a human figure with tools on a table, representing will and skill. The cat Magician in Wyreweden’s deck holds a wand in its paw, and the tools are a ball of yarn, a mouse toy, a piece of string. The meaning shifts: the magician’s power is not about mastering tools but about play and attention. A cat focused on a toy is completely present. That presence is the magic.
The Devil card usually shows a horned figure with a chained couple. In the cat tarot, the Devil is a cat with a laser pointer, and the chained figures are mice. The card becomes about addiction to distraction, the way we chase meaningless stimuli. It is a sharp critique of modern life, wrapped in a game.
The suits are unchanged, but the Minor Arcana gain feline textures. The Five of Cups shows a cat staring at three spilled bowls of milk while two full bowls remain behind it. The cat’s focus on the spilled milk mirrors human grief, but the card also asks: why does the cat not see the full bowls? Because it is a cat. It is stubborn. That stubbornness is a human trait too.
The court cards are particularly telling. The King of Wands is an assertive, territorial cat. The Queen of Cups is a nurturing, affectionate cat. The Knight of Swords is a cat in mid-leap, claws extended. The Page of Pentacles is a kitten playing with a coin. The court cards become less about social roles (king, queen) and more about personality types expressed through feline behavior.
Practices and Traditions
Reading the Cat Tarot requires the same layout and interpretation methods as any traditional tarot. The meanings are not erased, only refracted. A reader who knows the Rider-Waite-Smith system can use the Cat Tarot immediately. The cards do not come with a separate system.
But the imagery changes the reading in practice. When a querent pulls the Tower, the card shows a cat clinging to a burning tower. The traditional Tower is about sudden collapse, ego destruction. The cat’s expression is one of survival instinct – it will jump. The reading shifts from “something is falling apart” to “you will find a way out.” The cat’s instinct to survive becomes the message.
We have found that the Cat Tarot works well for querents who are new to tarot, because the cats are approachable and reduce the intimidation of the darker cards. The Death card is a black cat in a graveyard, not a skeleton on a horse. The Ten of Swords is a cat lying with swords in its back, but the cat is not bleeding – it is sleeping. The imagery softens the blow without losing the meaning.
For experienced readers, the Cat Tarot offers a fresh lens. It breaks the habit of reading the same cards the same way. A cat’s body language is unambiguous: a puffed tail, a flattened ear, a slow blink. The deck teaches readers to pay attention to non-verbal cues in the cards, which translates to better awareness of the querent’s own body language.
The deck is also used in shadow work. The card that shows a cat hissing at its own reflection (the Seven of Swords, in some versions) becomes a tool for confronting self-deception. The cat’s reaction is pure, unfiltered. The querent is asked: what are you hissing at in yourself?
Comparisons with Other Animal Tarot Decks
The Cat Tarot belongs to a larger group of animal tarot decks, but it has distinct differences. The Wild Unknown Tarot (Kim Krans, 2016) uses animals as symbolic archetypes, but each card features a different animal – the fox, the wolf, the deer. The animal is the symbol, not the character. The Cat Tarot uses only one animal throughout, which creates a consistent persona. The reader develops a relationship with that single species.
The Animal Totem Tarot (Leeza Robertson, 2018) assigns different animals to each card based on traditional totem meanings. A bear might represent strength, a butterfly transformation. The Cat Tarot does not do that. Every card is a cat, and the meaning comes from the cat’s action, not from a fixed animal symbol.
The Tarot of the Cat People (1985) is not a cat tarot in the same sense. Its characters are humanoid cat-people, not actual cats. The emotional range is human, not feline. The Cat Tarot decks we discuss here are literal cats, which changes the emotional register.
The difference is not just cosmetic. A cat is not a generalized animal. It has specific behaviors – grooming, stalking, sleeping, purring. Those behaviors carry specific meanings. The Fool as a kitten is not a generic symbol of new beginnings. It is a symbol of vulnerable curiosity. The Empress as a cat nursing kittens is not a symbol of fertility in general. It is a symbol of nurturing that is also fiercely protective.
Common Misconceptions
It is not a “novelty” deck. Many tarot readers dismiss cat decks as gifts for cat lovers, not serious tools. But the Cat Tarot follows the traditional structure exactly. It is not a themed oracle. It is a tarot deck with a consistent symbolic system. The cats are not a gimmick. They are a deliberate choice that reframes the tarot’s archetypes.
It is not only for cat lovers. You do not need to own a cat or like cats to read the deck. The feline behavior is a metaphor, not a requirement. The deck works for anyone who is willing to read the imagery.
It is not a simplified tarot. The Cat Tarot does not water down the meanings. The Devil card still deals with addiction and attachment. The Ten of Swords still represents endings and betrayal. The difference is in the tone, not the content.
It is not a single deck. There are multiple Cat Tarot decks, each with its own art style and interpretation. A reader who dislikes one version may prefer another. The term “Cat Tarot” refers to a class of decks, not a single product.
FAQ
Can I use the Cat Tarot for professional readings? Yes. Many professional tarot readers use the Cat Tarot as their primary deck. Its accessibility and clear imagery make it effective for both in-person and online readings.
Does the Cat Tarot follow the Rider-Waite-Smith system? Most versions do, especially Wyreweden’s and Kenner’s. Some older versions (like the Baba Studio deck) draw on the Marseilles tradition. Always check the companion guide for the specific deck.
Is the Cat Tarot suitable for beginners? Yes, because the images are intuitive and less intimidating than traditional decks. However, the symbolic shifts require some study if you want to read beyond the surface meanings.
How do I interpret cards when the cat behavior contradicts the traditional meaning? Trust the card’s image first. The deck is designed to work with the imagery. If the cat is sleeping in a card that traditionally indicates action, the sleep itself is the message.
Closing
The Cat Tarot is not a replacement for the traditional tarot. It is a conversation with it. The cats ask us to see the archetypes through a different set of eyes – eyes that see in the dark, that track movement, that know when to pounce and when to stay still. If you want to explore more tarot variations, start with our guide to oracle systems and the glossary of tarot terms. For a deeper look at how animal imagery reshapes the cards, read our guide to reading animal tarot decks.