Esther Yu's Love Game in Eastern Fantasy domestically beats Zhao Lu Si's The Story of Pearl Girl
August 8th was International Cat Day. In honor of such a wonderful day, I decided to share a list of my top dramas with cats. You may notice I tried to keep this list as balanced as possible by country representation because, let’s face it, Japan really loves its cats. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Warning: This article may contain some minor spoilers about the cat-related subplots of some of these dramas.
1. Neko Zamurai
If you’re sick and tired of fluffy romances, then this drama is purrrfect for you. It is about an out of work samurai who gets hired to kill someone’s cat. Obviously, things do not go as planned since he ends taking the cat home. The entire drama is about this big, wannabe tough guy learning to take care of a cat.
Neko Zamurai is surprisingly written way better than I thought it was going to be. I loved how the drama compares the main character’s relationship with the cat to his relationship with his daughter. Also, the contrast of scary, tough-looking guy hanging with an adorable little kitty is highly amusing. The theme song is hilarious. The drama also has some really gorgeous scenery.
2. Taste of Cat
Taste of Cat and its sequel Cat’s Bar are both light and cute web dramas about 3 guys cats running a bar. One day, 3 male cats wake up to find they have turned into humans. Taking pity on their poor owner butler, they decide to open up a bar to help make ends meet. At the bar, they meet customers with various problems. They offer them the perfect drink for their situation and help solve their problems. It’s a cute drama because, although they are in human form, they still have not lost their cat instincts and it accounts for some funny and cute situations.
3. I’m a Pet at Dali Temple
This is a cute historical romance about a man and his pet cat, who is actually a human. In this drama, our female lead Ru Xiao Lan gets transported back in time. However, unlike the usual time travel dramas, she ends up stuck in the body of a cat! What’s even worse is that she winds up as the male lead’s pet. Ru Xiao Lan must navigate this past world with her newfound cat body, figure out how to turn back into a human and to get home to her time period. Many amusing situations arise since the male lead does not realize his newfound pet is, in reality, a woman from the future. As for the female lead, she takes complete advantage of her cat form to observe and watch this handsome man from a very close distance.
Similarly, there is a drama called My Fantastic Mrs. Right in which the female lead ends up in a cat’s body. However, her time in cat form is very short, and the cat is animated.
4. Blanket Cats
Blanket Cats is about a man who ends up taking care of his late wife’s cats, seven of them to be exact. He tries to find a new home for each cat. It is a wholesome drama where each episode features a different cat meeting a new family and how it helps that family heal in one way or another. Each family gets a 3 day trial period with the cat to see if they are a good fit.
The main character acts like he wants to get rid of the cats as soon as possible, but he’s actually pretty attached to them and reluctant to let them go. It’s pretty amusing to see him turn into a full-on protective cat dad as he interrogates potential owners to see if they are good enough for his cat babies. What I loved about this drama is that there are many cats and it depicts very relatable cat owner “problems”.
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Unfortunately, this drama is not fully subbed because it got dropped. However, if you’re like me and can watch cat videos for hours, you probably won’t have a problem with watching a couple of episodes raw because you will most likely be staring at the cats.
5. Because This Is My First Life
In this drama, the main couple agrees to get married as a contract-relationship. One of the terms of their contract is that the female lead manages household duties, which includes taking care of the male lead’s beloved cat. It is a gorgeous cat. There is a lot of footage of this cat hanging out as this couple awkwardly gets to know each other and falls in love. I really loved watching moments the male lead had with his cat. In the beginning, the cat was more important to him than his wife. The man certainly had his priorities in order.
6. My Lonely Planet
In this drama, the two main leads end up swapping personalities with each other’s pets due to an astronomical event. The female lead ends up with the personality of the male lead’s dog, and the male lead ends up with the personality of the female lead’s cat. As a result, the two end up spending a lot of time together because they know how to deal with each other’s mood swings. I really like the male lead’s depiction of a cat in this drama, which is not like the usual representation of a catlike personality in dramas. The male lead ends up more like a moody cat as opposed to a playful, curious one.
7. Guardian
Guardian is a supernatural mystery drama based off a BL. One of the main character’s companions is a cat shifter. He is a very sassy cat, and he tails along in both human and cat form to help the main character (Zhao Yunlan) solve mysteries and resolve cases. This character is not just a sidekick. He has a very interesting background story of his own. The only problem is he can’t remember who he was prior to meeting Zhao Yunlan. That’s right... he’s a cat with amnesia!
8. Leh Nangfah
Leh Nangfah is not actually about a cat. It’s about a bird. The female lead gets cursed into being one, to be exact. Now, you may be wondering why a drama about a bird is on a list for cat lovers… Well, what is a bird’s natural enemy? It’s a cat, of course. It just so happens that the male lead, who lives next door, happens to have one. This is a cute Thai drama with talking animals. The bird vs. cat rivalry is one of the best highlights of this drama. The cat has a funny personality, and he is surprisingly pretty caring toward his natural enemy.
Warning: This drama has a lot of screaming (birds tend to do that).
9. Meow, The Secret Boy
If I fit, I sit.
This drama is about a girl who dislikes cats but winds up taking care of her ex-friend’s cat. This cat can mysteriously transform himself into a human. Thus, the plot progresses as the cat becomes protective of his human and loves her. This girl starts to fall in love with a guy, who is actually her cat. Now you may find a girl falling in love romantically with a cat a bit weird. Well, no worries. For once, I was thankful for a love triangle. If you are not on board the cat ship, there is another waiting for you.
To be honest, I found the plot to be mediocre. The drama had a very slow start in the beginning, but after a couple of episodes, the story started to pick up. I really loved the frenemy bromance between the cat and the ex. What’s interesting about this drama is that the female lead initially hates cats, but as she spends time with her new pet, she becomes a total cat lover… or at least lover of this particular cat. As a cat lover, it is ultra-satisfying watching someone who initially dislikes cats slowly turn into a fellow cat lover. The cat in this drama is absolutely beautiful. It is literally the best thing about this show (L’s fans might disagree). Just add in some cat-related humor and any cat fan is satisfied.
10. My Love, Enlighten Me
In this drama, the main couple ends up saving a stray cat from an accident. After getting it treated, the female lead manages to convince the male lead, her landlord, to let her keep the cat (which she then names Hot Pot UwU). Even more surprising, their little family grows with the addition of more cats. It’s really cute seeing the main couple care for and hang out with the cats. The male lead comes off as cold, but he has a total soft spot for the kitties.
11. Love is Deep
Love is Deep is about an aspiring pet toy designer who falls in love with a surgeon. The romance is decent and all, but let’s talk about the cats. The entire drama is cat-themed! Zheng Ding Ding meets and befriends the male lead’s sister. They both instantly bond over cats. The male lead’s sister dreams of opening up a cat cafe and manages to convince her brother Ning Wei Jin to front the money. The sister, who ships Ding Ding and Wei Jin together, then lets Ding Ding rent out a portion of the cat cafe for her pet toy business. As a result, Wei Jin and Ding Ding run into each other a lot. Aside from the adorable cats at the cafe, Wei Jin’s sister also has a cat. But let’s be honest here, the responsible older brother is the one that actually takes care of it, so it’s really his cat.
12. Meo Me & You
Meo Me & You has got to be the most wholesome Thai drama I’ve ever seen. It has no villains or even antagonists. People actually help each other out. What a concept! Like the cats in this drama, it is very fluffy and sweet. You can tell it was written by and for cat lovers. It is about an aspiring romance writer with an overactive imagination. One day, she comes across an adorable white cat, which follows her home. Since her place does not allow pets, she takes it to a cat cafe nearby where she likes to hang out. There’s really not much to say about this drama except for there are many guys, many cats, and one cute girl. Something is bound to catch your interest.
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Need more dramas with cats in them?
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