We may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. Learn more.

The Diablo 4 pets war continues as Blizzard shuns cats again

The Diablo 4 shop offers a Catamount Cradle bundle with an adorable feline pal to carry around, but while you can pet the dog there’s still no love for cats.

Diablo 4 pets have long been a request of the game’s community, and while we don’t have any companions that can follow at our heel quite like those of Diablo 3, Path of Exile, or Diablo IV’s newest rival Last Epoch, there are a couple of furry friends that you can bring along on your adventure, and you can pet the dog if you want. Yet while cats get a little attention in the latest store update for Diablo 4 Season 2, Blizzard still remains unwilling to let us actually show them any love.

I love cats, and so when I found that you can pet dogs in Diablo 4 (also great, to be clear), I immediately scoured the towns of Sanctuary looking for some cat pals. I was delighted to find that they’re absolutely also present in the RPG game. Much to my chagrin, however, you can’t actually pet them – you can walk up and say ‘Hello’ much as you do with the dogs, but rather than actually giving them some hands-on love, you just look at them as they flop over onto their back. Why taunt me with empty promises of scritches, Diablo 4?

The good news is that cats just got a bit more love in Diablo 4 Season 2. Unfortunately, it appears that Blizzard’s reticence to touch them returns. The Catamount Cradle bundle is available in the Diablo 4 shop now, and features a lovable pal that you can carry on your back, much akin to the adorable pup in the Beta Wolf Pack handed out to those who played the game during its early access beta periods.

Diablo 4 Shop - The 'Catamount Cradle,' a backpack for Sorcerers that holds a small, pointy-eared feline companion in its pouch.

Included in the bundle is a ‘Good Luck Rub’ emote, but unfortunately this just features the cat walking around your feet and attempting to brush up on your legs. I actually wouldn’t mind this – it’s something cats do a lot to show affection, and it’s certainly very comforting and sweet, even if it leaves your trousers a real mess of cat hair.

For some perplexing reason, however, your character appears actively annoyed by the cat’s attention, swinging their leg gently as if to shoo the cat away, so the whole thing comes across as more ‘minor nuisance’ than ‘friendly affection.’ Players online are in agreement, too – “We want to pet the cat, not kick the cat,” reads one of the top posts on the Diablo Reddit page at the time of writing. You can see the emote in the video below at the 11:40 mark.

YouTube Thumbnail

Blizzard has also limited the Catamount Cradle to the Sorcerer. I’m not quite sure why they decided to do this – yes, the animals are traditionally common companions to those of a magical persuasion, but if you weren’t fortunate enough to have rolled a Sorcerer build as I did for this season then you’re even more out of luck on cat-based exploits.

Now I could be generous to Blizzard here. One of the first things that happens to your character in the Diablo IV Season of Blood is that you become infected with vampirism – indeed, it’s key to the Diablo 4 Vampiric Powers you get over the course of the season. Traditionally, vampires have always been wary of cats, with the animals historically considered in some cultures to be keepers of the dead or have links to the underworld. But that feels a bit like a stretch, as the cat shown here is only displaying love, and it’s being outright rejected. Just let us stroke them! Please?

Get up to speed on the best Diablo 4 builds for Season 2, and find out what we know so far about Diablo 4 DLC and when we’re likely to hear more about what’s next for the ARPG. We’ve also rounded up more of the best games like Diablo, in case you fancy a change.