If you’ve spent dozens of hours building out your custom base in Enshrouded, you’ve probably wished for a small, fluffy addition to make the space feel more like home. Cats don’t just look cute sitting on your crafting tables or curled up by the fire, either—they offer small but noticeable bonuses that make your daily grind a little less frustrating. This guide walks you through exactly how to get a cat enshrouded, plus what you can expect once you bring one back to your base.
Prerequisites You Need to Meet Before You Get a Cat in Enshrouded
You can’t just stumble upon a cat and bring it home immediately, unfortunately. The recruitment process only unlocks once you’ve hit a few key milestones in the main game, most of which are tied to the Revelwood region. You must have progressed at least 15 hours into the main story to access all required content for the cat, so if you’re still stuck in the starting Springlands area, you’ll need to push forward a bit first.
All the requirements you need to check off before you start looking for the cat are listed below:
- Unlocked the Farmer NPC by completing the "Clear the Revelwood Farmer's Homestead" main quest
- Built a minimum 3x3 furnished shelter with a lit fireplace for your base (cats won't move into cold, empty spaces)
- Crafted a Cat Bed using 5 Cotton, 2 Wool, and 1 Wood Plank, placed inside your base shelter
- Collected at least 10 Raw Meat to leave out as a lure for the wandering cat
A lot of players skip checking the temperature of their base first, and that's the #1 reason their cat lure doesn't work. If your shelter doesn't register as "warm" when you check the build menu, add an extra torch or move the fireplace closer to the middle of the space. You also don't need to build a separate room for the cat—it will happily share space with your other NPCs as long as its bed is placed in a safe, warm spot away from crafting station noise.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough to Locate and Recruit the Wandering Cat
Once you've checked off all the prerequisites, head to the western edge of Revelwood, right near the border with the Nomad Highlands. You'll find a small, abandoned camp with a broken cart and a few crates of produce left behind. It’s easy to miss if you’re sprinting through the area, so keep an eye out for a small blue cloth tied to the cart’s handle to confirm you’re in the right spot.
The cat will spawn near the crates between 10 AM and 4 PM in-game time, so if you don't see it right away, set up a small campfire nearby and wait a few in-game hours. Don't attack any wildlife within 50 feet of the camp while you wait—the cat is skittish, and loud noises or fights will make it despawn for 24 in-game hours, forcing you to come back another day.
When you spot the cat, walk slowly towards it (don't sprint) and select the "Offer Meat" interaction when it pops up. You'll use 5 of your raw meat to gain its trust, and it will follow you back to your base automatically. You don't have to lead it step by step, either—if you fast travel back to your base, the cat will show up within a few minutes as long as your cat bed is placed correctly. I made the mistake of trying to walk it all the way back the first time, and got attacked by a Shroud wolf that scared the cat off, so fast travel is definitely the safer call.
Key Perks of Having a Cat at Your Enshrouded Base
A lot of players assume the cat is just a cosmetic addition, but it actually offers small but consistent perks that add up over time. For players who spend most of their time building and crafting at their base, these bonuses make the whole recruitment process well worth the effort.
First, any time you sleep at your base with the cat present, you'll get a 10% bonus to stamina regeneration for 1 in-game hour. That might not sound like much, but it makes a huge difference when you're heading out for a long mining run or a trip deep into the Shroud to collect rare materials. I’ve tested this buff repeatedly, and it cuts down the time I spend waiting for stamina to refill mid-climb by almost a full third.
Second, the cat will occasionally leave small gifts near its bed, including rare crafting materials like Shroud Roots, Herbal Tea, and even sometimes high-tier health potions. I've personally gotten 3 legendary health potions from my cat over the last two weeks of play, which saved me from having to craft them myself when I was prepping for the Warden boss fight. Third, rats will no longer spawn anywhere within 20 feet of your base storage chests. That means you won't have to waste time repairing chewed-up storage containers or replacing small items that get stolen by pests. It's a tiny quality of life boost that you won't notice until it's gone, trust me.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Trying to Get Your Enshrouded Cat
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, there are a few common missteps that can delay your cat's arrival, or make it leave your base after you've recruited it. Most of these are super easy to avoid if you know what to look out for, so I’ve rounded up the most frequent errors I see players make.
First, don't move the cat bed after it's settled in. If you rearrange your base and pick up the bed, the cat will disappear, and you'll have to go back to the Revelwood camp to lure it again. You can move the bed once the cat is gone, but you'll have to go through the whole recruitment process a second time, which is a waste of time and meat. Second, don't leave your base unheated for more than 24 in-game hours. If your fireplace goes out and the shelter drops below the warm temperature threshold, the cat will leave to find a warmer spot, and you'll have to recruit it again. If you're going on a long trip away from your base, add a second fireplace with extra wood to make sure it stays lit while you're gone.
Third, don't forget to leave a piece of raw meat near the cat bed once every 3 in-game days. You don't have to feed it every single day, but if you go longer than 3 days without leaving food out, it will start to lose trust and eventually leave. It's a super low maintenance task, but it's easy to forget when you're focused on clearing Shroud towers or fighting bosses. I keep a stack of raw meat in a chest right next to the cat bed now, so I never forget to restock it when I get home from a trip.
Bringing a fluffy companion to your base is one of the most rewarding small side tasks you can complete in Enshrouded, and it doesn't require a huge time investment if you know what steps to follow. Whether you're chasing the small stamina buff, tired of dealing with storage rats, or just want a cute addition to your build, the process of how to get a cat enshrouded is well worth the small amount of effort it takes. If you run into issues with the cat not spawning, double check that you've completed all the prerequisites first, and make sure you're visiting the camp during the correct in-game time window. You'll have a new feline friend hanging around your base before you know it.