The title panel sets the tone for the whole series: at 11 pm the owner and the cat fall asleep together, and by 3 am the cat is throwing a full party with confetti and novelty glasses. Cats are often most active around dawn and dusk, so a household cat waking up while its people sleep is a very common complaint.
Catsu the Cat is a webcomic about a small, round, dark-grey British shorthair called Dita and the young woman who shares her flat. It is drawn by Daria, an artist from Tallinn, Estonia, who runs Catsu as a small family business with her boyfriend: she draws, he edits, and together they sell cat-themed merchandise alongside the weekly strips. Daria started drawing the comics in 2012, and they became widely shared on Instagram and Bored Panda. In the couple's own words, "Our inspiration is our British shorthair cat named Dita."
Who makes Catsu the Cat
Daria has said she became obsessed with the idea of making small batches of designer items, and the comics grew out of that project. Each strip is built from the same small cast: Dita, her blonde owner, a patient boyfriend and the occasional visiting friend. The colours are soft pinks, lilacs and yellows, and most jokes are told in four panels, with the cat often getting the last word or the last look.
The collection below brings together more than a hundred Catsu strips and illustrated lists. They were not drawn in this order, so some themes come back more than once.
Why these comics feel so familiar
Almost every strip rests on a real piece of cat behaviour. Cats are crepuscular, most active around dawn and dusk, which explains the 3 a.m. parties and 6 a.m. wake-up calls. More than half of cats sleep 12 to 18 hours a day, so Dita's endless naps are only a mild exaggeration. Grooming, kneading, hiding in boxes and bringing "gifts" are all well-known habits that owners will recognise. The comics simply give the cat a voice and a little more attitude than real cats can show.
Nights, naps and the battle for the bed
Dita ignores her own bowl and drinks from a dripping tap, a flower vase and her owner's mug, then declares the water in the dish labelled with her name "boring". Many cats really do prefer moving or fresh water, which is one reason pet shops sell drinking fountains.
The longer version of the night-time joke runs from 11 pm to 7 am. The cat leaps across the bed at 3 am, parties at 5 am and is sound asleep by 7, right when its owner has to get up.
After an hour at the desk with a cat on her lap, the owner tries to shift a little and the offended cat stalks off with a "Hmph!" Anyone who has worked from home with a lap cat will recognise the guilt that follows.
Dita follows a patch of sunlight from the floor to the office chair to the sofa, glowing like a little heater. When the sun finally moves on, she is still sitting in the last bright spot on the wall. Cats seek out warm places to save body energy, which explains the daily sun-chasing routine.
At bedtime the cat stares into an empty corner of the room, and the owner insists there is nothing to be scared of. The cat's unblinking "Right?" leaves her far less sure. Cats hear higher frequencies than people and notice tiny movements, so their staring is usually aimed at something we simply cannot sense.
Titled "Why I prefer cats to humans", this strip lines up relatives handing out unwanted advice about marriage, fitness, careers and babies. In the lower panel the cat asks nothing more than "Meow?" while chasing a fly, which is the whole point.
The owner cooks fish and reminds Dita she has a full bowl of cat food, but a loud chorus of meows and a pair of huge eyes win the argument. The cat trots off happily with the prize. Plain cooked fish is fine in small amounts, but seasoned food and bones are not, so the joke works best as a joke.
"When you toss, and turn, and then finally find that perfect sleeping position" follows a cat through four increasingly odd poses. The last one, belly up with a leg in the air, looks uncomfortable to us but is a classic sign of a relaxed cat.
The owner wakes up to a cat's face and thinks it is lovely enough for a comic. The final panel shows the same scene from the cat's side: a man in bed, glaring, while the cat walks across him.
Claw trimming begins and the cat is already screaming "Meowaw-aw-oaw-ow!" before the clippers have touched a single nail. Short, calm sessions and treats help many cats accept nail care, and a vet can show the safe cutting line.
The owner checks Instagram: her own glamorous photo has 42 likes, while a lazy picture of the cat has more than a thousand. Pet photos really are some of the most shared images online, and the strip turns that into a small, honest jealousy.
Reading on the sofa is cut short because work is waiting, but the owner agrees to wait until the cat wakes from its nap. The last panel shows her as a cobweb-covered skeleton, still trapped under a sleeping cat. Adult cats commonly sleep somewhere between 12 and 16 hours a day, so the wait can feel endless.
In a dark bedroom the purring starts, and the sleepy owner asks what time it is. "6.30 am", replies her partner, who knows because the cat has woken them again. Many cats learn that early wake-up calls lead straight to breakfast.
The cat refuses a hug because it is a "self-sufficient, independent feline", then gets its paw stuck and asks for "a little bit of help over here". The joke plays on the reputation cats have for aloofness, which owners know is only half the story.
"Catffee" is a menu of cat-themed coffees: Capurrccino, Latte meowcchiato, Decatf, Ameowricano, Catspresso, Irish, Meocha and Double. In the corner the cat is already knocking a cup off the table, a habit so familiar it has become a meme of its own.
"Healing powers of cats" lists purring that heals wounds, cats as warm hot-water bottles, a 40% lower risk of heart attack and stress relief from petting. Treat the "scientifically proven" tag lightly: an American study did link cat ownership with fewer deaths from heart attack, but it showed an association rather than proof, and the idea that purring heals injuries is still an untested hypothesis.
While the owner sleeps, a giant paw reaches across her face, presses on her nose and lips, and the cat finally says "hi". It is a good picture of how a cat's wake-up routine feels from the pillow.
The owner is running late for a meeting with a taxi waiting, but the cat rolls over and purrs for scratches. She ends up on her knees giving a belly rub anyway. Note that many cats do not actually want their bellies touched, and a roll-over is often a sign of trust rather than an invitation.
A quick pat ruins the cat's perfect fur, so she spends two hours grooming it back into shape, only for the owner to reach out again. Cats spend a large part of their waking day grooming, which helps keep the coat clean and regulates body temperature.
A mother points out birds and squirrels to her baby, and the heroine wonders why people talk to babies who cannot answer. At home she greets her cat with a stream of questions about its day. Talking to pets in the same sing-song voice we use with babies is extremely common.
"Cat guide to the ninja hiding techniques" shows the cat blending into a bookshelf, a laundry basket and a duvet, using a box, and hiding only its head behind a curtain. The final rule says that once the head is hidden, you are invisible. Hiding in small spaces helps cats feel safe, which is why boxes are so popular.
Dita swats at a fly while her owner cheers her on, and the last panel reveals the "mighty predator" is being held up in the air to reach it. A partner in the background watches the whole hunt with a flat stare.
"50 Shapes of Dita" catalogues the cat as shapeless and liquid, inflated to look fat, elongated to take over the sofa, narrowed when begging for food, and a stiff "rock" that will not fit into the vet carrier. The liquid-cat idea comes from how flexible a cat's spine and loose collarbones are.
Wherever the owner goes, the cat follows: into the kitchen, to the computer, across the room and finally to the edge of the bath. Her verdict, "You would make a very creepy human", is a fond complaint shared by many owners whose cats shadow them all day.
The cat wakes its owner with purring, love declarations and cuddles, all of which turn out to be about breakfast. Five minutes after the bowl is filled, a second hug is politely refused with "I'm fine, thanks".
Chase the fly, catch it, eat it, then search for it: the cat polishes off its catch and immediately wonders where it went. Insects are a normal outlet for a house cat's hunting instinct, which stays strong even in well-fed pets.
Medicine time starts with the cat on the owner's lap and ends with it puffing into a round, immovable ball. Giving pills to cats is famously hard; vets can suggest pill pockets, liquid forms or other techniques that make it less of a battle.
At 11 pm the cat curls up politely beside the pillow. By 7.30 am it has taken over the whole pillow, and the owner is squeezed into the corner of the bed.
On a hot day the cat lies stretched out on the sofa, then slides off it in a half-on, half-off pose that leaves the owner asking "How is that comfortable?" Cats are flexible enough to rest in positions that look impossible to us.
A soft fur belly looks like an invitation for a rub, the owner wonders if it is a trap, and dives in anyway. The claws come out, and she says she regrets nothing. This is the famous belly trap: for many cats, a touch on the belly sets off a defensive reflex.
Looking at friends' pet photos, the owner says "So cute", "Adorable" and "Beautiful" to each one, while privately thinking her own cat is the prettiest. Most pet owners will admit to the same bias.
The owner searches the flat for a lost cat while it hides between the sofa cushions with its tail in plain sight. Each thinks the other is silly, which captures the game nicely.
"Feline Olympics disciplines" names four sports: speed-shedding, boxing (fitting into boxes), 3 a.m. gymnastics and litter-box sand throwing. Each one is a real everyday cat habit dressed up as a competition.
On 1 December the cat weighs 5.5 kg, on 25 December 6.5 kg and on 2 January 7 kg, "looking fab" every time. The owner, with her own muffin tops showing, announces they are dieting together. Weight gain is one of the most common health problems in indoor cats, so a vet check and measured portions are worth taking seriously.
Food, fur and everyday negotiations
"Dita's cuddling map" labels the cat's body: head and cheeks "OK", the back "Hell yeah", the belly "You're shredded and bitten and dead" and the tail "No data yet". The joke matches what behaviour experts say: most cats prefer touches around the face and head, and many dislike handling of the belly, legs and tail.
The cat watches birds at the window while its owner creeps up for a surprise kiss, giggling that the "silly cat notices nothing". The cat simply stretches out a paw and holds her face away. Window watching is a popular indoor pastime, and many vets recommend a perch by the glass as easy enrichment.
The owner points out a butterfly, expecting a chase, but Dita just watches it fly past and shrugs. Cats are not always in the mood to hunt, and play tends to come in short bursts on their own schedule.
On a bus, a stranger giggles at a phone and the heroine leans over, worried, until she sees a cat photo on the screen. The two women share a knowing smile, cat people recognising each other.
The cat sits in the suitcase while the owner packs, refuses to leave and sulks when told the case will be back in a week. The last panel shows the result at the airport security scanner, where an X-ray reveals a stowaway. Many cats dislike changes in routine, and a suitcase often signals one.
The cat gags, coughs up something marked "censored", feels better, and immediately goes looking for food while the owner shouts "Noooo!" Occasional hairballs are common, but frequent vomiting is a reason to talk to a vet.
"Sleeping cat as an accessory (imposed one)" shows six ways a cat ends up on a sleeping person: hat, brain slug, scarf, moustache, necklace and "someone with a lot of nerve" lying across the face. Cats seek warmth and their owner's scent, which is why heads and necks are favourite spots.
A guest says she is a dog person, allergic and not interested in cats, and the cat climbs straight onto her. Another guest who cannot wait to meet the cat gets a flat "No". Many owners notice this pattern; one common explanation is that cats prefer people who do not stare at them or reach for them.
Dita leaps around the bed chasing a fly at night, landing on her back and climbing the wall, while the owner just tries to sleep. Insect hunting is a natural instinct, and it often peaks at dusk and at night.
The owner eats crisps, an apple and a carrot snack, and each crunch brings louder meows. She swears the carrots are not cat food. Cats can recognise the sounds and routines linked to food, so rustling packets alone can trigger begging.
The cat rubs against the sofa until it is completely covered in fur, then admires its "greatest artwork" and plans to send it to MoMA, Tate Modern and the Venice Biennale. Cats shed more in spring and autumn as their coats change, and regular brushing reduces what ends up on the furniture.
"St. Valentine's Day postcards, cat version" offers cards such as "I only wanna barf on your carpet", "You are my favourite thing to bite", "This is how much I care" with a mouse, and "I tolerate you so much". The jokes rest on the mixed way cats show affection.
Dita has been sleeping on her owner's sketches again, and the owner gets ready to scold her until the cat answers with a big-eyed "blep", the tongue-out face. The owner melts and says she can sleep wherever she likes. Cats often lie on paper and keyboards because they are warm, smell of their person and sit at the centre of attention.
"My cat's tutorial: taking good care of your human, 4 simple steps" lists a proper shower (a face lick), acupuncture (claws in the arm), help with diet (stealing food) and "some" night sleep. It is a neat reversal of the usual pet-care guide.
A partner makes a T-shirt cat box from an online tutorial, and the owner worries it is too small. Dita squeezes in until only her face shows through the neck hole, and he declares it fits like a glove. Cats like snug enclosures because they feel protected on all sides.
The owner chats with the cat across the table, answering every meow as though it were a real conversation, until her partner reminds her that "she is a cat, right?" Adult cats meow mostly at people rather than at other cats, so the habit really is a kind of conversation with us.
The cat meows and paws for attention, and the owner checks every possible need: food, litter box, belly rubs. When her partner suggests the cat might just be friendly, they both laugh and say "Naaaah!"
"My cat's busy summer schedule" has the cat running, chewing plants and swatting insects, while the winter schedule is nothing but sleep in different spots. Indoor cats do tend to be less active in cold, dark months. Some common houseplants, lilies above all, are toxic to cats, so it is worth checking what is within reach.
"How many legs does a cat have?" Four when left alone, none when escaping a cuddle, around a hundred when you lean in for a kiss, and two early in the morning, both standing on your bladder.
The owner introduces a friend who is staying the weekend, then adds that she will be sleeping on the cat's couch. The final panel shows the cat at night, staring at the guest in its spot. Cats are territorial about favourite resting places.
The phone memory is full and the owner sets out to delete old photos, but every cat picture is "a special moment" or "completely different". Three hours later she decides she needs a newer phone.
Chocolate for 3 euros feels too expensive, while cat food at 40 euros is a bargain worth coming back for. The strip pokes fun at how owners spend on their pets; chocolate, by the way, is toxic to cats and should stay out of their reach.
"My cat's decision making principle" shows a spinning wheel inside the cat's head with options such as curse at birds, claw stuff, take a nap, meow ten times, crazy run, demand food, go shed on things, litter-box emergency and barf on carpet. It sums up how random a cat's choices can look from outside.
The owner starts wrapping presents, sure it will be easy, but the cat walks through glue, steals ribbons, rips the paper and ends up wrapped in tape. She gives up with a pile of messy gifts and a cat under her arm: "Whatever, close enough!" Ribbon and string are dangerous if swallowed, so keep them away from cats.
The owner tries a cute selfie with Dita, as everyone online seems to manage, but the cat squirms, scowls and climbs out of the frame. After 100,000 pictures she tosses the phone aside: maybe next time.
"How to pack a suitcase when you have a cat" has four steps: gently remove the cat, clean fur off the suitcase, clean fur off your clothes, and repeat ten times. The final panel shows the cat back in the case, as if nothing happened.
A day split in two columns compares the cat and its owner from 7.30 am to midnight. The owner gets ready, sits through university lectures, pitches "let's draw more cats" at a work meeting, carries parcels to the post office, cooks and forces herself through an evening run; the cat grooms, sleeps, eats and sleeps again. At midnight she tells the cat they both had a hell of a day.
The same day-in-the-life strip appears a second time in the series as it was shared online. The parcel run to the post office hints at the real business behind the comic, which sells cat-themed merchandise alongside the strips.
The owner calls the cat for dinner, then searches the flat in growing panic and even phones her partner to come home because the cat is missing. All the while the cat lies in plain sight, half under a blanket, watching her with one eye.
The cat comes to say good morning and rubs its head all over its owner, leaving a storm of fur. By the last panel she is buried under a furry cloud and swears she will never skip grooming day again. Brushing during seasonal moults keeps loose fur off people and furniture and reduces hairballs.
The owner lies in bed with a cold, cough syrup and tissues, while the cat naps on the pillow right beside her face. One big sneeze blows the cat right off the bed.
Autumn rain, Italian grammar and three project deadlines leave the owner miserable, until she has an idea: cuddle the cat. "Hell yeah" says she, while the cat looks rather less sure. Many owners describe petting a cat as a reliable mood lifter.
The cat grabs a bag of catnip and the owner takes it away. "I am a grown-up and make my own choices", the cat protests, before the partner replies with the classic parental line about living under their roof. Catnip affects many cats but not all; sensitivity is inherited, and kittens usually do not react.
The owner says goodbye and promises to be back soon, the cat turns away with a "hmph!", and she ends up feeling irrationally guilty about a trip to the grocery store. Cats do notice routines and departures, even if they hide it well.
The cat plans to wake everyone with an hour of meows at 7 am, but the bedroom is already bright and the humans are up reading. The cat has missed the spring clock change, and its internal schedule is now an hour off.
Holidays, hobbies and life as a cat muse
The owner sees the cat coming with hearts and meows, and opens her arms for a hug. The cat walks straight past her toward whatever it actually wanted.
"Playing with laser dot: other cats" shows a calico leaping wildly after the red dot. "My cat" sits with a tub of popcorn, watching the owner run around with the pointer instead. If you do use a laser, ending the game with a real toy the cat can catch helps avoid frustration.
Back from a holiday, the owners call for Dita, who sulks at the window. The next day she smothers her owner with kisses, the day after that she is pleased to have them home, and for the other 300 days of the year she answers with a flat "meh".
The owner wants to show a friend her new drawings and goes to fetch them from "Dita's room". The friend is left at the table, still trying to digest the fact that the cat has a room of its own.
"Dita's idea of being cute" plays out in four panels: a heavy sit, a lazy paw lift, a half roll and a full "flop!" onto her back. Rolling over to show the belly is usually a sign that a cat feels safe.
The cat lies stretched across the bed among the pillows, and the owner suspects it is doing it on purpose. The last panel shows a grey seal on a beach in exactly the same pose. The resemblance really is striking.
On 29 February the cat is fluffy and the armchair is whole. On 1 March, with a "puff", the cat has shed what looks like half its coat across the room. Many cats moult heavily as days get longer in spring.
At 7.15 am the cat meows non-stop and the owner refuses to get up. At 9.45 she has overslept and asks the cat, "Why didn't you try to wake me up?!" The cat's puzzled face says it all.
After a thorough wash (labelled "censored") and a sprawling nap, Dita sits with her legs splayed in front of the window. The narrator concludes that she would win every prize in a contest for the least ladylike cat.
After busy months the owner proudly shows a friend her holiday tickets, and the friend asks if she is worried about leaving the cat for three entire weeks. The tickets end up torn to pieces. A trusted pet sitter or a good boarding cattery can make longer trips easier on everyone.
"A cat with superpowers... of sleeping 22 hours per day" shows the cat in a heroic pose and then stretched out on the bed. It is an exaggeration, but only a slight one for some older or very relaxed cats.
A friend reports that her boyfriend said she was "as graceful as a cat". The heroine imagines Dita falling off a bookshelf and knocking over a mug, and concludes he must be a silver-tongued devil.
Daily chores are almost done, with one last job left: the litter box. When the owner arrives with the scoop, Dita is already using it and gives her a scandalised look. Cats value privacy at the litter box, so placing it in a quiet spot matters.
At 6 am the cat demands attention and the owner tells it to go away because the food bowl is full. At 6.05 the room is silent and she sits up in alarm, wondering where the cat went and whether something happened.
After the holidays the bathroom scale says "fat", so the owner decides to work out at home and save a trip to the gym. The cat sits on her during every exercise and finally perches on her head, and she gives in: gym it is.
During an Instagram photo shoot the owner spots a white whisker on Dita and googles it, finding a claim that a six-year-old cat is roughly 30 in human years. "Welcome to the club, girl!" she laughs. Most vet age charts actually put a six-year-old cat closer to 40 human years, and a few white hairs are common with age.
The cat eats from a bowl labelled "super-duper vitamin diet", gets its nails filed and its coat brushed, then sits there looking effortlessly glamorous. A friend sighs that cats are naturally beautiful with no effort at all, and the owner, who did all the work, answers "Right..."
"Perfect St. Valentine's Day includes" flowers (the cat chewing a pot of cat grass), gifts (a dead mouse), quality time (lying on her book) and kisses, which the cat refuses with an "Ew". Bringing prey to their people is a well-known cat behaviour, though experts still debate exactly why cats do it.
In the first days, the cat is told it cannot lie on the kitchen table. A year later the table is fine as long as it leaves the sofa alone, two years later the sofa is its own if it spares the new curtains, and by year three the owner just says "Whatever". Offering scratching posts and shelves early is easier than banning furniture later.
After eight hours out shopping, the owner rushes home sure that her cat must be going crazy waiting for her. She finds Dita fast asleep and completely unbothered.
The cat meows loudly while its owner chops vegetables for a stew. She explains that cats do not eat vegetables, but the "translated from Catish" panel reveals the real complaint: she is cutting the onions wrong and her beef bourguignon recipe is inaccurate. Onions and garlic are toxic to cats, so the cat is better off as a critic than a taster.
"If my cat would do Halloween: scary monsters costume options" offers the hair-dryer monster, the fireworks monster, the over-friendly house guest monster and the bath-time monster. Loud noises, strangers and water are all classic cat fears.
When the household gets a robot vacuum, the owners hope the cat and the "new family member" will become friends, picturing Dita riding it happily. The reality: the cat hides behind the sofa while the machine roams the floor.
Everything begins to look like a cat: a tree, a cloud, a puddle and even a salad, while the partner just stares. It is a gentle joke about how a pet can take over the way you see the world.
At bedtime the cat circles and turns again and again on top of its owner before settling, which makes choosing the right spot "a risky business". Circling and kneading before lying down are common cat habits, possibly inherited from making a nest.
One Pokémon left to level up, and a rare black cat creature appears on the screen. When the owner keeps tapping and cannot catch it, she realises she is looking at her own cat through the phone camera. The strip dates from the Pokémon Go craze of summer 2016.
Instagram fans want more photos, so the owner asks Dita to be her gorgeous self for a couple of shots. The phone fills with near-identical pictures, and the moment the camera goes off the cat finally relaxes into the pose everyone wanted.
The owner sets out clean, full bowls and starts to leave, then hears scraping. The cat is pulling the food bowl to a different spot on the mat, and she wonders if there is such a thing as cat OCD. Many cats are fussy about where food and water sit, and some prefer them apart.
A cat stalks through what looks like a jungle, then roars at its prey. The last panel zooms out: the jungle is a row of potted herbs, and the owner just wants to water her basil.
The owners come home with posh food for an "active indoor young female" who will surely eat in a ladylike manner. Dita buries her face in the bowl, then flops on the floor still chewing: "indeed, one active cat".
Back from CatCon LA, a cat convention in Los Angeles, the owner is thrilled that their products and comics sold well. Dita answers by presenting a document titled "Revenue share renegotiation" signed as "Catsu muse". It is one of the few strips that points directly at the real business behind the comic.
A friend arrives with cake and hears loud snoring from the bedroom, so she lowers her voice in case the boyfriend is asleep. The boyfriend is out: the snorer is the cat, wearing a little nightcap.
The owner puts the cat on a programme of exercise, rationing with "super slim" food and weigh-ins, celebrating a loss of 100 grams. All this so she can post a photo online, where commenters reply "chubby girl!", "adorably fat!" and "fat kitty". Gradual weight loss under a vet's guidance is the safe approach for an overweight cat.
What Dita teaches about living with a cat
Under the jokes, the comics are quietly accurate. They show that cats like routine and warm spots, that many dislike having their bellies touched, that weight creeps up easily on indoor cats, and that a cat's affection often arrives on its own terms. A few strips touch on real health points too: onions, chocolate and string are hazards, and frequent vomiting or sudden weight change is a reason to talk to a vet.
Most of all, Catsu captures the mixture of devotion and mild exasperation that comes with sharing a home with a cat. Another long-running animal friendship told in comic form is Pixie and Brutus: Ben Hed's Comics About an Unlikely Friendship.
Sources: Bored Panda: an artist creates relatable comics about her cat Dita and her family; Bored Panda: the original Catsu the Cat comics feature; Catsu the Cat: official comics page; Wikipedia: Cat behavior; MinnPost, March 2008: University of Minnesota study on cat ownership and heart attack deaths.
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