Cats is a 5-reel, 3-row IGT slot with 30 paylines. Wins form left to right on active lines, and every cat symbol can land as a single icon or as a doubled split symbol, which lets a single payline count as more than five matching cats. Five or six paw-print scatters landing on reels 2 through 4 trigger a round of free spins.
- Line wins are read left to right starting from reel one.
- Split symbols can turn a five-position line into an eight or ten-of-a-kind win.
- Free spins depend on paw-print scatters on the middle three reels only.
Rules of Cats, Step by Step
The grid is a conventional 5x3 layout with 30 paylines running in straight and diagonal patterns across the reels. There are no ways-to-win, clusters, or cascading reels here: you spin, the reels stop, and the game checks each active line for a matching run of symbols starting from the leftmost reel. Bet size and the number of active lines can usually be adjusted before each spin, depending on the casino running the game.
The paytable splits into card royals from J through A at the low end and a run of big cat species — panthers, lions, tigers, and similar predators — occupying the mid-to-high tiers. The Cats logo acts as the wild, substituting for any regular symbol to help complete lines, though it does not replace the paw-print scatter.
What sets Cats apart from a standard video slot is IGT's Split Symbols mechanic. Every cat icon and every paw-print scatter can appear as a single symbol or as a doubled version occupying the same reel position. Because payouts are counted by the number of matching cats on a line rather than by reel positions, three split symbols and two singles on one payline can add up to eight matching cats even though the line only spans five positions.
Free spins are triggered independently of the payline structure. Paw-print scatters appear only on reels 2, 3, and 4, and because they too can land as single or split symbols, five total paw prints across those reels award five free spins, while six award ten. One review also notes that four paw prints, without triggering the feature, can pay a flat scatter prize of twice the total bet.
During free spins the same bet and line count from the triggering spin carry through the round, and the split-symbol mechanic remains fully active on both cats and scatters. This is where the game's higher-count combinations tend to appear, since split wilds and split scatters compound more easily across several spins than in a single base-game spin. Whether the feature can retrigger mid-round is not consistently documented, so treat each free spins award as a fixed block rather than expecting extensions.
Cats Through the Years
- 2013 — Cats is commonly cited as going live online, bringing IGT's land-based cabinet mechanics, including Split Symbols, to online and mobile casinos.
Confirmed Game Mechanics
- 30 fixed paylines across a 5x3 reel layout, with left-to-right line evaluation.
- Split Symbols on every cat icon and paw-print scatter, allowing more than five matching symbols on a single line.
- Free spins triggered by five or six paw-print scatters landing on reels 2, 3, and 4.
- Cats logo wild that substitutes for regular symbols but not for scatters.
- Free spins retain the same bet and line settings as the triggering spin.
- Demo play and mobile-friendly HTML5 support at most casinos offering the title.
Setting Up a Spin
- Choose your line bet and confirm all 30 paylines are active before spinning.
- Spin the reels and check active paylines for single and split cat symbols forming a match.
- Watch reels 2 through 4 for paw-print scatters — five or six of them starts the free spins round.
Rules Questions Players Ask
Do split symbols count as two positions on the payline or just one?
They occupy one physical reel position but count as two matching cats toward the payline total, which is why a five-position line can register as an eight or ten-of-a-kind win.
Can the paw-print scatter appear as a split symbol too?
Yes. Paw prints can land single or doubled on reels 2 through 4, and both forms count toward the five or six needed to trigger free spins.
Does the wild logo substitute for the scatter symbol?
No. The Cats logo wild replaces regular cat and royal symbols but does not stand in for the paw-print scatter used to trigger free spins.
Does landing four paw prints without a full trigger still pay anything?
One detailed review notes that four paw prints on the grid can award a flat scatter payout of twice the total bet, even without triggering free spins.
Do free spins use a different bet or line count than the spin that triggered them?
No. The free spins round carries over the same bet per line and line count that were active on the triggering spin.
Try the Rules in Practice
Reading the payline and split-symbol rules is one thing; watching them play out on the reels is another. A demo version lets you see how single and split cats interact without risking anything. Play is intended for those 19 and older (18+ in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec).
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