Cats runs on a standard 5x3, 30-line grid with a Cats logo wild, paw-print scatters, and a set of big-cat symbols above card royals J through A. The twist is IGT's split-symbol mechanic: any cat or paw-print icon can land doubled in a single position, which is how a five-position line can register as an eight- or ten-of-a-kind win.
- The wild substitutes for every regular symbol but not for the paw-print scatter
- Paw prints trigger free spins from reels two through four and can also pay a direct scatter win
- Split symbols count as two matching cats, not two separate positions
Reading the Cats symbol set
The paytable is split cleanly into two tiers. At the bottom sit card royals — J, Q, K, and A, each rendered in its own colour — which pay the smallest amounts and fill out the lower rungs of most lines. Above them come the big cats: species such as the panther, lion, tiger, cheetah, and cougar, stacked roughly in that order of value, with the panther and lion generally cited as the top-paying regular symbols.
The Cats logo functions as the wild. It stands in for any regular symbol, including the big cats and the royals, and several reviews note it as the single highest-paying icon when it lines up on its own without substituting for anything else. It does not replace the paw-print scatter, so a spin still needs the scatter itself to trigger the bonus round.
Paw prints are the scatter symbol, and they don't need to sit on a payline to count. Landing enough of them across reels two, three, and four triggers free spins, and in some configurations four paw prints on the grid pay a scatter win worth twice the total bet even without triggering the round.
What sets Cats apart from a plain video slot is the split-symbol behaviour. Any cat or scatter icon can appear as a single image or as a doubled, split version occupying the same reel position. Because payouts count individual cats rather than physical positions, a line with a mix of singles and splits can total anywhere from three up to ten matching cats, well beyond what the five visible positions would normally allow.
Published paytable figures for exact multipliers are patchy — one detailed source lists the panther paying from roughly 0.33x stake for three-of-a-kind up to around 83x for ten-of-a-kind, but a full breakdown for every symbol and every count isn't consistently available across operators. Treat the ranking above as the reliable part and specific numeric payouts as something to confirm in the game's own paytable screen before betting.
Checking the paytable before you spin
- Open the in-game menu and select the paytable or symbol information screen
- Scan the symbol list from royals up to the big cats to see the payout ranking
- Identify the Cats logo wild and the paw-print scatter, and note what each does and doesn't substitute for
- Watch a few spins for doubled, split symbols on the reels — they're the reason a line can pay for more than five matching icons
Symbol and paytable questions
Does the Cats logo wild also act as a split symbol?
Some descriptions of the game note that when the wild substitutes for a cat, it can count as a doubled position, but this isn't confirmed consistently across every version, so treat it as a possible bonus rather than a guaranteed feature.
Can paw prints pay without triggering free spins?
Yes, in some configurations four paw prints landing anywhere on the grid pay a scatter win worth twice the total bet even if that count falls short of triggering the free spins round.
Which big cat pays the most on a line?
The panther is most often cited as the top-paying species, with the lion close behind, though exact multiplier figures for every match count aren't published consistently across sources.
How can a payline show more than five matching cats?
IGT's split-symbol mechanic lets a single reel position display two cats instead of one. The paytable counts total matching cats along the line, not physical positions, so combinations of singles and doubles can reach eight or ten of a kind.
Does the wild replace the paw-print scatter?
No. The Cats logo wild substitutes for every regular symbol, including the card royals and big cats, but it never stands in for the paw-print scatter used to trigger free spins.
Are card royals worth checking on the paytable screen?
They're the lowest tier, running from J through A, and they fill out the smaller line wins. They're worth a glance mainly to see where the value jump to cat symbols begins.
Why do some paytable screens show different payout numbers for the same symbol?
Bet ranges and some payout details are configured per casino and jurisdiction, so figures displayed at one site can differ slightly from another even for the same symbol.
Do split scatters count double toward the free spins trigger?
Yes — a paw print landing in its doubled, split form on a qualifying reel counts as two scatters toward the total needed to launch free spins, not one.
Try the symbols in the free demo first
A demo version of Cats lets you watch the wild, scatter, and split symbols play out without staking real money, which is the simplest way to see the mechanic in action before deciding whether to play for real. Gambling is for players 19+ in most of Canada (18+ in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec).
Play at partner casino