View source for Scratch Cat

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[[File:ScratchCat3.0.svg|200px|thumb|An SVG rendering of the Scratch Cat from [[Scratch 3.0]].]]
The '''Scratch Cat''' is the mascot of [[Scratch]] and the default [[sprite]] when opening a new Scratch [[project]].<ref>[http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Support/Reference_Guide_1.4#ScratchInterface Scratch 1.4 Reference Guide > Scratch Interface] > New Sprites{{dead link}}</ref> This cannot be [[How to Change the Default Sprite|changed]]. It is also the outline for the default icon of new [[Scratcher|Scratch accounts]], replacing a previous version that showed a human silhouette.{{cite post|andresmh|2009-11-30|Thanks to Yickpoo for creating the new default avatar|[[ar-topic:26628]]}} The Scratch Cat is a trademark of MIT<ref>[http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Scratch_License/1.4License Scratch 1.4 License]</ref> and was drawn by Wing Ngan.

== Appearance ==
[[File:Scratchcat.svg|thumb|A comparison of the Scratch 1.x [[Raster Graphics|bitmap]] (left), 2.0 [[Vector Graphics|vector]] (center) and the slightly modified 3.0 Scratch Cat (right).]]
Scratch Cat has been updated in every major version, changing it to appear slightly differently. Generally, it has a black outline with orange pointy ears. Its eyes are oval shaped with tiny black pupils. It has a triangle shaped black nose and two whiskers on each side of its face. Its mouth is mostly shown as a smile with its teeth showing. Scratch Cat has two arms and a white belly. Its tail is half white and half orange. It has two legs with one at the front.

Some of Scratch Cat's varieties are shown below:


<!-- This a complicated hack for the following, and all to simply show the _meow_ icon with the correct size. Code taken from original source, and tweaked by Scimonster.

<div style="text-align:center">
<gallery widths=71px perrow=5 caption="Scratch Cats">
File:Scratch Cat-cropped.svg|Head (87x60)
File:Scratch Cat.png|Small (95x111)
File:Scratch Cat Costume 2.png|Small 2 (110x131)
File:ScratchCat-Small.png|Medium (500x500)
File:ScratchCat-Large.png|Large (2000x2000)
File:Scratch2AlphaCat.png|Old vector version from 2.0 alpha/beta<ref>[[projects:10006228]]</ref>
File:_meow_.png|The _meow_ icon
File:Default Scratch Avatar.png|The default user icon
File:Scratch Cat concept art.jpg|Concept art shown in [[Scratch Video Updates|video update]] 5
File:ScratchCatThumbUp.svg|Scratch Cat giving a thumbs up
</gallery>
</div>

-->

<table class="gallery" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><!-- Recreates the basic table -->
	<caption>Scratch Cats</caption>
	<tr>
		<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 48px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch Cat-cropped.svg|71px]]</div></div>
<!-- This creates each thumbnail image, using a mixture of HTML and wikicode -->
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Head (87x60)</p>
<!-- The caption for each individual image -->
			</div>
		</div></td>
		<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 31px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch Cat.png|71x83px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Small (95x111)</p>
			</div>
		</div></td>
		<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">

			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 29px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch Cat Costume 2.png|71x88px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Small 2 (110x131)</p>
			</div>
		</div></td>
		<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:ScratchCat-Small.png|71x71px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Medium (500x500)</p>
			</div>
		</div></td>
		<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:ScratchCat-Large.png|71x71px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Large (2000x2000)</p>
			</div>
		</div></td>
		<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch2AlphaCat.png|71x71px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Old vector version from 2.0 alpha/beta</p>
			</div>
		</div></td>

	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 46px 0; width: 101px; height: 53px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Meow.png]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>The "_meow_" icon</p>
			</div>
		</div></td>
		<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Default Scratch Avatar.png|71x71px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>The default [[Icon|User Icon]]</p>
			</div>
		</div></td>
             <td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch Cat concept art.jpg|71x71px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Concept art shown in [[Scratch Video Updates|video update]] 5</p>
                        </div>
		</div></td>
             <td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch Cat Plush.jpg|71x71px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Scratch Cat plush created by Scratch Team member cheddargirl</p>
                        </div>
		</div></td>
             <td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch Cat Jr Vectorized.svg|71x71px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Scratch Cat Jr in [[ScratchJr]]</p>
                        </div>
                        		</div></td>
             <td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch Icon1.4.png|71x71px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>[[Scratch 1.4]] program icon.</p>
                        </div>
		</div></td>
<td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 106px;">
			<div class="thumb" style="padding: 37px 0; width: 101px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 71px;">[[File:Scratch Cat from Hello Ruby.jpg|80px]]</div></div>
			<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Scratch Cat's cameo appearance in a children's book called ''Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding''</p>
                        </div></div></td></tr>
                   <tr>
                        <td>
[[File:Scratch Cat from Super Scratch Programming Adventure.png|100px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>Scratch Cat in [[Scratch Books#Scratch 2.0 Books|Super Scratch Programming Adventure]]</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
                 <td>
[[File:FlyingCat.png|100px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>Scratch Cat's flying  sprite that was made for the "Make it Fly" collaboration event.</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
<td>
[[File:Make It Fly Cat.PNG|100px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>The other costume for Scratch Cat's flying sprite.</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
<td>
[[File:ScratchBackpack.png|125px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>The Scratch Cat wearing a backpack.</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
<td>
[[File:SpaceScratch.png|125px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>The Scratch Cat wearing a space suit.</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
<td>
[[File:Flag.png|125px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>The Scratch Cat with a flag.</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
<td>
[[File:Studio Default Icon.PNG|125px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>Scratch Cat in the default icon for a [[studio]].</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
[[File:Lego Scratch Cat.png|125px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>The MIT Lego Scratch Cat.</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
<td>
[[File:ScratchCat.png|110px]]
	<div class="gallerytext" style="width:101px">
<p>{{scratch user|ScratchCat}}'s profile picture.</p>
                        </div>
		</td>
                         </tr>
               </table>
<!-- End hack -->

==Use in Projects==
{{outdated|date=January 2021|cat=no}}In 2011, over 35,000 projects had used the Scratch Cat in its most well-known form (the costume named 'cat1-a' in projects created in Scratch 2.0, 'Cat' in projects created in Scratch 3.0 or 'Sprite1' if it the sprite was used since the project was created), making it the second most used image in Scratch from [[Scratch#Scratch 1.3|Scratch 1.3]] upwards.<ref>http://blog.scratch.mit.edu/2011/02/top-10-images-in-scratch.html{{dead link}}</ref> The high usage of the image is most probably because it is the default starter sprite when creating a new project, or the fact that the Scratch Cat serves as the symbol of Scratch.

The image is often used as a narrator for a project (particularly tutorial projects), as it is such a well-known image. It is also frequently used as an interviewer in talk-show-style projects. As well as these, it also serves many other uses.

=== Remakes of Scratch Cat ===
[[File:Example of Scratch-cat remake.svg|100px|thumb|right|Example of Scratch cat remake.]]
Scratch Cat also serves as an individual species{{cn|date=May 2024}} and can be remade. Some remakes have recolored the cat and added some unique details while others are basically characters as the "Scratch Cat". Scratch Cat has been remade into "original characters" and characters from the media, similar to the fact that Nintendo characters Kirby, Yoshi, and Toad have their own species that look similar to them.

=== Removed Projects ===
In the past, when a user attempted to view a project that had been removed by the [[Scratch Team]], the user would see an animation of the Scratch Cat explaining that the project is not suitable for all members of the Scratch Community and has thus been removed.<ref>[[projects:243873]]{{dead link}}</ref> However, this has since been replaced with a [[404 Error]] page.

==<code>_meow_</code> Scratch Cat Image==
In a [[Comment (website feature)|comment]], if a user types <code>_meow_</code> with no characters directly before or after without a space, it will turn into {{meow}} when posted. This image became popular in September 2011.

Since being discovered, it has been [[spam]]med a lot on people's projects. Some Scratchers use them for awarding someone if they did a great job or worked really hard but some just write "_meow_" over and over again. This can make it hard to read comments along with other things. This bothers some people, and is frowned upon.{{cite post|cpumaster930|2011-09-13|it's getting annoying.|[[ar-topic:74666]]}}

== Can't Connect to Server ==
{{see also|403 Error|404 Error}}[[File:404-old.png|100px|thumb|The gray Scratch Cat that appears in the 2.0 error.]]
Originally, when a page that did not exist was attempted to be accessed on the Scratch Website, a gray picture of the Scratch Cat appeared, and the screen displayed "404. Oh noes! Our server is Scratch'ing its head!". This has since been replaced by an image of Giga. This image is still used in the [[403 Error]] when trying to access a restricted page, and also appears when visiting a non-existent [[Scratch Wiki|wiki]] page.

== Other Forms ==

=== Neigh Pony ===
[[File:Neigh pony.png|150px|thumb|right|The Neigh Pony, one of the April Fools' 2012 Mascots on Scratch.]]
On [[April Fools' Day#2012|April Fools' Day 2012]], the Scratch Team spread the rumor that [[Scratch 2.0]] would be renamed to Neigh and the Scratch Cat would be replaced by the Neigh Pony.<ref>http://blog.scratch.mit.edu/2012/04/scratch-20-update-new-name-new-mascot.html{{dead link}}</ref> The Neigh Pony bears several resemblances to Scratch Cat, including the presence of whiskers and the white and orange Scratch colors. This form is supposed to be a parody of the characters from [[Wikipedia:My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic|My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]].

=== Scratch Cat Jr ===
{{main|ScratchJr#Scratch Cat Jr}}
Scratch Cat Jr is a modification of Scratch Cat, made to look more appealing to younger kids. Scratch Cat Jr can be seen in [[ScratchJr]], an app designed for kindergarteners.

=== "Cosmicat" ===
[[File:Scratch 3.0 Editor Preview 1.png|thumb|Early mockup of Scratch 3.0, featuring "Cosmicat"]]
In [[Development of Scratch 3.0|a 2016 preview of Scratch 3.0]], a less anthropomorphic form of Scratch Cat was used, which was nicknamed "Cosmicat". This form of Scratch Cat was not used in later versions, with its original form being used in favor.

== See Also ==
* [[Gobo]]
* [[Gobo's Friends]]

== References ==
<references/>
<!--Do not include in Category:Scratch Cats. That category is used for Scratch Cat images only.-->
[[Category:Characters]]
[[de:Scratch Katze]]
[[ru:Кот Скретч]]
[[id:Kucing Scratch]]
[[ja:スクラッチキャット]]
[[fr:Scratch Cat]]