Cat collecting apps, compared
Three apps let you photograph real cats and collect them: CatchCat on Android, Cat Collector on iPhone, and Chonk Finder on both. Chonk Finder is the only one your friends can all play whatever phone they hold, which matters because a cat needs four different people to find it before it is caught. It is also the only one where the collecting carries on off the screen: a free card every day, walks laid out street by street, and real printed cards posted to you.
Free on iPhone and Android. No sign-up.
The question is no longer whether somebody built this, it is which one your phone can run. CatchCat is on Android. Cat Collector is on iPhone and iPad, and its own FAQ says it is not on Android and asks people to shout if they want it. So roughly half the people who read about either one cannot install the thing they just read about.
That matters more here than it would elsewhere, because collecting cats is not a solitary game. On Chonk Finder a cat needs four different people to find it before it becomes a Chonk, and those first four stay on its card for good. A game the friend with the other phone cannot join is a game with a hole through the middle of it.
The second difference is what happens after the photograph. The others hand you a card and stop there. Chonk Finder is trying to build a world around the animals: every cat gets stats and two attacks written for it alone, there is a new one waiting free every morning, there are walks worked out street by street for finding them, and the cards you earn can arrive through your letterbox on real card stock.
The three of them, side by side
| Chonk Finder | CatchCat | Cat Collector | |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes | No, by their own FAQ |
| Price | Free, no sign-up | Free | Free, no sign-in |
| What a cat becomes | A card with a Chonk Level, a rarity, a coat and two attacks written for that cat | A card with stats, to battle with friends | The cat itself, pinned where you found it, and an iMessage sticker |
| Takes more than one person | Yes. Four finders turn a cat into a Chonk and all four stay on its card | Not listed | No, though you can collect cats other people photographed |
| A free card every day | Yes, Chonk of the Day | Not listed | Not listed |
| Walks laid out for finding cats | Yes, nine routes so far | Not listed | Not listed |
| Printed cards in the post | Yes. One pack is earned by playing and costs nothing, and you can buy more | Not listed | Not listed |
Taken from what each app says about itself: CatchCat on Google Play, Cat Collector.
One game, both kinds of phone
Chonk Finder is on iPhone and Android, so nobody in the group is left holding the wrong handset. That is the whole point when four people have to find the same cat before it counts.
Every cat gets written up properly
Photograph a cat and it comes back with a name, a Chonk Level from 1 to 10, a rarity, its coat and two attacks written for that animal alone. A cat asleep on a fence turns out to have a weakness to an empty lap. That is the bit people screenshot.
It carries on off the screen
A free card waits every morning, there are walking routes worked out street by street for the cities we know best, and the cards you earn can be printed on real stock and posted to you. The collection is a thing you can hold.
The three questions that stop people
- Which of these works on Android?
- CatchCat and Chonk Finder. Cat Collector says in its own FAQ that it is on iPhone and iPad but not Android, and asks people to say if they want an Android version.
- Which works on iPhone?
- Cat Collector and Chonk Finder. CatchCat launched on Google Play and does not list an iPhone version.
- Can my friends and I play together on different phones?
- On Chonk Finder, yes, because it is on both. Worth settling before you all install something, since a cat needs four different people to find it before it is caught and those four are named on its card afterwards.
- Do I really get free cards?
- Yes, two kinds. There is a new cat free every morning, called Chonk of the Day, which is yours if you open the app and claim it. And a pack of real printed cards is earned by playing, with nothing to pay and no card details taken: you give an address and it is posted to you.
- What are the cat walks?
- Routes worked out street by street for finding cats in a particular place, with the time of day that actually works and what tends to be sitting where. Nine so far, free to read, and you do not need the app to follow one.
- Is there anything to buy?
- One thing: extra packs of printed cards, posted with shipping included. Everything in the app is free and there is no sign-up.
- Is this list fair?
- It is written by the people who make Chonk Finder, so read it knowing that. Every line in the table comes from what the other apps say about themselves, the date it was checked is printed on it, and the links are there so you can go and check us.
There is probably a cat outside right now.
Cat Collector, and what Android players ask next · CatchCat on iPhone, side by side · The Pokémon GO for cats question, answered · Walks laid out for finding cats · What the app is for · Every question people ask about the app · Games like Neko Atsume, with real cats