Cats Megaways: Slot Overview

If big cats are your thing, pull up a chair—this could be the slot you’ve been waiting for. Called Cats Megaways, it’s produced by iSoftBet and reimagines Cats, a classic title originally released by gambling company IGT. Alongside its lineup of feline symbols, the older Cats slot was particularly recognised for its double symbols on the reels. Put simply, a symbol showing 2 cats instead of 1 counted as 2 on a payline. That signature mechanic returns in the Megaways version, now paired with additions like cascading wins, mystery symbols, free spins, Mystery Cat Respins, and even triple symbols.

The original Cats slot is showing its age these days, and Cats Megaways feels far more modern in comparison. Still, there’s a slight retro vibe in the symbol style, the title font, or something similar. That could just be in the mind, though, given Cats Megaways is built from an older game. Visually, it delivers a familiar “Africa in a slot” scene—grassy foreground, acacia trees, distant mountains, and big open skies, the usual setup. It’s put together well enough, even if it’s not especially distinctive. The biggest head-scratcher was the soundtrack, although it’s possible the demo music was simply a temporary placeholder from another title. Either way, Cats Megaways doesn’t overwhelm the senses, but it’s easy on the eyes and ears.

Cats Megaways runs on the familiar Megaways layout with 6 reels plus a top tracker reel that always shows 4 positions. The reels can land 2 to 7 symbols (including the tracker reel), creating up to 117,649 ways to win. It’s highly volatile, with stakes from c/p 20 to €/$ 20 per spin, and an RTP of 94.93%, which is below what iSoftBet typically delivers. The return can be affected by the side bet, which, when switched on, increases the stake by 25% while also increasing the chance of triggering free spins. There’s also a bonus buy option: for 75x the bet, players can purchase free spins, with no additional win on the bought triggering spin.

Winning symbols are removed from the reels and replaced as new symbols drop in from above. Cascading Wins keep chaining until a spin produces no further wins. In Cats Megaways, payouts are made when matching symbols connect left to right across adjacent reels, beginning from the far-left reel. Low symbols are 10 to A card ranks, paying 0.5 to 0.75 times the bet for 6 OAK, while premium cats—cougars, leopards, tigers, lions, and pumas—pay 1 to 3 times the bet for 6 of a kind. The standard payouts aren’t huge, but once double and triple symbols come into play, 14-of-a-kind combinations can happen, paying 20 to 50 times the stake – noting that only cat symbols can be doubled or tripled. The Cats logo symbol acts as a wild and substitutes for all regular pay symbols. Wilds only appear on the top tracker reel, always count as a double symbol, and split any cats directly beneath them on the reel.

Cats Megaways: Slot Features

Extra mechanics to expect while playing Cats Megaways include mystery symbols, Mystery Cat Respins, and free spins.

Mystery Symbols and the Mystery Cat Respin

On any spin, the Mystery Cat Respin feature can randomly trigger. Once the reels settle, you’ll see only blank spaces or mystery cat symbols—single mystery symbols on the vertical reels and double mystery symbols on the tracker. If additional mystery symbols land during a respin and help form a win, another respin is awarded using the current grid. This repeats until no further mystery symbols appear; after that, all mystery symbols reveal the same pay symbol.

Double Symbols

Double symbols appear on the tracker reel and are limited to premium cat symbols. That said, matching single symbols on the main reels 2 to 5 may be transformed into doubles by double symbols on the tracker reel. Scatter symbols can also arrive as double symbols and count as 2. Wild symbols always count as double, and wilds turn all single cats on that reel into double cats.

Free Spins

Hitting 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 paw scatter symbols awards 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, or 20 free spins, respectively. During free spins, scatter symbols are collected when they land. Each time 3 scatters are collected, the lowest eligible cat symbol is upgraded into triple symbols until the feature ends and grants +2 free spins.

Cats Megaways: Slot Verdict

Somewhere in a quiet corner of a quiet pub out in the sticks, a physical Cats machine might still be humming along, content that its DNA has carried into a newer era. And it’s been carried forward in a solid way. When older land-based games are adapted into modern online slots, the result can sometimes feel awkward—maybe not cringe-worthy, but like a dated concept stretched into a new shape. Cats Megaways avoids that problem, and it could easily appeal to cat-loving players who never even knew the original existed. While there’s a faint visual nod to Cats’ heritage if you recognise it, iSoftBet has refreshed the presentation and built a contemporary base for Cats Megaways’ gameplay to launch from.

The gameplay holds up as well, and it’s more layered than it first appears. A largely familiar set of mechanics keeps things moving—cascades and Megaways-style unpredictability—while the more distinctive elements add extra interest, such as symbol doubling (and sometimes tripling), Mystery Respins, and the collection system inside the free spins round. Overall, it works. The only slight question mark is whether fans of the original might see the modern extras as a distraction rather than an improvement. Still, it’s a small concern, since the changes iSoftBet has made generally enhance the flow instead of getting in the way.

There are stronger cat-themed Megaways slots out there with higher RTP and bigger potential, like Big Time Gaming’s King of Cats. That doesn’t mean Cats Megaways should be written off. It offers a respectable amount of fun, and iSoftBet has managed to respect the past while pushing an older slot concept into the present. The team kept the standout element from the original—doubling symbols—and introduced several engaging features to build around it.