A com-purr-hensive history of LEGO cats before 71048 Series 27

A brand-new cat piece launches in 2025 as part of LEGO 71048 Series 27, joining a long list of LEGO cats going back to the 1970s.

Before the arrival of 71048 Series 27, take a deep dive into the history of felines made out of LEGO pieces dating back 50 years to see how we got from 258 Zoo to a mix of crazy, colourful and almost too realistic LEGO cats. Though the collection may have started small, the LEGO Group has gone cat-crazy over the past 10 years.

This list will focus on regular and anthropomorphic LEGO cats of all shapes and sizes, whether they're brick-built, minifigures or use a specialised piece. Repeated cat pieces (aside from new colours), builds and minifigures won't be mentioned aside from their first appearances to focus on the most crucial stages in the evolution of LEGO cats.

1970 – 1979

LEGO cats started out with no minifigure-scale depictions of the animal. The feline's history in the LEGO portfolio instead started with a brick-built model in 258 Zoo and with a pair of characters in Fabuland.

1980 – 1989

From 1980 to 1990, the LEGO cat's legacy continued with another brick-built figure similar to the first, maybe depicting a grown-up version of the original build. One of the earlier LEGO DUPLO models also included a printed jigsaw-style puzzle of a cat.

1990 – 1999

The 1990s ended up being a monumental era for LEGO cats. From the debut of a familiar kitten element in Belville to another pair of LEGO DUPLO cat pieces and even the first LEGO Technic cat figure, as unusual as it may seem. LEGO cats appeared everywhere in this era, including as a hood ornament in 5571 Giant Truck.

2000 – 2009

The 2000s proved to be an important era for LEGO cats with the debut of the animal in the LEGO Modular Buildings and Winter Village Collections as well as several new colours and pieces for various species of cats, including one Clikits cat which was especially fantastical and would be followed up on in the next decade.

This decade also saw the debut of LEGO Catwoman from DC but like Catman in The LEGO Batman Movie range, this is a character inspired by cats, rather than based on them.

2010 – 2019

As crucial as 2000 through 2009 was for LEGO cats, it was nothing compared to that of 2010 through 2019. Many more brick-builts were released from LEGO Creator and The LEGO Movie, but most importantly, the modern blueprint for LEGO cat elements would debut in a Collectible Minifigures series.

The LEGO Movie and The Simpsons were just two of the licenses that added LEGO cats to the portfolio whether they be single-element figures or minifigures. Unikitty's debut ended up being a great source of LEGO cat figures with appearances in The LEGO Movie, Unikitty and The LEGO Movie 2 sets.

Following the debut of the new LEGO cat mould, the piece continued to evolve throughout the decade, including the launch of the piece in black and a modified take on the element for Snowball II.

LEGO Boost, Disney and Minecraft also debuted LEGO cats and cat characters during this era as the LEGO Group continued to embrace the animal more than ever before. Minecraft would go on to debut plenty more new cat figures as well.

With the arrival of The LEGO Movie 2, we received the most interesting LEGO cats to date with everything from apocalyptic takes in various sizes to Unikitty wearing high heels and a scarf.

Rounding out the LEGO cats between 2010 and 2019 was the arrival of Goose in the Captain Marvel sets. In the Comic-Con exclusive 77902 Captain Marvel and the Asis, Goose appears as a unique brick-built figure with tentacles protruding from their mouth. Technically Goose isn't a LEGO Cat but a Flerken, though he's close enough for this report.

2020 – Present

The evolution of LEGO cats has continued over the past four years with some 2025 sets also featuring the familiar felines. The most notable addition to the LEGO cat collection is 21349 Tuxedo Cat, which has managed to find viral success in the LEGO and the wider community for its realistic take on a cat, inspired by a fan design.

Aside from the LEGO Ideas set, notable stages in the growth of LEGO cats from 2020 to the present include a transparent cat element, the debut of cats in LEGO Super Mario, Fortnite and the first new cat piece based on the original CMF mould in a few years as part of 71048 Series 27.

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