Stray modders are putting their own four-legged friends in the game

Stray with the main character modded to be a black cat with green eyes. — (Image credit: BlueTwelve Studios)

Stray is a game where you play as an adorable orange cat lad. Some of us—like deputy guides editor Lauren Aitken—are luckily enough to already have the protagonist resemble one of our four-legged friends. For others, the desire to have their own fur babies represented is mighty strong.

As spotted by Imogen Donovan, a quick glance at Nexus Mods and you'll be met with an entire litter of reskins made to resemble either the modder's own pets or to fulfil requests on behalf of other players who want their cat in-game. It's absolutely bloody adorable and has opened the game to a whole variety of fuzzy friends. There are tuxedo cats, calicoes, and even adorable sphynxes! Some, like this gorgeous grey domestic cat, have been made to honour pets who passed away. I'm not crying, you are.

As if these mods couldn't get any better, many modders have done their duty and paid the cat tax, uploading images of their IRL pals alongside the one in-game.

While there are a few black cats among the mods, none quite yet capture the eyes of my own adorable (and constantly grumpy) cat Luna. Thankfully, modder NorskPL has made the texture files available so you can create your own modded cattery.

Seriously, if you need a way to beat those Monday blues and get through the early week, just give the Stray Nexus Mods list a peep. You won't regret it.

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.