Tips for a higher score

Updated October 2026, 11 minute read

Since a miss costs nothing, your score depends on how many cats you can hit in the time you play. These habits will help you hit more of them.

Eight habits that work

1. Wait for the middle. Cats race in from the side, then spend most of their time bobbing near the centre of the room. That's your easiest moment.
2. Aim at the chest. The target zone sits in the middle of the cat, not at its hands and feet. Put your line through the centre of the body.
3. Start holding before the cat arrives. Keep your finger near the middle of the upper screen, so you only need a small slide when the cat settles.
4. Fire when the bobbing changes direction. Cats drift up and down. They're easiest to hit at the top or bottom of a bob, when they almost stop.
5. Use the dashed line, not your finger. Your thumb can hide part of the target, so hold low on the screen and follow the line up to the cat.
6. Don't fear a miss. There's no penalty, so a quick second shot is always better than letting a cat escape.
7. Be ready again right away. A new cat arrives shortly after the last one falls. Keep your thumb close to the screen.
8. Play with sound on. A new voice clip tells you a cat has arrived, even if you were looking at Pookutti's face.

Common mistakes

Lifting too early

The shot fires the moment you let go. If you tend to lift while still sliding, stop moving first and then release.

Chasing the entrance

Cats move fastest as they enter and leave. Shots at that moment are low percentage unless the line is already in position.

Holding your phone sideways

Sideways play makes the game small and the cats harder to hit. Hold your phone upright for the biggest view.

Challenge your friends

Your best score appears under the game on the home page once you've scored. Send a friend the link with the Share game button, screenshot your score, and see who gives up first.

Take a break

Quick games can eat more time than you expect. If your thumb gets tired or your eyes feel dry, stop for a few minutes. Your best score will still be here on this device.

Understand what you're aiming at

Good habits come more easily once you know exactly how the game judges a shot. These facts come directly from how the game works.

Master the three phases of a cat

Phase one: the entrance

The cat crosses from the edge to the centre quickly. On the shortest visits, that takes less than a second. You can't react to it with a big swing, so if you want these early points, place your line first and let the cat run into it. Pick a point about a quarter of the way in from the edge, at the height you expect. Because each cat's height is random, you'll need some luck, and that's why this is a bonus shot rather than a plan.

Phase two: the hang time

This is where most of your score will come from. The cat stays near the centre, swaying gently from side to side and bobbing up and down. The side-to-side movement is small. Most of what you need to track is the vertical bob, which combines a slow wave and a quicker one, so it never quite repeats. Don't try to follow every wobble. Line up on the average position and release when the cat drifts back through it.

Phase three: the exit

If you've missed by now, you have one last chance. The cat speeds off in the direction it was first travelling. Since you know which way it'll go, you can slide your line slightly ahead of it, then release as it crosses. This isn't leading a slow shot, because the laser is instant. You're simply setting a trap and timing the release.

Get the grip right

Comfort matters more than most players expect, especially in longer sessions.

On a phone

Cradle the phone with its lower half in your palm and aim with your thumb. Two-handed play is steadier: hold the phone with one hand and aim with the index finger of the other. Try both and pick whichever feels less shaky. Tensing your thumb makes it harder to control, so relax your grip between cats.

On a tablet

Prop it up or rest it on your lap so you aren't supporting the weight with your aiming hand. The larger screen means longer finger movements, but also finer control.

On a computer

A mouse is steady and precise. Rest your wrist on the desk, move from the wrist for small changes, and use a slower pointer speed if the line feels jumpy. Remember that you can aim with the pointer far from the bed for finer angle control.

Use leverage for steadier aim

The line pivots around its starting point on the bed. It works just like a lever. If your finger is near the pivot, a small movement creates a big swing at the far end. If your finger is near the far end, the same movement barely changes it.

That gives you two aiming styles, and good players switch between them:

• The sniper hold. Hold high on the screen, at or near the cat's height. Your finger is almost on the target, and the line is very stable. The downside is that your finger or thumb can cover the cat.
• The quick hold. Hold about midway up the screen. You can cover the whole room with a short slide, and your thumb won't hide the cat, but you need a lighter touch.

A good general choice for phones is to hold just below the cat and slightly to one side. Your thumb stays clear, and the line stays reasonably stable.

Timing your release

Many misses happen after the aim was already right. Your finger moves a tiny amount as it lifts, and that small movement can shift the line. These habits help:

• Stop before you lift. Bring your finger to rest for a split second, then release. Don't flick upward as you let go.
• Lift straight off. Think of raising your finger, not rolling or dragging it.
• Use the turning points. A bobbing cat nearly stops at the top and bottom of each movement, so these are forgiving moments to release.
• Watch the cat, not your finger. Your eyes should follow the line to the target. Your hand will usually follow what your eyes are doing.

Score faster by wasting less time

There's no time limit in the game, but if you want to measure yourself fairly, try setting a timer. Your score then depends on how quickly you can finish each cat and be ready for the next.

1. Return to a home position. After every shot, slide back to the same place. A spot in the middle of the upper screen means every cat is a short move away.
2. Don't watch the explosion. It's fun, but your next target is already on the way. Once you've seen the hit, get your thumb ready.
3. Listen for the arrival. A new voice clip tells you a cat has entered. You don't need to spot it first.
4. Check which side it came from. That tells you where it'll exit if you miss during the hang time.
5. Fire your follow-up immediately. After a miss, you know which way the line was wrong. Correct it and shoot again while the information is fresh.

Practice drills

You don't need to practise a silly game, of course. But if beating a friend matters to you, these short drills will help. The targets are our suggestions, not official levels, so adjust them to suit you.

What not to do

Spamming without looking

Because shots are free, it's tempting to tap wildly. Random shots can hit by luck, but they don't teach you anything. Aimed shots become faster with practice, and that's a far better return on your time.

Following every wobble

If you chase each small movement, you'll always be slightly behind. The cat comes back to you. Pick a spot and wait.

Covering the target

If your thumb hides the cat, you can't see the moment to fire. Hold lower or to the side.

Playing with a tense hand

A tight grip makes tiny movements harder. If your shots start to wander, stop for a moment and shake out your hand.

Worrying about a bad run

Each cat's speed and height are random, so some stretches will be harder than others. That isn't the game cheating, and there's no penalty to recover from. The next cat is a clean start.

Why you improve so quickly

In the 1950s, psychologist Paul Fitts studied how long it takes people to move to a target. His result, now called Fitts's law, says that larger and closer targets are quicker to reach. That's useful here, because you can make your own movement shorter by keeping your finger in a good home position, and you can make the target effectively more forgiving by waiting until it's moving slowly.

Practice also helps because aiming is a skill your hands learn through repetition. Over time, you stop thinking about the line and simply put it where you're looking. Short, regular sessions tend to work better for this than one very long one, and they're much kinder to your thumb.

Challenges to try with friends

• Sixty-second duel. Each player gets one minute on the same phone. Highest score wins.
• Sniper rules. One shot per cat. A miss means you must wait for the next cat.
• Weak-hand round. Everyone plays with the hand they don't normally use.
• Straight face. Play with the sound up. The first player to laugh loses their turn.
• Beat the screenshot. Send your best score to a group chat and give everyone until the end of the day.

For the basic controls and fixes for common problems, read the how to play guide.

Reading each new cat

You can learn a lot from the first second of a cat's visit. Train yourself to notice three things as it arrives.

• Which side it came from. It'll leave on the opposite side, so you already know where a late shot will have to go.
• How high it's flying. Each cat picks a height and bobs around it. Once you've seen that height, move your line there before the cat reaches the middle.
• How fast it entered. A fast entrance means a short visit overall, because the whole trip is scaled to the same schedule. Fire sooner. A slow entrance means you've got time to take a careful shot.

The third point is the most useful and the least obvious. All the phases stretch or shrink together, so the speed of the entrance tells you how long the hang time will last. A cat that shoots in may be gone within four seconds, while a slow one may stay for nearly eight.

Tips for each type of device

Android phones

Play through the Play button so the game runs in true full screen. If a system gesture takes you out, one tap brings you back. If animation seems choppy, turn off battery saver for your session and close other apps.

iPhone

Safari doesn't support true full screen for web pages on iPhone, so you may see the address bar. Adding the site to your home screen gives you a cleaner start. Keep your thumb away from the very bottom edge of the screen, where a swipe can trigger the system's home gesture.

Computers

You've got the steadiest pointer and the largest view, so accuracy should be high. Treat each cat as a challenge to hit with a single shot. Scores in timed challenges often come down to how quickly you can return to your home position.

The mental side

This is a joke game, but the same mental habits that help in serious games work here too.

Forget the last shot. A miss has no effect on what comes next, so don't let it speed you up or make you tense. Take the information you need, which is how far off you were, and leave the rest behind.

Keep your attention wide. Staring hard at one point can make you slow to react. Keep a relaxed view of the upper part of the room, and you'll spot arrivals sooner.

Don't chase the record every time. Since there's no game over, a "run" lasts for as long as you decide. Try a set amount of time instead, like two minutes. It gives every session a clear end and makes your results easier to compare.

A ten-minute plan for a new record

1. First two minutes: warm up. Take easy shots at the hang time and let your hand settle.
2. Next two minutes: one-shot rule. Fire once per cat to sharpen your accuracy and your release.
3. Next two minutes: home position. Return to the same spot after every shot, and notice how much time that saves.
4. Next minute: rest. Put the phone down, stretch your hand and look across the room.
5. Final three minutes: go for it. Start a fresh game and use everything. Fire your first shot as soon as a cat is settled, and shoot again immediately if you miss.

Do this for a couple of days and you should see your hit rate rise. If it doesn't, don't worry. The cats won't hold it against you, and Pookutti won't get out of bed either way.

Frequently asked questions about scoring