In the Vietnamese zodiac, the Cat takes the place of the Chinese zodiac’s Rabbit.
Vietnamese zodiac tradition has twelve animals and largely follows the Chinese sequence, but it includes several important differences. The Cat occupies the fourth position, where the Chinese zodiac has the Rabbit. This is why Vietnamese New Year references a Year of the Cat rather than a Year of the Rabbit.
The difference is sometimes explained through linguistic history and cultural adaptation, although popular stories also connect it with similar-sounding words and an old animal-race tale. The exact historical origin is debated, so those explanations should not be treated as a single proven account.
Vietnamese tradition also uses Buffalo rather than Ox and Goat rather than Sheep or Ram in common English translations. These differences show that zodiac animals are regional cultural systems, not one universally identical list.