What part of the Cheshire Cat remains after it vanishes?

The part of the Cheshire Cat that remains after it vanishes is its grin. In Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Cat disappears gradually until Alice can see only its smile, creating the memorable image of a grin without a cat.

The Cheshire Cat first appears at the Duchess’s house and later meets Alice in a tree. Unlike ordinary cats, it can appear and disappear at will, often leaving Alice puzzled by its philosophical remarks. Its final vanishing act at the Queen of Hearts’ croquet ground turns the Cat’s grin into the only visible trace of its presence.

The character also helped popularize the phrase “grinning like a Cheshire Cat,” an expression that predates Carroll’s book. The origin of that phrase is uncertain, with theories involving Cheshire cheese, local carvings, and the county’s dairy tradition. The Cat’s grin is therefore both a plot detail and the defining symbol associated with the character.