Which animal face emoji is a cat?

The animal face emoji that represents a cat is Cat Face. The basic cat face emoji, 🐱, shows a stylized feline head and is distinct from the fox, bear, and dog face emoji designs.

Cat Face belongs to Unicode’s broader emoji collection of animals and nature. It is one of several cat-themed emoji, alongside smiling cat faces, grinning cat faces, kissing cat faces, crying cat faces, and pouting cat faces. These variants use familiar facial expressions while retaining visual features associated with cats, such as pointed ears and a feline muzzle.

A common mix-up is confusing the plain Cat Face with “Cat Face With Wry Smile” or “Smiling Cat Face With Open Mouth.” Emoji artwork varies between Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other platforms, but the Unicode character identity remains stable. The emoji can refer literally to a cat, pets, cuteness, or an affectionate and playful mood.