Mewgenics Beginner’s Guide: How to Stop Your Cats From Dying (Mostly)
If you think this is just a cute cat simulator, you’re going to watch a lot of kittens die horribly in the first hour.
This game is cruel. I mean that in the best way possible. It comes from the twisted minds of Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, the guys who brought us The Binding of Isaac and The End is Nigh. If you walked into this expecting a cozy afternoon of petting tabbies and listening to lofi hip hop, you are in the wrong neighborhood. Mewgenics is a tactical RPG that hates you. It wants your cats to get sick. It wants them to get maimed. It wants you to fail.
If you go into this treating it like Fire Emblem, trying to save everyone and play the hero, you are going to get absolutely stomped. That is a mistake. To survive in Boon County, you need to think like a desperate, resource-starved maniac. You need to understand that death isn’t just a possibility. It is a mechanic.
After watching more generated cats die than I care to admit, I have figured out how to actually keep a lineage alive. Here is everything you need to know before you start your first disastrous run.
The Golden Rules of Combat
The tutorial teaches you how to click buttons. It does not teach you how to survive. The combat in Mewgenics is grid-based, but the physics engine is where the real game happens. If you ignore the small details, your cats will end up in the graveyard before you even reach the boss.
Face the Music (Literally)
This is the single biggest mistake I made early on. When you move a cat, the game automatically faces them in the direction they walked. That sounds fine until you realize that backstabs deal drastically more damage.
If you leave your Tank’s back exposed to a rat with a shank, they are going to take double or triple damage. It is brutal. At the very end of your turn, you must click on the side of the cat you want them to face. Always point them toward the enemy. Taking 5 damage instead of 15 is the difference between a successful run and a total wipe.
The Backstab Meta
Since enemies do more damage from behind, logic dictates you do the same to them. I found that prioritizing positioning over raw damage output is always the better play.
Try to flank whenever possible. If you can pair a back attack with a critical hit passive, you are going to melt health bars. There are even abilities that force enemies to turn away from you. Use them. It feels dirty, but fighting fair is for losers who have dead cats.
The Turn Order Display
Look at the top right of your screen. That bar isn’t just decoration. It shows you exactly who is attacking next.
I cannot tell you how many times I wasted a huge attack on an enemy that wasn’t going to move for three turns, while ignoring the guy next to me who was about to stab my Healer. Hover over the enemies in the timeline. If an enemy is attacking next, kill them first. Even stunning them works. Just deny them their turn. Action economy is king here.
Squad Management & The "Three Cat" Strat
You have four slots for your party. Your instinct is to fill them all. More cats means more damage, right? Well, not exactly.
I actually recommend running a three-cat squad for a while. It sounds counterintuitive to handicap yourself, but hear me out. Experience points are divided among the survivors. If you bring three cats, they level up significantly faster than four.
You don't have to divvy out post-battle upgrades among four mouths. You get a tighter, higher-leveled squad much faster. It makes the actual battles harder since you have fewer actions per turn, but the power spike your individual units get is worth the risk.
Cut Your Losses
Speaking of squad management, you need to learn when to fire a cat. You get new kittens by breeding or attracting strays. Sometimes, a stray shows up and they are just... trash.
If a new kitten or stray doesn't have a good starting skill set or decent stats, get rid of them. They are just going to eat your food. Food is a finite resource. Don't be a shelter. Be a general. If they don't contribute to the war effort, they don't get to eat.
Environmental Warfare
The map is not just a floor. It is a weapon. The "fifth member" of your platoon is the elements, and if you aren't using them, you are playing wrong.
Grass is Your Friend
Grass tiles give a 50% chance to dodge. That is a coin flip on taking zero damage. Whenever possible, end your turn in the grass.
But here is the cool part: you can grow your own cover. Some tiles have little grass sprouts. If you get water on them, by walking a wet cat over them or spitting a wet hairball, they grow into full grass. I’ve saved runs by creating a defensive line of bushes out of thin air.
Elemental Reactions
The physics engine allows for some wild combos.
Water + Electricity: If enemies are standing in a puddle, zap it. It shocks everyone connected to the water.
Fire + Grass: If an enemy is hiding in the grass, burn them out. Fire spreads. Just make sure your cats aren't standing downwind.
Water + Fire: If your cat is burning, walk them into water. Or, if you are desperate, spit a wet hairball on yourself. It sounds gross, but it stops the burn damage.
The "Wet Hairball" Underrated MVP
Speaking of wet hairballs, do not sleep on this ability. It looks like a weak basic attack, but it has utility for days. You can put out fires from a range, which is essential against bosses who throw bombs. You can also use it to push enemies back into hazards. It is the Swiss Army Knife of bodily fluids.
The Economy of Survival
Mewgenics has a brutal economy. You have caps on everything, so hoarding doesn't work the way it does in other RPGs.
The 100 Cap
Your money and food cap at 100 units. If you are sitting at 95 food and you go on a run, you are wasting potential gains. You need to spend it. Buy furniture to reduce stress or invest in upgrades. Do not let resources go to waste because you were "saving for a rainy day." The rainy day is today. Your cat is bleeding out. Spend the money.
Hunting Pigeons
I know, you are here to fight monsters, but sometimes you need to fight wildlife. If you see a pigeon, chicken, or random small bird on the map, kill it. Prioritize it.
They usually drop items or money, and they will fly away after a few rounds if you ignore them. It is free loot. Don't let it fly away.
Break Everything
Check the map for crates and garbage bags. Break them open. They often have money or equipment inside. I once found a top-tier collar in a literal bag of trash. If you have a free action, smash the environment.
Managing "Heatwave" and The Desert
Once you hit Act 2, you enter the Desert, and the game throws a new curveball at you: Heatwave.
This status condition is a nightmare. It reduces mid-battle healing and completely removes the passive post-battle healing your cats usually get. You can go into a boss fight with 10 HP if you aren't careful.
The Solution? Hydration (and Peeing)
You need water. Look for water bottles on the map. But the real pro strat involves a skill called "Number One." Yes, it lets your cat pee.
This creates water tiles. Standing in these tiles (or the pee puddle) hydrates your cats and temporarily removes Heatwave. It also fills up empty water bottles. I know it sounds ridiculous, but strategically peeing on your friends before the battle ends ensures they get that crucial post-battle heal. It is gross, but it works.
The Tactical Camera
The screen gets chaotic. You have four cats, six enemies, fire spreading, water puddles, and loot everywhere. It is easy to miss a rat hiding behind a rock.
Use the Tactical View. On the Steam Deck, you hold Y. On PC, it's usually holding the left mouse button or a toggle. This highlights enemies, health bars, and hidden items. It also reveals if there is money inside rocks. Never start a turn without doing a quick scan in Tactical View.
The Mindset: Embracing Death
Finally, the most important tip I can give you is this: Don't restart when a cat dies.
This is a roguelike. Failure is part of the progression. When your favorite level 10 Mage gets crit by a boss and dies, it sucks. I’ve been there. But you need to push forward. The resources you bring back, even from a failed run, help you upgrade your house, which helps you breed better kittens for the next generation.
Your first few generations of cats are just stepping stones. They are the mortar in the foundation of your future empire. It is dark, it is cynical, and it is exactly how you beat Mewgenics. Now get out there and try to keep them alive. Or at least, try to make their deaths profitable.
