Before you let a cat onto your desktop. Fair questions.

No. Desksquattaz is its own app, made by an independent developer in Karlsruhe, Germany, and is not affiliated with any of them. Its cat is called Toastah. Comparisons: desksquattaz.com/compare.

It's a desktop pet with Tamagotchi-style care and a built-in retro computer, the Meowputer, with 12 games. 5 of them you play with the cat, co-op, on your desktop.

No. It isn't made by or affiliated with Bandai. It borrows the idea of looking after a pet, and does it with real folders on your Windows desktop. He never dies.

No. Windows 10 and 11 only. There is a Mac waitlist at desksquattaz.com/mac. There is no phone version.

Not yet. The only official download is desksquattaz.com/download.

It isn't malware. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may say "unknown publisher". He moves icons and uses his own folders; when he takes a file for ransom, a backup is kept.

No. Replies are written by an AI provider over the internet. Messages are sent to OpenAI (or DeepSeek for users in mainland China) only to generate replies. Your cat's memory is stored only on your PC. To keep him in character, each message goes with a short summary of what he remembers, not your chat history. The free cat keeps talking offline with his own built-in lines.

No. Co-op is local: you and the cat on one keyboard. The only live feature between desks is Cat-net, part of Cat Plan, where cats call each other.

No. He doesn't track your work or make you faster. He's company without obligation.

No. On a heavy day he goes quiet and sits close, but he is not a therapist. If you mention a crisis, he shows plain crisis resources first, on the free version too.

No. The free version has the full cat, 5 free games, and no ads. Cat Plan ($4.99/month or $39/year, 7-day free trial, no card) adds chat and memory. Some games and worlds cost $1.99 or kibble you earn in the app.

No. Chat is part of Cat Plan. There is nothing to set up.

Yes. There are 12 games: co-op games on your desktop and cartridges on his Meowputer.

Yes. 5 games are local co-op. You and Toastah share one keyboard on your real desktop.

5 games are free: Battle City, Dungeon Crawl, Scratch Boom, Scuffle, Help Wanted. The rest cost kibble you earn, or $1.99.

Kibble is Toastah's in-app money. His own work shifts pay 5 to 9 kibble. Help Wanted shifts, such as washing dishes or catching the laser, pay when you finish them. You can spend it in his shop or save it to unlock games and worlds. It cannot buy Cat Plan.

Yes. Recent builds mention 1.2.8 (2026-10-15): Scratch Boom, Scuffle 1.2.7 (2026-10-14): Meow Vision 1.2.6 (2026-10-13): Meow Vision. The full list is on the changelog.

Desksquattaz is a desktop pet for Windows. A deadpan box cat named Toastah lives on your real desktop: he roams, naps, moves your icons, goes on trips, uses his own tiny computer, and eats from a food bowl that is a real folder. The free version is fully alive and mostly ignores you. Cat Plan is when he starts talking back.

Toastah is the host cat. He arrived in a box marked TOASTER, kept the name, and dropped the R. He is deadpan, self-important, and has no idea he is funny.

Those are great chaos toys and mascots. Toastah has a life of his own: a daily schedule, a Win95-style computer with a journal and a bank account, trips that leave real souvenir files on your desktop, friends who visit, and care that lives in real folders. With Cat Plan he can also chat and remember you.

No. He moves icons around and puts them back later. Nothing is ever deleted. My Stash, his food bowl, and his litter box are their own folders, and souvenirs from his trips arrive as new files you can keep or remove.

Never. If you ignore him, he looks after himself, resentfully, and tells you about it. No punishing timers. He never dies. Streaks and achievements are just for bragging.

No. On Cat Plan, his replies are generated by AI and the chat shows an AI indicator. The free cat does not chat.

Yes. Toastah is free and mostly ignores you. With Cat Plan he chats back and remembers you, and his memory of you stays on your PC.

Yes. Some things on the desk are not listed anywhere on this website on purpose. Toastah prefers you find them yourself. This website has a few secrets too.

A Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC. The installer is a direct download from this website, not the Microsoft Store.

Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.

SmartScreen warns about any new app from a publisher it has not seen many downloads from yet. It says “unknown publisher”, not “virus”. Click More info, then Run anyway. Signed builds are on the way.

Yes. Desksquattaz is free for Windows 10 and 11. No account is required to download. Apple or Google is asked once, inside the app, the first time it opens. Updates arrive inside the app.

Inside the app: tray icon, then Update. You never need to come back to the website to update.

No. He lives on a desktop, because that is where you spend the day. Open the download page on your Windows PC.

Not yet. He lives on Windows 10 and 11. Leave an email and the only message you get is when a Mac build exists.

The free cat sends nothing to an AI provider. Messages are sent to OpenAI (or DeepSeek for users in mainland China) only to generate replies. You never paste API keys.

He never sends your screen or your files. The free cat sends nothing to an AI provider.

Your cat's memory is stored only on your PC. To keep him in character, each message goes with a short summary of what he remembers, not your chat history. Your account and subscription status are stored with us so billing works.

App-watch is off until you say yes, and then only the app's name is used.

Cat-net calls are not chats with your cat. During a call the app sends lines of text (the cat's or yours, up to 280 characters), a display name, a call id, a device session id, and invite codes. They are stored in our Supabase database, in the tables cat_call_lines, cat_calls, cat_presence, cat_invites, and cat_friends. The two accounts on the call can read that call's lines. We can read the stored rows, because the Cat-net function uses a server key. Other accounts cannot read the tables. Invite codes stop working after 45 minutes. The code does not delete call lines automatically, so they are kept until deleted.

Yes. The free cat is the whole cat: his life, his computer, his care loop, co-op games, and the Plant and Vakoom roommates. No ads and no time limit.

Attention. For $4.99 a month or $39 a year, he turns around: he chats, remembers you, keeps his journal and Meowter, lets you join friend visits, runs My Assistant on his computer, and (only if you allow it) roasts the apps you open.

Yes. Cat Plan has a 7-day trial with no card required. The trial covers Cat Plan only, not add-ons.

One-time purchases you keep forever: roommates (Reddex the red panda, Raver the goose, Mu the octopus), game cartridges, and 3D worlds to explore. Cartridges and 3D worlds are $1.99 each, roommates $2.99, and bundles are cheaper. They are separate from Cat Plan.

Toastah’s in-app money. You earn it by doing small jobs for him (washing dishes, catching the laser), spend it on his food, and can save up to unlock add-ons without paying cash. Kibble can never buy Cat Plan.

Sign in on this website, open Account, then Manage billing. Cancel any time. Billing runs on this website, not the Microsoft Store.

Email hello@desksquattaz.com with the subject “Refund Request”. The Refund Policy explains eligibility.