A Pet Simulation
Little Kitten - My Favorite Cat is the cutest digital cat ever! The app starts with a video showing a darling kitten named Crumbs arriving at a house for adoption. The interactive simulation takes place in that house -- mostly inside a bedroom filled with toys -- where you encourage Crumbs to play and interact with you.
How to Play with Your Kitten
With no text or verbal instructions, players discover ways to play with the kitten by either touching the cat or tapping on a toy or item in the room. Most of the objects are interactive. For example, it you tap on the model airplane, Crumbs will hop on to experience a madcap, loop-the-loop flight. Touch the basketball, and one of the stuffed animals bats it off the shelf to Crumbs, who flips on his back to catch the ball and then shoots it into the hoop to score!
You can also help Crumbs make a painting, jump on the bed to perform tricks, collect falling items while hiding inside a box, and play with a mouse. Touching the animal puzzle leads to a game about rotating heads, bodies, and tails to create silly animal mix-ups. There is even a challenging game of hide-and-seek.
By playing with your kitten, you earn cat treats to feed him. After scarfing them down, this adorable feline licks his lips and purrs at you in thanks.
App Analysis
Little Kitten is a gorgeous pet simulation for kids. The animation is almost photo-realistic. This cat is adorable, silly, playful, cheeky, and fun, making him the perfect playmate for a young child. And unlike some of the other cat sims on the market, there are no mean interactions.
By providing so many interactive hotspots, Little Kitten rewards kids' natural curiosity. What happens if they touch the ambulance parked on the floor? It will start to move and Crumbs will jump on board for a ride! Since touching items triggers funny animations, kids will delight in finding new things every time they play. Even touching different parts of Crumb's body produces different animations.
Sometimes touching an item leads to a mini-game that reinforces early learning skills. The mini-game of hide-and-seek lets kids practice visual acuity. Others, such as the cat-in-the-box game and the one about directing a mouse to the cheese, promote fine motor skills. The painting activity offers an opportunity for creativity.
Since pet sims tend to be quite attractive to kids, the developers wisely added a "cat sleep timer" so that parents can control how much screen time their little ones can have. At the end of the time set up by parents, the kitten takes a nap and is unable to play. Parents can find this option in the app's settings.
Best For
If you and your children enjoy watching cat videos online, this is the app for you! It offers interaction instead of passive watching and. like the videos, it's filled with "Ahh!"-inducing moments. Little Kitten is also a fun way to explore having a kitten in real life. However, my cats have never gone to bed when I want them to. If you already own a kitty, you will appreciate the antics of this digital one.
For More Cat Cuteness
If you are looking for more great cat-themed apps for kids, check out our rec list called
Cool Cat Apps for Kids.
This Little Kitten - My Favorite Cat app review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen.
All tech products are judged on a five star scale by looking at the following factors: fun, education, ease of use, value, and technical.
