Cats

About Cats

TheCatAPI is a REST API that provides access to cat images and associated breed data. Requests return an array of image objects containing the image URL, dimensions, and, where available, breed information such as temperament, origin, weight, and life span. A related image can also carry favourite or vote data if those have been set through the API.

Unauthenticated requests are limited to a maximum of 10 images per call. Access with an API key, sent via the x-api-key header or api_key query parameter, raises the retrievable limit and unlocks additional query parameters, including pagination, sort order (including random), filtering by breed IDs, category IDs, and sub_id, and restricting results to images with breed data.

The API also supports voting and favouriting images, and documentation includes an OpenAPI spec, Postman collection, code samples, and an NPM library. It is intended for developers building applications that need cat image content or breed reference data, and a companion product, TheDogAPI, provides equivalent functionality for dogs.

Key features

• Random and paginated cat image search API
• Filter images by breed, category, or sub_id
• Retrieve a single image by its unique ID
• Breed metadata included with images (weight, temperament, origin, life span)
• Vote and favourite images via the API
• NPM node library for installation

Frequently asked questions