The Cat and the Dragon
The Cat and the Dragon is a Japanese light novel series written by Amara and illustrated by Mai Ōkuma. It was originally posted as a series of stories on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō from September 2013 to June 2014, before being published in print by Takarajimasha since April 2016. A manga adaptation illustrated by Izumi Sasaki began serialization on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Web manga website in September 2017, and has been compiled into twelve volumes as of November 2025. An anime television series adaptation produced by OLM is set to premiere in July 2026.
Plot
Many years ago, a dragon hatched inside a cave where a family of cats lived. Encountering the baby dragon, the cats decide to raise it as one of their own. As years passed and the cats left him behind, he grows and vows to protect them. However, after seeing cats that were killed by humans for their fur, the dragon takes revenge, killing the adventurers who killed the cats. However, after an encounter with another cat, who reminded him of his past, he develops a cat-like form.
Characters
;Nekoryū
Media
Light novel
Written by Amara, The Cat and the Dragon was originally posted as a series of stories on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō from September 6, 2013, to June 18, 2014. It was later acquired by Takarajimasha who began publishing it with illustrations by Mai Ōkuma on April 22, 2016. Nine volumes have been released as of November 26, 2025.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Izumi Sasaki began serialization on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Web manga website on September 22, 2017. The manga's chapters have been compiled into twelve volumes as of November 2025.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on National Cat Day on February 22, 2025. It will be produced by OLM and directed by Jin-Koo Oh, with series composition handled by Mitsutaka Hirota, characters designed by Rie Nishino and Chiaki Kurakazu, and music composed by. The series is set to premiere in July 2026.
Reception
By April 2025, the series had over 1 million copies in circulation.