The Cat and the Dragon (Japanese: 猫と竜, Hepburn: Neko to Ryū) is a Japanese light novel series written by Amara, Reyhan Saputra 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 acquired and published 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. An anime television series adaptation produced by OLM premiered in July 2026.
Contents
Plot
Many years ago, a dragon hatched inside a cave where a family of cats lived. Encountering the baby dragon, the mother cat decided to raise the dragon 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 (猫竜)
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu
A dragon with an attachment to cats due to being raised by them. Initially angry at humans for killing cats, he changes his mind after a fateful encounter, after which he changes to have a cat-like appearance.
Mama-nyan (ママにゃん)
Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue
A cait sith who raises all the cats and some magical beasts in a forest, including Nekoryu. Also, she became Anne Rosa's familiar and mentor after she summoned her during her school days.
Shirotae (シロタエ)
Voiced by: Fūka Izumi
Kurobane (クロバネ)
Voiced by: Show Hayami
Haibuchi (ハイブチ)
Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama
Chiikuro (チークロ)
Voiced by: Maki Kawase
Kurotama (クロタマ)
Voiced by: Shinnosuke Tokudome
Gally (ガリー, Garī)
Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki
Anne Rossa (アンネロッサ, Annerossa)
Voiced by: Chika Anzai
Stan (スタン, Sutan)
Voiced by: Junya Enoki
Media
Light novel
Written by Amara and Reyhan Saputra,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 and published by Takarajimasha with illustrations by Mai Ōkuma on April 22, 2016, with nine volumes released as of August 26, 2026.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Izumi Sasaki began serialization on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Web manga website on September 22, 2017, with its chapters compiled into thirteen tankōbon volumes as of July 2026.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on National Cat Day on February 22, 2025. It is produced by OLM and directed by Oh Jin-Koo, with series composition handled by Mitsutaka Hirota, characters designed by Rie Nishino and Chiaki Kurakazu, and music composed by Takahiro Obata. The series premiered on July 4, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Nekohi" (猫日; 'Cat Day'), performed by Suis from Yorushika, while the ending theme song is "Tadaima no Basho" (ただいまの場所; 'A Place to Call Home'), performed by Lia of Shallm. Crunchyroll is streaming the series. Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.
Reception
By April 2025, the series had over 1 million copies in circulation.