

Cats girls are quite common today in anime. For exampls:

  * Chocola and Vanilla from _Nekopara_ [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/0CYC8.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/0CYC8.png)
  * Cyan from Show by Rock!! [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZHXJp.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZHXJp.png)
  * Nozomi Kiriya from Mayoi Neko Overrun! [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/j1ZAC.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/j1ZAC.png)

But, who's the first cat girl in the anime history?


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question
anime-history
Who's the first cat girl in the anime history?


It should be [Neko
Musume](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8C%AB%E5%A8%98_\(%E3%82%B2%E3%82%B2%E3%82%B2%E3%81%AE%E9%AC%BC%E5%A4%AA%E9%83%8E\))
(literally "cat young woman") from [Gegege no
Kitaro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeGeGe_no_Kitar%C5%8D). (I don't know if
it is aired abroad.)

She is

> 普段は人間と変わりないが、ネズミ（ねずみ男を含む）や魚を見たり怒ったりして興奮すると、眼が金色に染まり[注釈
> 1]、耳まで裂けた口に鋭い牙をむきだした化け猫の形相になる
>
> (roughly translated) normally just a human, but when excited e.g. by finding
> a mouse or fish or by getting angry, her face becomes a monster-cat, eyes
> getting golden and the mouth getting large with the sharp teeth.

The first series was in 1968 and the latest ended in 2020. You can see how her
design changed e.g. [here](https://inouegaku.com/neko).

The following article is relevant as well (it mentions about original cat girl
in manga):

  * [Wikipedia/Catgirl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catgirl)


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If you go with a more general understanding of cat girl then Neko Musume from
Gegege no Kitarou (1968) is probably the first in anime history.

This is her character design over time:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/VQkccm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/VQkccm.jpg)

As you can see, she doesn't have cat ears. Not back then and not now and I
feel your question implies the first cat girl with actual cat ears.

* * *

As far as I remember the first one to make a big impact was Liru from **Renkin
San-kyuu Magical? Pokaan (2006)** \- a wolf girl. You might have seen her
before:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LktOKm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LktOKm.jpg)

Though, that was by no means the first instance of the Kemonomimi trope.

1997, Hyper Police

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SAXRLm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SAXRLm.jpg)

1995, Fushigi no Kuni no Miyuki-chan

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/50wVom.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/50wVom.png)

1993, Kouryuu Densetsu Villgust

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/kPrInm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/kPrInm.jpg)

1984, Wata no Kuni Hoshi

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HT9dCm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HT9dCm.jpg)


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