Stray Cat (ストレイ・キャット (猫草), Sutorei Kyatto) is a Stand/user hybrid featured in the fourth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Diamond is Unbreakable. Tama is brought back to life as a plant when his Stand ability activates where he is buried.
Stray Cat is able to manipulate the air around him and shoots deadly air bubbles.
Stray Cat is a Stand bound to a plant shown having a thick stem for his body and big leaves that operate like arms. His leaves are dexterous enough to grab objects. He waits until a potential target is in range, then suddenly catches it. Two petals with a pattern of long, dark spots on them are wrapped into a feline shape for the face. The plant has eyes that can still move around and look at things, but it lost the night vision of a cat. Behind his eyeballs are "whiskers" that curl up when Stray Cat uses his ability.
Stray Cat's Anatomy and Physiology
Scratching behind his "ears" (the tips of the petals) causes them to twitch. As a cat, his forehead was narrow but it is now broad. He has two small holes that act as his nose, which allows Stray Cat to take in air to smell. Below his nose is a mouth which he uses to eat, drink, lick, and make many cat-like noises.
While he no longer possesses a spine or any other bones, he still reacts to petting in the middle region of his stem. However, rubbing his "stomach" area while he is feeding will cause him to vomit.
Whenever he remembers having a tail, his hind leaves begin to sway unconsciously. Stray Cat's roots exist solely to support his body, and do not function like a normal plant. They don't extract nutrients or water from the soil. Instead, his excrement is released directly into the soil and attracts bugs toward it.
His facial design changes shape to become more vicious when he is re-introduced in Chapter 423, due to his growth as a plant. As he has grown, the petals now overlap each other which gives him a rounder head shape, and the whiskers protrude outward from his head. The upper areas of the petals and leaves also have an altered pattern of dark spots, as the spots are now smaller and have circles within them.
In the colored manga, Stray Cat has pink petals. In the anime, he has grey petals instead.
Personality
Stray Cat's personality has similar characteristics as any normal cat since the Stand is a reincarnation of Tama.
Like all cats, Stray Cat has a hunter instinct and is seen chasing after insects, thrown pieces of paper, and birds. He is proud of his former fur and tail. He loves running and jumping but cannot do so as a plant.[3] Stray Cat likes tuna, shrimp, sticking his head in paper sacks, watching TV, and being praised. Like all cats, he dislikes direct eye contact, having his nose blocked, cigarette smoke, wasabi, oranges, and being cold.[2]
At first unaware that he is a plant, he soon learns his predicament and hates Shinobu Kawajiri all the more for it.
Stray Cat is vindictive and aggressive, and the acquisition of his power makes him confident in his ability to fight anyone.[4] He considers anyone who hinders him to be an enemy and will seek to eliminate them with his bubbles, be it Yoshikage Kira protecting Shinobu from him,[5]Hayato Kawajiri trying to close the window on the plant,[6] or anyone giving the impression of attacking him. Kira uses that aggressiveness to his advantage against Josuke Higashikata.[7] Stray Cat is also vicious, as seen when he tries to kill Kira by pushing a bubble into Kira's bloodstream and his heart.[5] He bears a deep grudge against Shinobu, who hit him with a broom[3] and will attack her on sight.[4]
He retains his laziness as well from when he was a cat. For his winter plans, it's stated that although he wants to stay active, Stray Cat plans to sleep a lot under the kotatsu.[6]
Abilities
Despite its simplicity, Stray Cat's air power is a surprisingly deadly ability. His cat-like nature makes him an unpredictable and ferocious Stand user in combat, but he is limited by his plant-like body.
Reincarnation
The first witnessed ability of Stray Cat is to resurrect its former user, Tama the cat, into a plant after he dies. Stray Cat keeps his personality and memories but now has the body and needs of a flower.
Plant/Cat Constitution
Stray Cat, being a sentient flower, possesses cat-like and plant-like properties. He still has eyes, a nose, and a mouth to examine his surroundings with. Moreover, his activity and power is directly linked to sunlight, as he depends on photosynthesis. Despite this, he still has a need to breathe in oxygen in order to survive, rather than completely relying on this photosynthesis. In direct illumination he is quite powerful, but conversely is very weak at night.[2] When completely without light, the Stand enters a dormant state and can be easily subdued.[6]
Aerokinesis
Stray Cat curling himself up before shooting air
Stray Cat has the ability to control the air near him[5] with his whiskers.[2]
Stray Cat's main usage of this ability is to make invisible bubbles of compressed air and shoot them toward his targets, but can also shield himself from attacks. It instinctively used this ability to block the explosion of Killer Queen's bomb.[4] He is initially shown to curl up his petals to do so, but that quirk disappears afterward.[5]
Stray Cat preventing Hayato from closing the window
The bubbles are durable enough to block Killer Queen's kick[5] and even Crazy Diamond's punches.[7] When they are shot, they have enough force to severely wound somebody or kill them at point-blank range.[8] If he feels particularly vicious, he can even force a small bubble inside one's bloodstream and try to cause an embolism. When they hit, a cat's pawprint is visible inside the impact zone. They are also invisible and can be remotely burst by Stray Cat if it wishes.[5] However, the bubbles can be popped like a balloon.[6]
Stray Cat is also capable of morphing the air bubbles he creates into different shapes as well. He binds Hayato's neck and arms in mid-air by compressing his air bubbles to be shaped like cuffs.[6]
Stray Cat is the Stand of Tama, activating after its User's death. Upon reincarnating as a plant, Stray Cat is confused by his new nature as a sentient plant but otherwise isn't really disturbed. When Shinobu Kawajiri wanders near him, Stray Cat remembers that she tried to beat him with a broom and instinctively shoots a bubble at Shinobu's toenail, ripping it off. Shinobu is unaware of what caused this and retreats to her home. Satisfied, Stray Cat kills a bird with his bubble and licks its blood.
However, Yoshikage Kira has witnessed the attack. Perplexed about what to do with Stray Cat, he tests the plant's aggressivity. Shinobu comes back, warning her husband that the place is cursed; forcing Kira to try to kill the plant before she can see it and raise suspicion. Likewise, Stray Cat sees Shinobu and prepares to attack. Kira summons Killer Queen, turns a nearby pebble into a bomb, and rolls it towards Stray Cat. However, the plant creates a void around it, preventing Kira from igniting the pebble. Shinobu approaches, allowing Stray Cat to shoot a bubble straight at her chest, taking her out.
Stray Cat briefly fights Kira
Kira is now determined to protect Shinobu and kill Stray Cat. The plant shoots a couple of bubbles that Killer Queen deflects. When Killer Queen tries to stomp the plant, he creates a bubble that makes Killer Queen's foot slide to the side. Stray Cat then shoots a slow bubble that explodes near the garden's cacti, propelling thorns at Shinobu. Kira manages to protect her face. Although Kira is confident that he can defeat the plant after working out his power, he's taken by surprise when Stray Cat makes two bubbles enter his vein through a wound, threatening to cause an embolism. Kira is forced to blast part of his arm to make the bubbles exit his body. Stray Cat prepares his next attack, but then Kira throws a golf ball at the plant, distracting it. The fight ends in a draw.
Kira pots Stray Cat and hides him in the attic. Eventually, Hayato Kawajiri, who has been investigating his father, sneaks into the attic. When the boy opens the window, the light reinvigorates the plant. As Kira comes back home, Hayato tries to erase his traces and close the window. However, Stray Cat shoots several bubbles to bind him and prevent him from doing so. Hayato quickly understands the nature of the attack and pops the bubbles so that the leaking air closes the window. Hayato then scatters cat food to frame Stray Cat for the noise he caused. Kira checks on the attic and is fooled.
During the arc, Hayato Kawajiri becomes the host of Bites the Dust, an ability that kills anyone who interrogates Hayato about Kira and rewinds time to one hour before.
Hayato takes Stray Cat from the attic and hides him in his backpack. When Kira finally approaches Hayato to confront him, the boy opens his backpack. The furious cat-plant shoots an air bullet at Kira, hitting him in the chest. However, Kira is protected by his watch. Kira still ends up revealing his name in public and is overheard by Josuke Higashikata and Okuyasu Nijimura.
Kira is forced to cancel Bites the Dust and must fight the two students. He takes the plant and stores him inside of Killer Queen's belly, subsequently referring to him by his Stand's name. In there, Stray Cat keeps shooting air bubbles at those he sees, which Killer Queen turns into flying, invisible air bombs. This fearsome combination inflicts a mortal wound on Okuyasu, which Josuke still heals. Stray Cat continues shooting bubbles for Kira's use during most of the battle. Eventually, Josuke is able to face Kira in a close quarter fight. While Crazy Diamond is definitely stronger than Killer Queen, Stray Cat protects himself (and thus Killer Queen and Kira) from Crazy Diamond's punch with bubbles, allowing Kira to create another bomb while Josuke is too wounded to move. However, Okuyasu then intervenes. He erases the air bomb and teleports Stray Cat to his hand with The Hand, depriving Kira of his ally.
After Kira's death, Stray Cat goes to live with Okuyasu's father, and is shown to get along well with his new owner.
Araki states he based Stray Cat/Tama off of his grandfather's cat named Chako. As a child, they both doted on it but Chako scratched Araki when he ignored it one day. He's since been suspicious of cats as a result.[9]
Oddly enough, Hayato Kawajiri seems to be unusually aware of Stray Cat's air bubble bullets, more so than other characters.
References
↑Harvest - Vol.17 "Shueisha Jump Remix Diamond is Unbreakable Edition" P188 The origin of STANDS! Part 5
Manga Appearances
Anime Appearances
