Trade Cat for Death Runes OSRS A Comprehensive Guide

In Old School RuneScape (OSRS), trading a cat for death runes is a unique and profitable method for players, especially early-game Ironmen or those looking for a low-effort way to gather death runes. This guide dives into the process, benefits, and tips for trading cats for death runes in West Ardougne, offering a step-by-step approach to maximize your efficiency. Whether you’re a new player or a seasoned adventurer, this blog post will help you understand how to leverage this quirky game mechanic to boost your Magic training or in-game wealth.

Understanding the Cat Trading Mechanic in OSRS

The ability to trade cats for death runes stems from the lore and mechanics of West Ardougne, where citizens are desperate for cats to combat a supposed rat-infested plague. After completing the Gertrude’s Cat quest, players can raise kittens into adult cats and exchange them for death runes, a valuable resource for casting Magic spells.

Why Trade Cats for Death Runes?

Death runes are essential for medium-level Magic spells like Wind Blast, Water Blast, Earth Blast, and Fire Blast, as well as high-level spells like Ice Barrage. They’re a staple for training Magic, tackling activities like Barrows, or even powering Iban’s Staff. Trading cats offers:

• Low cost: Kittens cost only 100 GP each after the quest.
• Passive income: Cats grow while you skill or quest, requiring minimal attention.
• Accessibility: Ideal for Ironmen or low-level players who can’t craft or farm death runes efficiently.
• Profit potential: 200 death runes (with Ardougne Easy Diary) are worth around 40,600 GP, a solid return for minimal effort.

Lore Behind the Trade

In West Ardougne, citizens believe a plague is spread by rats, prompting them to trade death runes for cats to control the rodent population. This ties into the Biohazard and Plague City questlines, where the “plague” is revealed to be a fabrication. The abundance of death runes in West Ardougne is speculated to be linked to the nearby Death Altar or the influence of the sorcerer Iban, adding a layer of intrigue to this mechanic.

How to Get and Raise a Cat in OSRS

Before you can trade a cat for death runes, you need to obtain and raise a kitten. This process is straightforward but requires some attention to ensure your kitten grows into a tradeable cat.

Step 1: Complete Gertrude’s Cat Quest

To acquire your first kitten, complete the Gertrude’s Cat quest, which is beginner-friendly and requires no combat. After the quest, Gertrude (located south of Varrock) will give you a kitten for free. Subsequent kittens cost 100 GP each, but you can only own one kitten at a time.

Step 2: Raising Your Kitten

Kittens take approximately 2.5 to 3 hours to grow into an adult cat, provided they’re fed and interacted with regularly. Here’s how to care for your kitten:

• Feeding: Feed your kitten raw or cooked fish (e.g., sardines, anchovies, or karambwanji) or a bucket of milk when it meows or prompts you. Karambwanji are ideal for Ironmen due to their stackable nature.
• Interaction: Stroke your kitten or play with it using a ball of wool or toy mouse. You must interact every 30 minutes or so to prevent it from running away.
• Monitoring: Keep your kitten out of your inventory (dropped to follow you) for it to grow. If it gets stuck behind objects, it will teleport to you, but check periodically to avoid losing it.

Note: If you neglect feeding or interacting for too long (around 30 minutes), your kitten may run away, and you’ll need to buy a new one from Gertrude.

Cat Growth Stages

Cats progress through several growth stages, but only certain stages can be traded for death runes:

Stage	Time to Reach	Tradeable for Death Runes?
Kitten	0 hours	No
Adult Cat	2.5–3 hours	Yes (100 or 200 death runes)
Overgrown Cat	5–6 hours after adult	Yes (100 or 200 death runes)
Wily/Lazy Cat	After Ratcatchers quest	Yes (100 or 200 death runes)

Hellcats, obtained by catching hell-rats, can also be traded without reverting to normal cats.

Trading Cats for Death Runes

Once your kitten has grown into an adult cat (or beyond), you can trade it to civilians in West Ardougne for death runes. Here’s how to do it efficiently.

Prerequisites

To trade cats, you need to have completed the Biohazard quest to access West Ardougne. For maximum profit, complete the Easy Ardougne Diary, which doubles the death runes received from 100 to 200 per cat.

Trading Process

Follow these steps to trade your cat:

1. Travel to West Ardougne (use the West Ardougne teleport, Ardougne cloak, spirit trees, or Rat Pits minigame teleport if you’ve completed Ratcatchers).
2. Locate a civilian in the southwestern area of West Ardougne, west of the manhole.
3. Use your adult cat, overgrown cat, wily cat, lazy cat, or hellcat on the civilian to initiate the trade.
4. Receive 100 death runes (or 200 with the Easy Ardougne Diary).
5. Return to Gertrude to buy another kitten and repeat the process.

Tip: Civilians won’t accept kittens or lazy cats that haven’t been trained into wily cats, so ensure your cat is in a tradeable stage.

Profit Analysis

Let’s break down the profitability of trading cats for death runes:

• Cost: 100 GP per kitten + minimal food costs (e.g., karambwanji or sardines).
• Revenue: 100 death runes (20,300 GP) or 200 death runes (40,600 GP with diary) per cat.
• Time: ~3 hours per cat, mostly passive while skilling or questing.
• Net Profit: Approximately 40,000 GP per cat (with diary) after subtracting kitten and food costs.

For example, if you raise 10 cats over 30 hours of fishing or woodcutting, you could earn 400,000 GP with minimal effort, making this a fantastic side hustle.

Tips and Tricks for Maximizing Efficiency

To make the most of trading cats for death runes, consider these strategies to streamline the process and avoid common pitfalls.

Optimize Kitten Care

Raising kittens can be done passively while training other skills, but efficiency matters:

• Stackable Food: Use karambwanji or anchovies to save inventory space and reduce banking trips.
• Timing: Respond to kitten prompts within 30 minutes to prevent runaways. Set a timer if you’re focused on other tasks.
• AFK Skilling: Activities like fishing, mining, or woodcutting near a bank are ideal for raising kittens, as you can feed and interact without interrupting your grind.

Combine with Other Activities

Trading cats pairs well with long, AFK-friendly skills. For instance, during 220–250 hours of fishing to 99, you could raise 74–84 cats, yielding 3.3–3.7M GP in death runes, on top of your fishing profits.

Avoid Common Mistakes

Here are pitfalls to watch out for:

• Neglecting Kittens: Forgetting to feed or interact can cause your kitten to run away, wasting time and GP.
• Combat Risks: If your cat is following you and dies in combat (e.g., during a dangerous quest), it’s lost forever. Store it in your inventory or bank during risky activities.
• Membership Expiry: If your membership lapses while a cat is following you, it may be lost. Plan accordingly.

Advanced Strategies

For dedicated players, consider these advanced tips:

• Catspeak Amulet: After completing Itchlarin’s Little Helper, equip a catspeak amulet to communicate with your cat. This can help monitor its needs or check if it’s caught 100 mice for the cat training medal (useful for Varrock Medium Diary).
• Hellcats for Style: Turn your cat into a hellcat by catching hell-rats in the Port Sarim basement. They’re tradeable and add a cool aesthetic.
• Bulk Raising: While you can only raise one kitten at a time, you can store multiple adult or overgrown cats in your bank or menagerie, allowing you to trade them in bulk later.

Is Trading Cats Worth It?

Trading cats for death runes is a niche but rewarding strategy, particularly for Ironmen or players with limited access to death runes. Here’s a final look at its pros and cons:

Pros

• Low skill requirements, making it accessible to new players.
• Passive income that complements other skilling activities.
• High profit margin, especially with the Ardougne Easy Diary.
• Fun and engaging lore that ties into West Ardougne’s story.

Cons

• Requires ~3 hours per cat, which may feel slow for some players.
• Risk of losing kittens if neglected.
• Less efficient than late-game methods like Barrows or Guardians of the Rift for death runes.

Who Should Trade Cats?

This method shines for:

• Ironmen: Early-game Ironmen benefit from a reliable death rune source before unlocking Barrows or high Runecraft levels.
• Low-level players: Those without the skills or gear for other money-making methods.
• AFK enthusiasts: Players who enjoy passive income while skilling or questing.

For maxed players with access to faster death rune sources, trading cats may be more nostalgic than optimal, but it’s still a fun way to engage with OSRS’s quirky mechanics.

In conclusion, trading cats for death runes in OSRS is a low-effort, high-reward strategy that combines lore, profit, and accessibility. By following this guide, you can raise kittens, trade cats, and stockpile death runes for Magic training or profit, all while enjoying one of the game’s most charming features. So, grab a kitten from Gertrude, head to West Ardougne, and start your cat-trading empire today!