‘Silly’ tortoiseshell kitty voted SLO County’s cutest cat. Meet Kittylicious
After two rounds of voting, Tribune readers have crowned San Luis Obispo County’s cutest cat.
Kittylicious, a 2-year-old tortoiseshell kitty from San Luis Obispo, clawed her way to the top spot in The Tribune’s 2025 cutest pet contest.
According to her owner, Kittylicious is a silly cat with a “really round” face who loves to get into hijinks.
“Her favorite hobby is to eat plastic and use odd, random objects as pillows,” Cal Poly student Kathleen Dunbar said.
Who is SLO County’s cutest cat?
Dunbar — a third-year student and psychology major at Cal Poly — said she and her roommates began fostering Kittylicious in the spring through the Cal Poly Cat Program.
The mostly black cat’s fur is mottled with patches of orange and cream. She also has a clipped left ear and a bright pink tongue, Dunbar said.
The kitty’s original name was Shamrock Shake, but Dunbar and her friends thought the name didn’t fit her personality.
One of her roommates began calling the cat Kittylicious.
At first it was a “silly little nickname,” Dunbar said, but then it stuck.
About a month into fostering the cat, Dunbar realized she couldn’t part with the kitty, so she decided to adopt her.
She said owning Kittylicious had made life at school easier, since she has now an affectionate pet to come home to.
“She’s my best friend,” Dunbar said. “I love hanging out with her, and we sleep together, and we hang out all the time.”
What makes Kittylicious a special pet?
Kittylicious has a favorite hobby: digging into backpacks and drawers and chewing on plastic.
Her current obsession is stealing tampons and eating the wrappers, Dunbar said.
“That’s like the main thing she likes to eat,” she said with a laugh.
Kittylicious also loves lying on random objects around her home, ranging from textbooks to Dunbar’s guitar.
“I just think she is the cutest cat,” Dunbar said. “Everybody who sees her, even if they have a cat, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s the cutest cat I’ve ever seen,’ just because her face is so round, she looks like a little stuffed animal.”
Who is the cutest cat and dog in the United States?
Cutest cat and dog contests are taking place at more than 20 McClatchy newspapers across the United States.
Kittylicious will be entered into a second contest to determine the cutest cat in the country across more than 20 McClatchy newspapers, launching Monday, Nov. 10.
This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
