Mewgenics NPC Priority — Which NPCs to Level First

Not all NPC upgrades are created equal in Mewgenics. Some provide vital quality-of-life improvements that transform your experience, while others are more of a luxury. Here’s the optimal upgrade priority.

Tier 1 — Level These First

Butch (Inventory Storage)

Priority: 🔴 Critical

Inventory space is your biggest bottleneck in early Mewgenics. Without Butch’s upgrades:

You can’t carry enough food for your cats
Valuable items must be discarded constantly
Equipment upgrades have to be ignored due to space
Quest items may need to be dropped

Donation requirement: Cats that have battled in specific game zones. The more zones they’ve fought in, the better the donation credit.

Level Butch to at least level 3 before focusing on other NPCs.

Baby Jack (Furniture)

Priority: 🟠 High

Better furniture directly impacts your home stats:

Comfort prevents injuries and sickness between runs
Simulation improves breeding trait inheritance
Without good furniture, your cats will get sick and produce weaker offspring

Donation requirement: Kittens. Breed extra kittens specifically for donation.

Tink (Breeding Information)

Priority: 🟠 High

Without Tink’s upgrades, you’re breeding blind:

You can’t see cat compatibility
Hidden traits remain hidden
Inbreeding risks are invisible
Orientation data is unknown

Donation requirement: Cats for research. Any cats will work.

Tier 2 — Level These Second

Frank (House Size)

Priority: 🟡 Medium

More rooms mean more cats and better organization:

Separate aggressive cats from breeders
Create specialized rooms with specific furniture
House a growing clowder as it expands

Wait until you have 6+ cats before investing heavily in Frank.

Donation requirement: Cats for construction labor.

Tracy (Food Storage & Blank Collars)

Priority: 🟡 Medium

Tracy’s upgrades including expanded food storage and Blank Collars:

Food storage lets you stockpile for lean times
Blank Collars are useful for specific breeding strategies
Shop improvements help in the mid-to-late game

Not urgent, but increasingly valuable as you progress.

Donation requirement: Retired cats or cats with specific conditions.

Tier 3 — Level These Last

Dr. Beanies (Side Quests)

Priority: 🟢 Low

Side quests provide extra rewards but aren’t essential:

Quest rewards are nice but not game-changing
You’ll naturally complete some quests during normal play
Better to focus on core systems first

Level when you have spare cats and no other high-priority donations.

Organ Grinder (Automatic)

Priority: ⚪ Passive

You don’t need to actively manage this NPC:

Levels up automatically from failed runs
Provides pity rewards that soften bad luck
No cat donations required

Just let it do its thing in the background.

Donation Strategy Tips

Breed extra kittens specifically for NPC donations — don’t donate your best cats
Send cats on adventures first before donating to Butch — they’re worth more with zone experience
Retire old cats to Tracy rather than just letting them die
Track which zones your cats have visited — multi-zone veterans are the most valuable for Butch
Balance donations across NPCs — don’t pour everything into one NPC if others are falling behind