Video Guide: All Lake Lapcat Cat Shines
See the list below to find all of the Cat Shines in Lake Lapcat:
This simple Shine puzzle can be found just outside of Pounce Bounce Isle, and is revealed after getting the first shine on that island.
Northeast of the Lakeside Giga Bell, you’ll be able to find a set of circular stone platforms in the water with a wheel on one of them. Use the Cat Bell to turn into Cat Mario and swipe at the wheel to reveal a large platform that the Shine will be on the top of. Once fully extended, quickly sprint across and scamper up as Cat Mario to reach the Shine.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for the first time at the Lakeside Giga Bell.
Once the second part of the lake opens up, return to the Lakeside Giga Bell to find a large calico cat in distress. It’s missing its child, and it’s up to Mario to find it.
For this Shine, simply look on the opposite side of the Giga Bell over towards Fort Flaptrap to find a smaller cat pushing a ball around. It will try to run away if you get near, but if you equip a Super Bell, the kitten will approach, letting you pick it up with Y. Return it to earn the Cat Shine.
This Cat Shine is located just below the main gate for Slipskate Slope at the second group of islands. Look for a solitary blue button to ground pound, which will trigger an arena against two fire Piranha Plants and several columns of Goombas.
It’s highly recommended you use an offensive Power up like the boomerang or fire flower to quickly cut your enemies down to size, and go for the plants first before taking out the slower and more easier to handle goombas.
Defeat all of them, and you’ll claim the Cat Shine as your prize.
This Cat Shine is part of a timed race that can only be attempted when riding Plessie near the second group of islands.
Ride Plessie south of Trickity Tower to find a large ring with Plessie’s face on it, and ride through to start a time trial course. To complete it, you simply need to follow the rings, and make sure you hit every speed ramp – jumping to achieve maximum speed.
Once the rings veer left, take the large ramp up to the platform on Pounce Bounce Isle, and hop across it and down to the Giga Bell where the Cat Shine is waiting.
This Cat Shine is located on a high floating island above the Ruins Giga Bell, but getting there will require Bowser’s unwitting help.
At the Ruins Giga Bell, look for the large section of bowser blocks in the corner of the platform, and await Bowser’s eventual arrival. When he appears, hide behind the blocks to let him smash them for you, and he will uncover a pipe cannon.
Quickly use it to fly up to a floating platform with several speed blocks. Luckily, there are invisible platforms between the speed boosts, so you can run straight to the Cat Shine at the end – just make sure you outrun Bowser’s fire breath!
You can find this Cat Shine in a special zone that can only be reached by unlocking a cloud pipe to a secret area.
Look to the East of the Ruins Giga Bell to spot a tiny island with three bell trees, and climb the tallest one to find a secret platform to a cloud pipe.
In this section, you’ll need to use the Super Stars to run at top speed along a narrow course and defeat all the groups of Biddybuds you come across. In order to activate the Cat Shine, all enemies must be defeated, and although there is no timer, it can be hard to course correct on the speed stripes, and if you move too far forward you may not be able to get back, and will have to try again.
If you do slow down, feel free to plot out your movement before going on the next speed stripe, and be sure to grab the super star first to ensure you get the Cat Shine at the end.
This Cat Shine is located in plain sight high above the water near Crisp Climb Castle, but you’ll need a trick to reach it.
Travel along to the entrance to the Crisp Climb Castle island, and you will notice icebergs that appear in the waters nearby before floating south to Trickity Tower. Hitch a ride on one as it appears, then ride it halfway to reach the Shine by sitting on the top of the iceberg.
For this Cat Shine, you’ll need to once again assist a large calico cat find its three kittens that are lost nearby.
The first one is fairly close, only hiding in the sands to the east of the Ruins Giga Bell just out of sight of the momma cat. Remember to wear a Bell Suit so that the kitten doesn’t try to run away, then grab it with Y and bring it back.
The second kitten is located a little farther away – over at the archway where the Clawswipe Colosseum island is. It’s on the very top of the archway, so you either need to climb as Cat Mario, or carefully climb up the sides, and then use the slightly submerged platforms to avoid falling in the water as you carry the kitten home.
Finally, the third kitten can be found all the way at the Crisp Climb Castle island to the northwest. The road back will be long and dangerous, so it’s a good idea to use Plessie to kill the hammerhead sharks, and quickly swim all the way to the island where the kitten can be found near the archway on the ground.
To get back, you’ll need to carefully use the floating icebergs that move down to the lower island, move around the invisible walls and cross the shallow waters that hammerhead sharks patrol, and then finally back to the momma cat.
This Cat Shine is located on a group of hexagonal ice floes near Crisp Climb Castle among the second group of islands.
Look just to the southwest of the archway for Crisp Climb Castle to find a few iceberg platforms that feature a purple button you can ground pound to form an arena full of enemies – two ice pokeys and a group of cheep cheeps.
It’s highly recommended that you bring an offensive power up like a Fire Flower to deal with the pokeys, or let Bowser Jr. smack them up a bit for you. Once you defeat every last enemy in the arena, the Cat Shine will be yours.
A simple and straightforward encounter, this Cat Shine is in the possession of a very skittish and fast rabbit.
Look for him once you have gained 1 Cat Shine from the nearby Clawswipe Colosseum, and you’ll find him on a tiny island to the north. Using Plessie, give chase to the rabbit, and try to follow him on the inside of his turns to catch him when he veers left or right to catch and claim your prize.
This Cat Shine is part of a timed race that can only be attempted when riding Plessie, and once you have gained a Cat Shine from Crisp Climb Castle near the second group of islands.
Ride Plessie south of Crisp Climb Castle to find a large ring with Plessie’s face on it, and ride through to start a time trial course. To complete it, you simply need to follow the rings, and make sure you hit every speed ramp – jumping to achieve maximum speed.
Jumping as you hit each ramp is essential, as the race will move from the water to long floating platforms, and you won’t have the ability to course correct if you fall off. Be ready when the course veers right under Slipskate Slope, as you’ll need to make a hard turn and hit all the remaining boosts to get the Cat Shine at the end.
A simple and straightforward encounter, this Cat Shine is in the possession of a very skittish and fast rabbit, who only appears after you have defeated Bowser twice and opened up the full lake.
You’ll find him on a tiny island to the west of the Lakeside Giga Bell once you’ve beaten Bowser twice. Using Plessie, give chase to the rabbit, and try to follow him on the inside of his turns to catch him when he veers left or right to catch and claim your prize.
This Cat Shine is part of a timed race that can only be attempted when riding Plessie, and once you have defeated Bowser twice to open up the full island
Ride Plessie and return to the first group of islands, looking northwest of Pounce Bounce Isle – and there you will find a large ring with Plessie’s face on it, and ride through to start a time trial course under a waterfall. To complete it, you simply need to follow the rings, and make sure you hit every speed boost.
Unlike the other races, this one will lead you towards very low gates, and you’ll need to use Plessie’s dive move (Y) to duck under the water before hitting the grate to ensure you surface on the other side and hit the speed boosts to keep your momentum going. You only need to do this a few times in order to reach the Cat Shine on the other side of the falls.
This Cat Shine also serves as a secret shortcut from the first group of islands to the third, and is only accessible after beating Bowser a second time to uncover the full lake area.
Once you can travel up to the third group of islands, ride Plessie north from the Lakeside Giga Bell to the waterfalls to find a small platform at the base with a button you can ground pound. This will summon a set of platforming blocks you’ll need to scale quickly to reach the top before time runs out.
It’s highly recommended you do this with Cat Mario, as you’ll be able to scale many of the columns a lot easier to scale quickly and efficiently simply by going straight up the middle – otherwise you’ll need to hurry from side to side.
You can find this Cat Shine off the main path just as you reach the upper lake area where the last group of islands are, north of the large volcano.
As the main path through the ink goes up, take a small left path to find a button you can ground pound to reveal an arena full of enemies – including Goombas and a Spike on a high platform.
Quickly team up with Bowser Jr. and get around the side of Spike to take him out first, then deal with all the Goombas. You may find that defeating all of them won’t end the fight – that’s because a cloaked Coin Coffer enemy between the two platforms on the right. Reveal and defeat him, and the Cat Shine will be yours to claim.
This Cat Shine is located on the far western side of the last group of islands once the full lake has been uncovered.
As you navigate the narrow water trails through the goo and spot groups of Splounders in the water, veer right for a small path leading to a lone island and a ramp behind it.
On the island, clear out the boxes to find a large jump pad sending you up to a cloud cannon, and a short side event. In this section, you’ll need to use the Super Stars to run at top speed along a narrow course and defeat all the groups of Biddybuds you come across. In order to activate the Cat Shine, all enemies must be defeated, and although there is no timer, it can be hard to course correct on the speed stripes, and if you move too far forward you may not be able to get back, and will have to try again.
If you do slow down, feel free to plot out your movement before going on the next speed stripe or big jump, and be sure to grab the super stars first to ensure you get the Cat Shine at the end.
This Cat Shine is located in the southwest corner of the Wasteland Giga Bell area, where the last group of islands are found.
Look in the corner of the wasteland area to find a lone purple button you can ground pound to reveal an arena full of enemies.
To win the Cat Shine, you must defeat the assorted Hammer Bros, Goombas, and Bee enemies that litter the large arena. Thankfully, you can outmaneuver them to find POW blocks along the sides to quickly knock out the Hammer Bros, and a POW block in the center to clear out the Goombas. Defeat them all, and the Cat Shine is yours.
For this Cat Shine, you’ll once again need the assistance of Giga Bowser to help you achieve your goal.
Head to the southeast corner of the Wasteland Giga Bell area to find a large stack of Bowser Blocks, and await the giant’s arrival. Duck behind the blocks when he unleashes a fire blast to find a pipe cannon concealed under them, and shoot up into the sky.
Once you land, you can spot a series of cloud platforms with bendy spring-like structure you can catapult yourself from. Use this to quickly catapult to each new platform and avoid Bowser so that you can reach the Cat Shine – though do note there are invisible platforms spanning the entire length.
You can find this Cat Shine atop a long wall that separates the upper section of the last group of islands from the lower section.
Use Plessie to swim around to the back of the Pipe Path Tower where you can find a thin wall with sections of Bowser Blocks. You don’t necessarily need Bowser to create an opening for you, as you can either go through Pipe Path Tower and jump down to the wall, or simply ride Plessie up to the wall, jump, dismount, and climb up as Cat Mario.
This Cat Shine stands on a lone island surrounded by ooze, and unfortunately the ramp is on the other side, making it seemingly impossible to get to – but there is a trick.
Travel north of Roiling Roller Isle to find a small alcove to the east that can’t be crossed – and wait around for Giga Bowser to launch his assault. As he does, a new ramp will appear on your side, allowing you to gain a boost and cross to the small island to get the Cat Shine, just be sure to get there before Bowser blasts you!
This Shine can be seen early as you navigate through the narrow waterways near the Wasteland Giga Bell – but can only be accessed after getting a Cat Shine from Risky Whisker Island.
Once part of the ooze clears, look North from Risky Whisker Island to find a small isle with a wheel you can hit as Cat Mario, and it will raise a nearby platform opposite two rock pillars with cheep cheeps patrolling them. Quickly dash after raising the platform and jump over the cheep cheeps to climb the stone pillars, and do a dive between them to reach the Shine.
This Cat Shine is part of a timed race that can only be attempted when riding Plessie and after you have gained a Cat Shine from Pipe Path Tower.
Look for the docks at the entrance to Pipe Path Tower to find both Plessie and a large ring with Plessie’s face on it, and ride through to start a time trial course. To complete it, you simply need to follow the rings, and make sure you hit every speed ramp – jumping to achieve maximum speed.
Given that a majority of the race is on floating platforms, your ability to keep position is very important – and you may want to keep to the larger platforms unless you’re feeling confident enough to go for the narrow ones to get more coins. Regardless of your path, both end up in one narrow straight shot to the Shine, so avoid swinging to wildly from side to side.
For this Cat Shine, you must once again help a large calico cat in distress. It’s missing its children, and it’s up to Mario to find them.
Head to the Wasteland Giga Bell and look just a bit to the South to find the cat in question. There are a whopping 5 different kittens you need to find (not to be confused with the brightly colored kittens all around the wasteland), and here’s where you can find them:
One is located not far away to the east along the cliffside just south of the entrance to Risky Whisker Island.
One is located directly to the south along the docks you disembark as part of the path to the Wasteland Giga Bell.
One can be found right under the archway to Pipe Path Tower, located east of the Giga Bell. However, you can’t enter the pipe with the kitten, so you must carefully run along the top of the pipe back up.
One is located as you cross the collapsing bridge to Risky Whiskey Island – drop down to the ground below and look for a small recess in the plateau. To get back up, look for a series of blocks along the back wall you can reveal and climb up.
The final kitten can only be found once you have unlocked the Mount Magmeow island to the north of the Giga Bell. Head to the lighthouse just outside the mountain and you’ll find the kitten wandering around its base – and carefully use the switchboard slope to get back.
A simple and straightforward encounter, this Cat Shine is in the possession of a very skittish and fast rabbit.
Look for him once you gained a Cat Shine from Mount Magmeow and uncovered the goo nearby – and you can spot him just to the east of the mountain. Using Plessie, give chase to the rabbit, and try to follow him on the inside of his turns to catch him when he veers left or right to catch and claim your prize.
This Cat Shine can be seen from afar atop a floating island – but there’s one trick to getting to it.
Once you’ve unlocked the ability to travel to the top of Mount Magmeow island, climb up to get the Cat Shine there, and then make your way to the opposite “ear” summit from the island’s shine. Make sure you ground pound the spot to get a Cat Bell, and wait for the floating island to slowly float past. Look for a side you can run up as Cat Mario, and the Cat Shine – as well as all the coins it floats through – will be yours.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, head back to Scamper Shores.
Just outside of the entrance to Scamper Shores, look for a nearby small island where Captain Toad himself is being chased by enemies in a circle. Save the poor guy and defeat them all, and he’ll reward you!
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, a new tiny island will appear to the east of Fur Step Island.
Travel to this small island and use the bounce pad to jump up to invisible cloud platforms and a cloud that will take you to a quick challenge.
Grab the star in the clouds and run forward to take down every enemy you see while bouncing to new platforms. In order to get the Cat Shine at the end, you can’t miss any enemies, so don’t be afraid to double back before jumping to new platforms, since you aren’t timed at all.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, a new tiny island will appear to the east of Fur Step Island.
Swim over with Plessie to find a purple Plessie medal. Once grabbed, it will spawn another one on the first platform at Scamper Shores. You need to reach it quick – either by trying to jump up the tiny platforms on the side or by doing a super jump (dive with Plessie, and then hit jump just as he breaks the surface).
You’ll need to move up to a higher platform next, but Plessie will probably have a hard time getting up there, so it may be wiser to dismount mid jump to boost you toward the medal and jump into the waters below on the opposite side – where Plessie should quickly reappear. From here, swim quickly to the Giga Bell, and then in front of Fury Bowser’s spawning point to get the Cat Shine.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, inspect the docks on the east side of Fort Flaptrap.
Swim over with Plessie to find a purple Plessie medal. Once grabbed, it will spawn another one along the rocks leading to the next group of islands.
After bouncing on the rock, make a left turn to hit the nearby ramp and grab another medal.From here, the next medal appears on a high platform with the clear pipe launcher, and it may be best for you to jump and dismount to grab it before falling back down to Plessie to get the next medal over the in water.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, return to the Slipskate Slope.
A toad has gotten lost on this island, but finding him can be tricky. Equip a Tanooki Suit and jump down past the first slope, and carefully look over the side to view the bottom part of the slope. Float down carefully and you can spot a yellow Toad hiding on a platform under the slope, and float over to rescue him and earn yourself a Cat Shine.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, inspect the docks on the north side of Trickity Tower.
Look by the dock for a purple Plessie medal, and swim through to start a quick challenge of finding more medals before time runs out. The first will appear on a small ice block on the left side of Crisp Climb Castle.
From here, another will appear on a higher ice ledge requiring you to jump up to it – but stay on Plessie. The platforms are thick enough here that you can keep jumping up with Plessie onto the ground above to get the next medal, and then swim out into the lake to collect your reward.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, return to the northern edge of the lake.
You’ll find a small snowy island far out and surrounded by ooze, but there are several springs you can use to flick yourself over – if you’re precise.
Carefully align yourself straight as you can to fling yourself from spring to spring until you reach the green Toad on the island, and talk to him to collect your reward.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, return to Crisp Climb Castle.
Look to the south of the island the castle is on and swim towards Fury Bowser’s spawn point to find another rabbit in need of a chase. Using Plessie, give chase to the rabbit, and try to follow him on the inside of his turns to catch him when he veers left or right to catch and claim your prize. He’s likely to enter the waterfall tunnel, so be sure to dive under the gates to get a shortcut on him.
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, return to Mount Magmeow.
While the Cat Shine is technically located on the mountain, you’ll need to climb to the very top using the clear pipes and switchboards. Once you get to the top, move between the two “ears” of the mountain to look down below on the northwest side. You’ll spy a Conkdor harassing a blue Toad – defeat it, and you’ll be rewarded!
You can find this Cat Shine once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. Once you’re back in Lake Lapcat, inspect the docks at Roiling Roller Isle.
Look by the dock for a purple Plessie medal, and swim through to start a quick challenge of finding more medals before time runs out. The first will appear out in the water towards the Wasteland Giga Bell between the ooze, so aim carefully and don’t jump into the ooze or you’ll lose Plessie.
From here, the medals will appear at the top of the bounce pad leading to the Wasteland Giga Bell – and at this point you probably want to ditch Plessie (he can’t activate the bounce pad) and race across the wasteland to collect the two medals before jumping back into the water near Pipe Path Tower.
Now you only need to chase the remaining medals north to get your prize.
You can find 5 Cat Shines in one spot once you have defeated Bowser for a third time and seen the end credits. However, these shines only appear in specific spots and only when Fury Bowser is rampaging across the lake. Each time Bowser appears, a solid gold “lucky island” will appear in one of five locations, and reaching it will let you take one of five Cat Shines on the island. Once you’ve claimed it from a certain location – it will no longer appear in the same place. You can find all five here:
One is located on the northeast side of the first high platform at Pounce Bounce Isle.
One is located right next to the entrance to Slipskate Slope.
One is located near the top of the first tower at Crisp Climb Castle.
One is located off a ramp just to the north of the floodgate near Pipe Path Tower.
One is located on the south side of Roiling Roller Isle.