There's a lot going on in Iron Nest: Heavy Turret Simulator as you hold the line against anti-monarchist forces, but the game gives you something unexpectedly wholesome to come back to: a cat. It lives in the Iron Nest alongside you, wanders the lower deck, and can be fully customized to look however you want. The trick is knowing how to find it when it goes missing and where all those customization options actually live.
How do you find your cat in Iron Nest: Heavy Turret Simulator?
The cat doesn't appear right away. You need to complete the initial mission first, which unlocks the bed. Once that's done, the cat shows up in the same room. From there it roams freely across the lower deck of the Iron Nest.
By default, the cat can wander anywhere on the lower deck, but you have the option to keep it off the upper deck entirely. If you want to stop it from walking onto your map or accessing the upper deck, that restriction is available to set. It's a small quality-of-life toggle, but handy if you'd rather keep your tactical space cat-free.
Full cat customization options
Where is the cat customization menu?
The cat customization menu is your central hub for both finding and modifying your companion. Opening it triggers the cat to reappear, so it doubles as a locate function when the cat has wandered somewhere out of sight. Beyond that, it holds a surprisingly deep set of sliders and toggles for reshaping your cat's appearance.
For fans of puzzle games and other detail-oriented titles, this kind of granular control over a companion's look will feel familiar. Iron Nest takes it seriously.
Iron Nest: Heavy Turret Simulator Guide: How to Find and Customize Your Cat
All cat customization options in Iron Nest: Heavy Turret Simulator
After spending time with every slider in the menu, here's the complete list of what you can adjust:
That's 25 distinct options across body shape, facial features, fur, and accessories. The combination of opposing sliders (like Belly Fattiness vs. Belly Thinness or Ears Round vs. Ears Pointy) means you can dial in very specific looks rather than just picking from presets.
What can you do with your cat beyond customization?
The cat isn't purely decorative. You can pick it up at any point to interact with it directly. If it wanders somewhere it shouldn't be, you can shoo it out of that area. The game gives you active control over where it goes rather than just letting it roam unchecked.
It's a small feature in the context of a turret defense game, but the level of detail in the customization menu suggests the developers put genuine thought into it. Getting the cat looking exactly right before a long defensive session is a reasonable use of a few minutes.
For more tips and strategy on the game, check out the full Iron Nest: Heavy Turret Simulator strategy guides collection.