"Kuching" is the Malay word for cat, and the city leans into it with obvious delight. Giant cat statues — some poised and regal, others mid-pounce — mark roundabouts and junctions across town, and the Kuching Cat Museum, housed inside the futuristic Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara building, holds one of the world's largest collections of cat-related artefacts and folklore.
Nobody agrees on exactly why the city is named after cats. One theory points to the old Sarawak River port once called Cochin, gradually mispronounced into 'Kuching' over generations of traders. Another says the name comes from a wild fruit, mata kucing ('cat's eye'), that used to grow along the riverbank. A third, simpler story just says cats have always run wild and beloved through the old town's shophouse lanes.
Whatever the truth, the cat theme has become part of Kuching's identity, and it's an easy, charming reason to wander the city on foot — from the giant white cat statue at the old Padungan roundabout to the smaller cat sculptures tucked into corners near the waterfront, with kolo mee and kopi-O stops in between.