Play Alley Cat online — the original 1984 DOS game Works — the full original game runs via DOSBox in your browser
Guide updated October 2026 · Runs via DOSBox + WebAssembly
Alley Cat — the 1984 IBM PC game by Bill Williams, published by Synapse Software for IBM. Freddy the cat bounces between the bins and the fence, leaps through open windows into the rooms beyond, and chases mice, goldfish and a sweetheart cat on the top floor. Click Play and pick a skill level at the prompt.
D-pad: move · CTRL / ALT: jump and fire · ENTER/ESC: menus
⌨ Keyboard — for menus & name entry
Controls — what does what
| Action | Keyboard |
|---|---|
| Move and jump | Arrow keys |
| Choose skill level | A–Z then 1–9 at the prompt |
| Quit | Esc |
Runs in your browser tab with DOSBox + WebAssembly — nothing is uploaded. Click the screen to capture input; press Ctrl+F10 to release mouse.
Alley Cat is no longer sold anywhere, and its publisher is gone or has left it unsold for decades. It is hosted here on the same footing as the Internet Archive's software collections. That is a practical position, not a legal claim. This page carries no advertising. Provenance: /apps/alley-cat/NOTICE.md. Rights holders: it comes down within 48 hours on request.
About Alley Cat
Alley Cat was written for the IBM PCjr and runs in four-colour CGA, with PC-speaker music that anyone who heard it still remembers. Each window leads to a different room: a cheese wall full of mice, a fishbowl, a bird cage, a bookshelf with spiders. Clear a room and you return to the alley; win Felicia's heart at the top and the level speeds up. The game counts on 1984 CPU speed, so it is tuned here to match.
How it runs here
This is the original DOS release of Alley Cat, unmodified, running in DOSBox compiled to WebAssembly. The whole game is about 1 MB, so it starts within seconds on a normal connection. Sound and music play once you click into the game.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play Alley Cat online for free?
Yes. Click Play and the original 1984 DOS version starts in your browser, running in a WebAssembly build of DOSBox. Nothing to install and no account.
Why is Alley Cat hosted here?
Alley Cat is not sold anywhere today; we checked the stores listed in its provenance note. It is preserved here the way the Internet Archive preserves old software. That is a practical position, not a legal claim. If the rights holder (IBM (Synapse Software no longer exists)) asks, it comes down within 48 hours.
Does my progress save?
Saved games persist in this browser between visits, best-effort. Clearing site data removes them.
Can I play on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Touch buttons for the keys Alley Cat uses appear under the game on touch devices.
More you can play in your browser
Related guides
Want a game like this on your own site?
Alley Cat isn't ours to give away — we host it, we didn't write it. But eleven of the games here we did write from scratch, and those are free for anyone to put on their own page: one line of HTML, no account, no permission, no attribution beyond a credit line.