Jones (fictional cat)

Jones, also known as Jonesy, is a fictional ginger American Shorthair cat from the Alien franchise. He is the ship's cat aboard the Nostromo, the setting of the first film, and was played by four lookalike cat actors. In Alien, his small size let him share a hypersleep capsule with a crew member during long voyages. When the Alien stalked the ship, Jones was of little interest to it—likely because his biology made him unsuitable for reproduction—and he survived unharmed.

However, he accidentally caused Brett’s death: motion trackers detected Jones instead of the Alien, and when Brett tried to secure him, the Alien ambushed and dragged Brett into the air shafts while Jones watched. Ellen Ripley later found Jones, placed him in a carry case, and at one point had to abandon him to the Alien, though the Xenomorph was distracted by the cat without attacking. Jones was eventually recovered and put into hypersleep aboard the Narcissus with Ripley.

In Aliens, Jones is rescued alongside Ripley but stays behind when she travels with the Marines to the colony; after appearing in a nightmare sequence, he plays no further role. In books, Anne Billson’s Cats on Film includes her short story My Day by Jones: A Cat’s Eye View of an Alien, and Jones is the protagonist of the book adaptation Jonesy: Nine Lives on the Nostromo. He is mentioned in Alien: Out of the Shadows but is kept out of danger.

Reception-wise, Jones has been called "one of the most beloved cats in horror cinema" by Screen Rant and "one of the most famous felines of the screen" by Film School Rejects. He is often dubbed "the true hero of Alien" for surviving and teaching human characters valuable lessons. Fans appreciate him as the only major franchise character to live a full, long life after facing the Alien multiple times. Insider ranked him among the top 15 best movie cats of all time, calling him a "survivor," and Collider listed him as one of the best cats in cinema and one of the best animal sidekicks in horror.