Twelve animals, one cat and a girl who sees the good in everyone

An orphaned high school girl living alone in a tent in the woods is taken in by a mysterious family. She soon learns their secret: thirteen members of the family are possessed by the spirits of the twelve zodiac animals and the cat, and they turn into their animal whenever someone of the opposite sex hugs them. What starts as a funny, sweet setup becomes a deep, moving story about family, loneliness and healing. Fruits Basket is one of the most beloved shōjo series of all time. A Fruits Basket-inspired rug brings its warmth into a room: a round zodiac rug, a rice ball with a plum on its back, a strawberry patch, an orange cat, a white rabbit or a pastel fruit basket. Every design is printed into soft velvet and goes in the washing machine.

Fruits Basket-inspired designs

Design	The look	Best in
Zodiac circle	Twelve animals in a ring, a cat outside it	Bedrooms, round rugs
Onigiri	A rice ball with a pickled plum on its back	Kitchens, dining nooks
Strawberry patch	A secret garden of strawberries and leaves	Kitchens, kids' rooms
Orange cat	A sleepy orange cat curled up in the sun	Bedrooms, reading nooks
White rabbit	A little white rabbit in a field of flowers	Nurseries, kids' rooms
Fruit basket	A woven basket of pastel fruit	Kitchens, playrooms

The series

Fruits Basket is a manga by Natsuki Takaya, serialized in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume from 1998 to 2006, and in the 2000s it became one of the most popular shōjo manga in the US. It was first adapted into an anime by Studio Deen in 2001, then fully remade by TMS Entertainment from 2019 to 2021 in three seasons that told the whole story, followed by a prequel film. Tohru Honda, cheerful and endlessly kind, moves in with three members of the Soma family: the polite, princely Yuki, who is the rat; the hot-tempered Kyo, who is the cat; and their easygoing older cousin Shigure, the dog. As she meets more of the family, she learns about the curse that binds them, and the head of the family who controls them all.

The zodiac circle

An old legend tells how the animals of the zodiac were invited to a banquet, and the cat missed it after being tricked by the rat. A round rug of the twelve zodiac animals, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and boar, arranged in a ring, with a lonely cat sitting just outside the circle, is a beautiful, meaningful design for a bedroom or a family room. Our round rugs come from 2.6 to 5.9 ft (80 to 180 cm) across.

The Chinese zodiac

The Chinese zodiac is a real, centuries-old system that assigns one of twelve animals to each year in a twelve-year cycle, and it's still celebrated across East Asia every Lunar New Year. In the best-known version of the legend, the animals' order was set by a great race, and the cat was left out because the rat never woke it up. A zodiac rug with the animal of your own birth year highlighted is a lovely personal touch.

The rice ball

As a child, the heroine played a game called fruits basket and was given the name of a rice ball, which isn't a fruit at all. She later shares a gentle idea: like a rice ball with a pickled plum stuck to its back, people may have good qualities they can't see themselves. A rug of a smiling rice ball wrapped in seaweed, with a little red plum on its back, is a sweet, meaningful design for a kitchen or a dining nook. In a kitchen, choose Standard, 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back, about 500 g/m², which stays put on tile. For more, see our kitchen rugs.

The game

The series takes its name from a real children's game, a bit like musical chairs, where each player is given the name of a fruit and has to swap seats when it's called. A rug of a woven basket overflowing with pastel fruit, apples, peaches, grapes and one rice ball tucked in among them, is a playful design for a kitchen or a playroom.

The secret base

The rat quietly tends a hidden vegetable garden he calls his secret base, where he grows strawberries. A rug of a little patch of ripe red strawberries and green leaves on soft earth is a cheerful, cozy design for a kitchen or a kid's room. For more, see our strawberry rugs.

The orange cat

The cat of the family is grumpy, loud and secretly tender, and in his animal form he's a fluffy orange cat. A rug of a sleepy orange cat curled up in a patch of sunlight is a warm, adorable design for a bedroom or a reading nook. For more, see our cat rugs.

The white rabbit

One of the youngest family members, a cheerful boy who plays the violin, turns into a little rabbit. A rug of a white rabbit sitting in a field of soft pink and yellow flowers is a gentle, sweet design for a nursery or a kid's room. For more, see our bunny rugs.

All the animals

Every animal in the story has its own personality, from a serious family doctor whose dragon form is a tiny seahorse to a bold, fiery girl who is the boar. A playful pattern of all thirteen animals, in soft pastel colors, is a charming design for a playroom or a nursery, and kids can learn the zodiac as they play. For more, see our animal rugs.

Kindness and healing

Fruits Basket is famous for its compassion. The heroine listens, forgives and refuses to give up on anyone, and her kindness slowly helps the family face their pain. Many fans say the series helped them through hard times. A soft, warm rug in a personal space is a small comfort in that same spirit.

Kids, teens and adults

Fruits Basket is gentle and funny but deals with serious themes, including grief and family abuse, so the full story suits older kids, teens and adults. The rabbit, the strawberries, the fruit basket and the zodiac circle are lovely for any age. For more playful designs, see our kids' play rugs.

Bedrooms

A zodiac circle or orange cat rug brings warmth to a bedroom or a dorm. Choose Standard on hard floors. For a softer bedroom rug, choose Premium, 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, about 700 g/m². Our bedroom rugs page has more layouts.

Nurseries

For a nursery, a white rabbit or a pastel zodiac pattern is soft and sweet. Choose Premium for its plush feel, or Standard for its grip on hard floors. For more, see our nursery rugs.

Lunar New Year

For Lunar New Year, a zodiac rug with the year's animal at the top of the circle is a festive, meaningful decoration, and it stays beautiful all year.

Pairing with furniture

These rugs suit soft, cozy rooms: light wood, pastel bedding, plants in the window, a stack of manga and a cat bed for any real-life cats.

Colors

Fruits Basket-inspired designs look best in soft pastels, peach, pink and mint, with warm orange for the cat, strawberry red and the pale cream of a rice ball.

Other anime

For more beloved shōjo classics, see our Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura rugs, and all our anime and manga rugs.

Gifts

A Fruits Basket-inspired rug makes a meaningful gift for a longtime fan, a cat lover or a friend who needs a reminder of their own good qualities. The rice ball with a plum on its back is the most meaningful; the zodiac circle is the most beautiful.

Your own design

Want a zodiac circle with your family's birth years highlighted, a rice ball with your name or an orange cat that looks like your own? Our custom rugs can print it in any size up to 5′11″ × 10′, or cut it to shape with our shaped rugs. Please only send artwork you're allowed to use; official character art and stills belong to their owners. Custom rugs are made just for you and can't be returned.

Sizes, shipping and returns

Rectangles come in 2×3, 2.6×3.9, 3.3×5, 4×6 and 5×7 ft. Round rugs come from 2.6 to 5.9 ft (80 to 180 cm) across, and shaped rugs from 2.6×2.6 up to 5.2×5.9 ft (80×80 to 160×180 cm). Custom sizes go up to 5′11″ × 10′, including long runners. Every rug is printed to order in 1–3 business days and ships from Turkey; US delivery usually takes 2–5 business days after that. Unused rugs can be returned within 30 days on US orders; custom rugs can't be returned.

Care

Machine wash on a gentle, cold cycle and let it air dry flat. Vacuum on a low setting between washes, and blot spills with cold water right away. The design is printed into the fibers, so the pastels stay soft and bright, wash after wash.

The New Year banquet

Every New Year, the members of the Sohma family who carry the zodiac spirits gather at the main house for a banquet, a tradition that echoes the old legend in which the animals were invited to a feast by God. In the series' version of the story, the rat tricked the cat out of the invitation, which is why the cat was left out, and Kyo, cursed by the cat, is never welcome at the table.

That banquet is one of the story's most poignant images: a long, lantern-lit hall, the zodiac members dressed in traditional clothes, and one empty place that will never be filled. A rug of a low banquet table with twelve settings, each marked by a small zodiac animal, and a single cat waiting outside the door, captures the series' themes of belonging and exclusion in a gentle, symbolic way.

For a brighter take, a New Year design with pine branches, red lanterns and the twelve animals circling a full moon suits a bedroom all year and becomes a festive centerpiece during Lunar New Year. It reads as a celebration of the zodiac to anyone who doesn't know the story, and as a quiet, emotional reference to anyone who does.

Fans often feel strongly about which animal they would be. A rug that highlights one animal in the circle, your own year or the character you love most, makes the design personal while keeping the full zodiac around it.

Padrift is an independent studio. Fruits Basket is named to describe what our designs are inspired by; we are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Natsuki Takaya, Hakusensha or TMS Entertainment, and our rugs do not use the characters' likenesses.