Arctic Cat is an American brand of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles manufactured in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

Arctic Cat was formed by snowmobile pioneer Edgar Hetteen in 1960[2] after leaving his previous self-started business, Polaris Industries.

Arctic Cat grew to become a major manufacturer of snowmobiles, watercraft, winter clothing, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).

[5] Various boat manufacturers including Silver Line, Lund, Larson, and Spirit Marine, were bought and operated throughout the 1970s to expand the company.

[6] The company has produced many other product lines including snowblowers, generators, mini bikes, personal watercraft, helicopters, and two-wheel drive vehicles.

The brand's headquarters has relocated several times,[7] but Arctic Cat continues most of its manufacturing, along with snowmobile engineering, in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

In early 2019, the company announced that the Arctic Cat brand would return to its side-by-sides and ATVs beginning with the 2020 model year.

Though most sleds experienced no issues, this resulted in a class action lawsuit and settlement, under which Arctic Cat bought back 3,200 short-track Firecat F-7s from owners.

In 2014, Joshua Newman provided extensive belt testing for the 400 cc air-cooled model, improving the brand's reliability.

A high-performance model, the Wildcat, was also launched to meet the new demand for recreational UTVs aimed at high-speed trail riding, which was made popular by the Polaris RZR.

The series fielded ten Wildcat side-by-sides for its debut at the Sand Sports Super Show in Costa Mesa, California.