All Icons Turn into the Same Photo of a Cat, and Restarting Doesn't Help

If the cat image appears on every icon, Windows’ icon cache or a desktop-customisation program is the most likely cause. It doesn’t necessarily mean the files themselves were replaced.

First, right-click one affected item and choose Properties. Check that the file type and shortcut target are still correct. If the programs open normally, the problem is probably only the displayed icons.

Try rebuilding the icon cache:

1. Open Terminal (Admin).
2. Run:

   taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
   del /a /q "%localappdata%\IconCache.db"
   del /a /f /q "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*"
   start explorer.exe

3. Restart Windows and check the desktop again.

If the cat returns, check Settings > Apps > Startup and installed desktop customisation or icon-pack software. Disable or uninstall anything you don’t recognise, then run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan. Don’t delete the shortcuts or reinstall all your applications until you’ve confirmed that their targets still work.