The story is similar to many pirate films, games and other sources: a famous cat pirate, Captain Nathaniel Joseph Claw was imprisoned by the Cocker-Spaniards (a dog species, a pun on Cocker Spaniel). In the prison he finds a note and a map hidden in the wall, signed as Edward Tobin, in which he learns about the Amulet of Nine Lives - a mystical artifact that grants its wearer near-immortality. Breaking out of his cell, Claw sets out to collect all 9 gems of the amulet and retrieve it for himself.
The adventure takes place as the player passes through various locations. There are 14 levels in the game, each in a different area: In each level, Claw encounters two sets of main enemies who are always different kinds of dogs with the exception of the eleventh and twelfth levels where the main enemies are mercats, and the last level where they are tigers. In addition there are a number of sub enemies spread through many levels like mice, seagulls, lizards and fish which do not cause much harm, but cause a lot of trouble. In addition, Claw has to battle bosses every second level (with the exception of the thirteenth level). The bosses are also dogs with the exception of the fourth level, where the boss is a cat, the twelfth level where the boss is a giant frog and the last level where the boss is a tiger.