Other pieces that vied for a spot on Monopoly included a robot, diamond ring, helicopter, and guitar.
Fans from more than 120 countries voted.
"We put five new tokens out for our fans to vote on, and there were a lot of fans of the many different tokens, but I think there were a lot of cat lovers in the world that reached out and voted for the cat to be the new token for Monopoly," said Jonathan Berkowitz, vice president for Hasbro gaming marketing.
The Scottie was the most popular of the classic tokens and received 29 percent of the vote, the Rhode Island-based company said. The iron got the least votes and was kicked to the curb.
The cat, which has no name, received 31 percent of votes for new tokens.
The online contest to change the tokens was sparked by chatter on Facebook, where Monopoly has more than 10 million fans. The initiative was intended to ensure that a game created nearly eight decades ago remains engaging to fans today.
"Tokens are always a key part of the Monopoly game ... and our fans are very passionate about their tokens, about which token they use while they play," Berkowitz said.
Monopoly's tokens originated when the niece of game creator Charles Darrow suggested using charms from her bracelet. The game is based on the streets of Atlantic City and has sold more than 275 million units worldwide.
To make the game relevant to fans abroad, the names are changed to well-known streets overseas when it is introduced to a new country.
The other tokens are a race car, a shoe, a thimble, a top hat, a wheelbarrow, and a battleship. Most of the pieces were introduced with the first Parker Bros. iteration of the game in 1935, and the Scottie and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s.
"I'm sad to see the iron go," Berkowitz said. "Personally, I'm a big fan of the race car, so I'm very relieved it was saved, but it is sad to see the iron go."
The social-media buzz created by the Save Your Token Campaign attracted numerous companies that pushed to protect tokens that reflect their products.
That includes Ames True Temper Inc. of Camp Hill, Pa., the world's largest wheelbarrow maker, where employees were jubilant when they got the news that their campaign had paid off.
"The oddsmakers said we didn't have a chance," said company spokesman Eric Bernstein, shortly after the vote results were announced. "What an amazing come-from-behind victory."
By late Wednesday the banner on the company home page had changed from "Save the Wheelbarrow" to "Thanks America, you saved the wheelbarrow."
Online shoe retailer Zappos pushed to save the shoe, Berkowitz said.
"We've even had some companies like Jolly Time Pop Corn reach out and petition to have a popcorn token added to the game, even though that's not one of the new five tokens," he said.
Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out this year.
Inquirer staff writer Amy Worden contributed to this article.
