Traditional Rules
In-character rules for the roleplay itself relating to: cat names, appearances, expectations and themes permitted etc...
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🎄 Happy Holidays! Get a gift of 50fk in our Holiday 2025 Thread by posting a good memory!
What has changed from the books?
One of the first things you might notice is we replaced the Queen rank with 'Caregiver' as oftentimes the primary parent of a litter may not want the feminine term of 'queen' to be applied to them. You are welcome to still refer to your cat as a queen, as a den dad, as whatever you like! But the rank itself is known as Caregiver to remain gender neutral.
By virtue of being a sequestered group of feral cats fighting one another there will be varying degrees of xenophobia within people's characters and the world as a whole. We ask this be played respectfully and not be portrayed as something overly positive OOC.
The Tribe of Rushing Water is not and will never be present in the roleplay due to it's poor handling and how it leans too close to indigenous stereotyping.
In a similar vein feathers may not be worn on the head or behind ears, the neck and below is fine! Bones and animal skulls are not permitted as accessories as well though your cat may collect them.
After a lot of discussion and researching several sources we are keeping the term Medicine Cat for the rank, though we allow them to be referred to as healers, medics, etc at your discretion!
The books were not very good at keeping track of family lines, often allowing accidental incest to closely related cats. This is not something we want to allow to any degree, please be mindful of your character's lineage and double check before committing to a ship. A mass site ran family tree may be something we consider in the future to help…
!x x x
One of the first things you might notice is we replaced the Queen rank with 'Caregiver' as oftentimes the primary parent of a litter may not want the feminine term of 'queen' to be applied to them. You are welcome to still refer to your cat as a queen, as a den dad, as whatever you like! But the rank itself is known as Caregiver to remain gender neutral.
By virtue of being a sequestered group of feral cats fighting one another there will be varying degrees of xenophobia within people's characters and the world as a whole. We ask this be played respectfully and not be portrayed as something overly positive OOC.
The Tribe of Rushing Water is not and will never be present in the roleplay due to it's poor handling and how it leans too close to indigenous stereotyping.
In a similar vein feathers may not be worn on the head or behind ears, the neck and below is fine! Bones and animal skulls are not permitted as accessories as well though your cat may collect them.
After a lot of discussion and researching several sources we are keeping the term Medicine Cat for the rank, though we allow them to be referred to as healers, medics, etc at your discretion!
The books were not very good at keeping track of family lines, often allowing accidental incest to closely related cats. This is not something we want to allow to any degree, please be mindful of your character's lineage and double check before committing to a ship. A mass site ran family tree may be something we consider in the future to help…
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- This is roleplay and you are playing a character, not yourself! Keep In-character & Out of character entirely SEPARATE. You should not use your character as a mouthpiece for your own views and feelings towards others.
- Similarly, we ask that you do not take IC things personally: another character disliking yours is not a slight on your person, and negative reactions to your character's IC actions do not reflect poorly on you as a person!
- As such, we ask you try to avoid SELF-INSERT, and projecting onto your characters too heavily. It can and will lead to hurt feeling and is detrimental to your mental health, especially if conflict arises in-character.
- That said, we ask that you be considerate with your plots and make sure to COMMUNICATE with your clan leader (and the leader of any other clan involved, if applicable) if you have plans that may affect the entire clan, especially negatively! Cross-clan litters, dog attacks, treason... A leader who knows your plans is a leader who can help you make sure things get the impact they deserve!
- While this roleplay does not have a minimum length requirement for posts, we ask you do not post one-liners or otherwise pointless filler posts. We are here to roleplay and as such your post must have substance to it and engage with the world/other characters to some degree.
- In the same vein, remember that roleplaying is a social game! In public threads, we encourage you to ackowledge other characters in your replies, and give other players time to reply to a thread before you do so again. If you want to interact with only one or a few specific characters, consider making a private threads instead!
- Try not to DERAIL threads without asking the original poster about it first: not everyone wants their lighthearted fishing thread to suddenly have someone bleeding out in it! On the other hand, some people welcome this surprise change of gear: again, you can't go wrong with asking first.
- Please do not DOUBLE-POST to threads: this is posting twice before other participants are given a chance as its courteous to allow people time to respond especially in plot heavy roleplays! This is per player, so please do not post with a different character either as it adds more for other participants to keep up with as they try to reply!
- There is nothing wrong in asking people if they'd like to be skipped or would like you to wait to post if there are several roleplayers involved! Remember to communicate!
- Do not take content from this site to post elsewhere without the permission of its owner. This includes taking people's writing, characters, art, etc.
- You are more than welcome to make groups chats for plotting, family chats for your character's relations, etc. These spaces are not moderated by our staff team but we still ask you to be kind to one another even offsite and in other discords.
- "Problematic" behavior from previous sites older than a year will not be taken into account when allowing users to join: people change and we like to encourage growth. However if issues arise and no improvement has been made we will take action to remove those who cause problems.
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- POWERPLAYING, the act of controlling another person's character, is not allowed. Never assume another character does anything unless that player allows it or states as much in their own post!
- In the same vein, your attacks will not 'auto-hit'. When you post in combat, allow the other user to decide if your attack lands or not, or contact them on-site or on discord to discuss how the fight will go.
- We do not allow GODMODDING: your character is not all powerful and undefeatable. Please play them realistically with flaws and allow them to lose on occasion.
- There will be things you, the player, know, but your character doesn't. Using this knowledge to alter the roleplay is METAGAMING and not permitted.
- Character actions have consequences, so keep this in mind when playing more unsavory character types or causing IC trouble! This world may not be real but the characters should still be portrayed with realistical reactions and responses to things!
If there are consequences you absolutely do not want to see, consider changing some of your plans, or contacting other players involved to see if you can find a compromise that stays true to both of your characters' motivations!
Keep in mind that you should never force a player to bend their OC's characterization to fit your plans.
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Welcome to Purrgatory's ROLEPLAY DICTIONARY! Roleplay can involve a bunch of lingo that you may or may not be familiar with. That's what this guide is for!
ADOPT
Existing character that other players can 'adopt' to play. May be anything from fully named, designed, and plotted, to a blank slate with a connection to another character (kit, relative, friend, mortal enemy...) Adopts will typically either be FCFS (first come first serve: first person to say 'i want it' get the spot, while stocks last) or require APPLICATIONS.
BACKWRITE
Using fluid time to set a post before a specific thread, event, or IRL time.
BUMP
Post in a thread so it returns to the top of the front page.
FCFS
First come first serve: adopt
HP/SHP
High position/semi-high position: leaders, deputies, medicine cats, medicine cat apprentices, and council members (the guards).
IC
In-character: within the roleplay.
ONESHOT
Typically a one-post thread meant for character development or musings that doesn't expect a response.
OOC
Out of character: outside the roleplay, player speaking.
OPEN
A thread anyone can respond to.
PAFP
Public after first post: a thread that remains private until one (or more) characters have replied to it, after which it becomes open.
PRIVATE
A thread between specific characters that others aren't meant to respond to.
STORAGE
OOC thread where people post whatever they want to have on hand and in one place: their posting templates, character bios/tags, coding experiments, etc.
TAGS (or BIO)
OOC thread of a character's information, templates, etc.
RTA
Return to activity: thread posted after a character's absence from RP. -
When making a thread you'll notice a bar at the top listing 'prefix tags' these help to label your thread, you can select multiple as needed and we encourage the use of them for organization reasons as well as making your thread easier to find, know what its about! Below is a list of our available tags!
- PAFP - Public after first post.
- Open/Closed - Can be used for any thread to indicate its status.
- Private - When you need to set something to private but there is no private thread board for it!
- Trigger Warnings - There are two of these! TW: Sensitive Content & TW: Death, use them appropriately!
- Clan Tags - Every clan has its own prefix tag, please use them for your profiles to label, when you have a clan visiting another, when you are posting a litter but don't want to waste thread title space on the clan its in etc...
- Camp/Territory - These help distinguish where your thread takes place in the clan board itself!
- Leader's Den/Medicine Cat Den - These are for the Leader & Medicine Cat Den Boards to help distinguish threads in them apart!
- NonClan Tags - Similar to the above, these list nonclan cat groups such as Kittypets, Barn Cats, Loners/Rogues, etc...
- The Afterlife - When using the Afterlife Board, these tags label which afterlife specifically.
- Backwritten - These are threads who took place in the past to help establish future plots or to RP prior to an event!
- AU - These are Alternate Universe threads, they are not canon and don't actually happen but its fun to pretend sometimes! Things like human!au or zombie apocalypse!au! We prefer these being on the OTHER board, which you can get access to through purchasing the 'Other Board' item in the shop!
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Things to be mindful of when shipping:
- Please avoid shipping cats on the same family tree! This means no second-cousin ships period.
- Adopted/Step relations are, for all accounts, considered family as well - we do not humor the 'not related by blood' aspect. They are still family and thus unshippable.
- When using reincarnation, please keep in mind this will prevent said reincarnation from being able to ship with anyone in their former life's family to avoid uncomfortable scenarios.
- If a character under the age of 24 enters a romantic partnership with an older character, the older of the two may not have been older than 10 moons when the younger character was born.
- Adult characters in any clan may not at any point date another they knew as a kit/very young apprentice.
- Apprentices can not engage in physical romantic relationships. Puppy-love, small crushes, and "awakenings" are allowed within reason, but crushes or romantic gestures towards older (adult) characters may not be reciprocated in any fashion.
- Romantic relationships between warriors and apprentices are strictly forbidden. This includes "borderline" relationships, where a player or character would wait until a character is "old enough" or "earned their warrior name" to enter into said relationship. The exception to this is when apprentices have a small 2-3 moon age gap and wait to date when they are both warriors. (ie The Romeo/Juliet law)
- Romantic relationships between a mentor or parental figure and their mentee are strictly forbidden. This includes "pseudo" aunts, grandparents, or other extended "stand-in" for kin.
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Like real life our roleplay will have dark elements sprinkled in, topics that are upsetting, potentially triggering and generally depressing. We do not want to stop people from portraying these instances, but we do have rules in place regarding how to handle them.
- Heavy subject matter must be given the respect and research it deserves.
- Trigger Warnings are not optional when posting about subject matter that may be upsetting, you are required to use them as well as a warning indicator at the top of the post with more detail on the topic.
- When writing from your own experiences please avoid using self-inserts as this roleplay is not a place for you to work out your personal issues via roleplay trauma dumping onto others.
- If the subject matter is not personal to you, you must be willing to hear out and respect those who approach you on it who are more educated on the topic/have experienced these issues.
- Nonconsensual plots or mentions, even briefly as a backstory item, are not permitted. This topic is not open to being used here on this site.
- We highly advise against any plots relating to disorders that would require extensive therapy/medication to manage and recover from as the cats do not have access to these things and would end up becoming a walking trigger warning.
- The purposeful act of inflicting physical harm unto oneself through their own teeth, claws, or body is prohibited. This does not include things like biting the tongue, chewing the lips or cheeks, etc but more sincere, harmful acts of self-harm are not allowed.
- Acts of self-harm that are permitted are less direct: intentionally placing oneself into danger, self depreciating thoughts, struggles with consistent eating [disordered eating but not eating disorders, these are separate ideas] are permitted but should be appropriately tagged.
- Please be mindful that not everyone may be interested in interacting with these themes, bringing this sort of vibe to a thread intended to be happy or otherwise lax may uproot other people's plots or make them uncomfortable. Be courteous of others and protecting their peace while conveying these ideas in character.
- Be mindful that, at the end of the day, this is roleplay. Roleplay often overlaps with real life ideas and literary themes, but it should not cross into a territory that makes it inaccessible, harmful, or uncomfortable for others to participate in. When considering plots with themes, strongly consider if it is necessary, if it is respectful, and what your intent with your character's plot is. It should not be something included just for the sake of flavor text.
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What is an NPC?
NPC stands for Non Player Character, this is not a character roleplayed by someone but instead acts more as extra flavor text to a character's story/the world. Think of them like garnish on a dish! Not needed, but sometimes helps jazz it up a little!
NPCs are allowed to be used by anyone for several purposes including backwritten family such as parents/siblings (we do encourage adopting these slots out to engage with the community instead but understand its not always an option). Specific niche plot devices that can not be filled otherwise - such as a previous lover, a former abuser etc...
NPCs can be used for:
- NPC parents/caretaker to introduce a young character who isn't an orphan.
- Any backwritten plot device for your character's story (such as a deceased partner, a former best friend who betrayed them etc...)
- If planning to utilize any living cat for a plot later we recommend asking if someone else would like to play them!
What can NPCs not be used for?
We want to avoid excessive NPC use as we feel it takes away from the purpose of the roleplay, which is to roleplay with others rather than utilizing NPCs for single writing and self-contained plots! As such, we limit what NPCs are allowed to be used for in order to encourage you to reach out to other and plot with a fellow roleplayer to find a way to make your stories work!
- NPCs can not be killed in excess to showcase a character's brutality, combat skill etc...this leans too into Godmoding/Powerplaying which is against our rules. The occasional NPC death is fine if you can find no one else to work with.
- Large groups of NPCs who act antagonistic/are bullies as this negatively reflects on the clan environment and unfairly assumes these sort of cats get away with/go unnoticed by those in authority.
- Plot significant parts in events/stories etc...we want the actual characters to be in the spotlight for anything significant and having an NPC take the spot is contradictory to our goals in this roleplay which is to highlight our community and let these kitty cats shine.
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Given the vague location of the warrior's universe and this being essentially an AU of the forest territories, we allow most any name options within reason and as long as they can be justified in universe. (Ex. A cat who traveled from the ocean would be allowed to name their kits Sealkit, Dolphinkit and Sharkkit.)
We have an OFFICIAL NAME LIST we will be keeping updated as a spreadsheet you may reference at any time! For questions regarding legality please ask us in the Discord or the HELP DEN.
Things that would not be allowed:
- The word 'Star', sorry - no Starstar for you!
- Similar to the above, the ranks themselves can not be used as names. (ex. Warriorpaw, Kitfang etc...)
- [This does not include the specialty ranks for the clans that are specific to our site and only includes canon ranks.]
- Current Leader/Deputy and Medicine Cat prefixes.
- While not a strictly regulated rule we ask you to be considerate about using a prefix already in use in your clan and asking the other holder if they mind!
- Flora/fauna located outside North America/Europe (ex. zebra, panda... )
- The exception to the above is nonclan cat names/SkyClan Daylight warriors.
- Twoleg items. (ex. spatula, pancake, plastic etc...)
- Scientific terminology (ex: canis, panthera)
- Names in other languages, words no longer used in modern vernacular.
- Specific species of animals such as a Monarch Butterfly are only legal as their species name itself 'Butterfly' rather than the use of 'Monarch' unless specifically said species typing is legal on its own without the species attached.
In this case the answer is no as Monarch is a human term relating to a hierarchy of kings and queens.- The exception to this rule is when a species is more commonly referred to as their specific species name rather than the species itself or as a whole. (Example: Junco are allowed, as are Sparrow, the species they are derived from being a type of sparrow, they are commonly called Junco on their own to distinguish them.)
- Invasive Species Clause: We allow invasive species to an extent, those that have been deemed harmful to the environment and have laws regulating their removal and extermination are not allowed. (ex: Iguana, kudzu...). Those that are so commonplace from years of cohabitation they are no longer harmful are fine (ex: dandelion, pigeons etc...)
- In addition to our previous stated clauses we have added a new one for the sake of people's comfort:
Any name that has derogatory or NSFW connotations is an immediate no. Please do not ask. We may be an 18+ server but we also must respect that some people do not want to see repeated instances of naughty words.
The following names are no longer permitted due to reports of discomfort: tit, woodcock, dickcessel, etc...
While generally we would not normally retract a confirmed yes we will prioritize people's comfort over this in this instance. - Pure verbs cannot be used, such as climb, swim, run, etc. Gerunds (verbs ending in -ing that are used like nouns) are recommended as legal prefix options though there are other options such as the case of running and runner both being legal.
Names you CAN use:
- Names from the books so long as the cat themselves is not a 1:1 recreation or the same cat.
- Most plants/produce that can be grown in multiple areas as its not unrealistic to assume they might exist somewhere near.
- Invasive species.
- The exception to the North America/Europe locale rule are the following for lore purposes: Lion, Tiger, Leopard
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APPEARANCE BASICS & RESTRICTIONS
- This website uses semi-realistic genetics to allow creative freedom. Your cat must have natural colors for their pelt but otherwise artistic stylization and some aesthetic hue shifts are allowed. Artistic depictions of the cat can be exaggerated as desired so long as the cat maintains its natural colors in the text. (Ex. A cat can have an icon coloring it bright pink to match its aesthetic so long as said cat is still referred to as 'a red tabby' in the text.)
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The max a cat may weight is up to 17lbs, anymore than that and they would require one of our shop items seen below to go up to 22lbs. At most they can be up to 12inches tall without the item as well.
Fullblooded Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cats & Savannah are required to have the Grandiose item due to exceeding the size limitations for normal cats.
Grandiose
Grants your cat nondescript wild cat blood which allows them to weight anywhere from 18-22lbs with a max height of 10-16inches.This can only be grandfathered in with kits/apprentices who can hit later growth spurts. An adult cat who is already played would not be able to utilize this item as we are still working in the bounds of realism.
This item must be bought prior to creating a new character and during the kit/apprentice age when applying to an existing one.
This item can not exist alongside Sprightly.
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This section is still being improved upon but here are the basics!
A cat's color saturation must not lean too heavily in to the bright extreme, neon green and fluorescent blue cats are not allowed. Shades of cream can be saturated pink and black can be tinted purple but they must be reasonably subtle!
A cat can have any unique markings you desire including geometric shapes like stars and more ornate patterns like wing motifs or necklace-shaped markings around throats.
For a cat to have an eye color not normally found on cats (red, purple, pink when not albino, black sclera etc...) you must purchase the Unnatural Eye Color Item from the shop! -
Accessories permitted to be used in the roleplay are specifically items a cat could reasonably obtain and put on by themselves without twoleg interference, the exception to this is cats owned by a twoleg or had a previous twoleg owner put an item on them before they became wild. BloodClan style collars ARE permitted, vines can be used as makeshift necklaces, cats can dress themselves in various flowers and other natural items without concern.
Be mindful when putting feathers or bones on your character design! We do not permit bone accessories nor do we allow feathers to be worn behind ears in order to avoid racial insensitivity in regards to native people. - We are primarily a writing site, the use of art assets for character appearances and aesthetic is fully separate from the writing side of our community! Stylizing your cat to be a color too extreme for our genetics is fine in art and we permit these images to be used to adorn your profiles and posts so long as the character themself is still referred to as their accurate genetics and still has a basic non-exaggerated ref to go by!
A GUIDE TO GENETIC FELINE DEFECTS
All image assets provided by @lokisaurus for use on Purrgatory only.
Please know that this is not an all-encompassing guide. Disabilities often exist on a spectrum of how much one can accomplish through a combination of accommodations, existing environments, and avenues to support systems and treatment (if wanted / applicable.) Even though many hours have gone into verifying the information in this guide is as accurate as possible, we can not claim to boil down the entire medical history of a cat (or group of cats) to one or two easy paragraphs. Please keep in mind as you read and feel free to offer feedback where applicable.
Beyond the feline-specific conditions listed below, we do allow cats to have human disabilities and mental illnesses; however, we expect players to conduct their own research and we also expect all disabilities and/or conditions to be played with integrity and respect. These conditions will not be added to this guide, as we do not wish to create a "canon" that lived experiences may deviate from. If you have a suggestion for a condition or disorder that does occur naturally in felines, however, please reach out to the staff team so that we may verify the request and conduct the proper research to add it here.
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content warning The following slides include clinical discussions on certain disorders, illnesses, and disabilities relating to feline anatomy. Certain genetic conditions may be referred to as "defects", "abnormalities", or "deformities", as this is the terminology used to medically describe the conditions contained in this guide. If you have any concerns regarding the wording and/or information provided here, please do not hesitate to reach out the moderation or admin teams to review.
Reader discretion is advised. -
CURLED EARS " Cu _ "
Found most prominently in the American Curl breed, the curled ear gene is a dominant trait expressed by the "Cu-" allele. A cat is only required to have one copy of the gene to express it, and this gene can be passed on to further generations with complete dominance. The curled ears gene is not known to be attach to any genetic health conditions, though it is theorized that curled ear cats are prone to more infections - make sure your kitty washes in and behind their ears regularly to stay in tip-top shape!
FOLDED EARS " Fd _ "
Found most prominently in the Scottish Fold breed, the curled ear gene is a dominant trait expressed by the "Fd-" allele. A cat is only required to have one copy of the gene to express it, and this gene can be passed on to further generations with complete dominance. The folded ear gene is caused by a type of osteochondrodysplasia which can cause further health issues as the cat ages. While not lethal, cats with folded ears may have certain restrictions to their abilities based on how their conditions are played out.
The gene causing the folded ear trait is a dominant gene which causes intensive skeletal problems if the cat inherits two copies of the gene. For the purposes of semi-realism and player freedom, the genetics team will treat all folded ear designs as having only one copy of this gene, unless otherwise instructed.
MULTIPLE PINNAE
The four-ear trait affects only the outer ear flaps, or pinnae, and not the inner-ear mechanism. It's thought to be a recessive trait, manifesting itself only when the kitten inherits a rare genetic mutation from both sides of the family. Doesn't really affect anything.
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BOBBED TAILS " Jb _ " or " M _ "
There are two known mutations that cause cats to have naturally bobbed tails: the mutation seen in Manx cats and their associated lineages (known as "Manx tail"), and the Asiatic bob-tail (seen in breeds like the Japanese Bobtail and the Kurilian Bobtail). For the purposes of semi-realism, the genetics teams will always assume that a cat has inherited the Asiatic bob-tail over the Manx tail, as the Asiatic bob-tail does not come with any unfortunate side-effects for the sake of the bob.
Healthy bob-tails can still jump, climb, and play like any other cats. Bobbed tails breeds are very specifically known for being daring, active, and strong cats, if they do not inherit Manx syndrome associated with the Manx tail mutation. There are a number of factors that lead into a cat maybe inheriting the disorder, and having a copy of the Manx tail genome does not guarantee a diagnosis, but it does mean that a cat can develop Manx syndrome later on. Generally, a cat will begin showing symptoms as early as four months if they are affected.
Homozygous Manx tail ("MM") will be considered lethal. In these cases, we would like to remind all players that roleplaying topics like still-birth and child loss may be extremely triggering to some community members; please take care to write such things as sensitively and respectfully as possible. Please reach out to the moderation or admin teams if you have any questions.
BRACHYCEPHALY
Brachycephalic cats - or flat-faced cats - have shortened muzzles due to a shortened skull structure, which gives them a distinctive "smushed" face appearance. This can lead lead to further abnormalities based on the severity of the muzzle stop, including: extremely narrow nostrils, a longer than normal soft palate, narrow trachea (or, BOAS). Brachycephalic cats may also have protruding (or "peke") eyes, misaligned teeth, and an extremely wrinkled face. They may also be prone to dental disease, exposure keratitis, and bacterial or fungal skin infections.
In Persians, you may see the terms "peke-faced" and "doll-faced" to describe different facial features. "Peke-faced" Persians are bred to have flatter, more extreme features, which increases the risk of more severe health issues from a young age. "Doll-faced" Persians typically have noses that extends outwards, with larger nasal passages, limiting the amount of health issues the cat may suffer from later on in life. Unless otherwise indicated, the genetics team will treat all brachycephalic cats as if they have longer noses and larger nasal passages when calculating possible risks.
A healthy brachycephalic cat can live a long, happy life so long as they are taken care of. For the purposes of semi-realism, our site does not require that the worst symptoms related to brachycephaly be roleplayed out (based on individual role-player comfort). Please reach out to the moderator or admin team for clarification if needed.
CLAWLESS
This section does not cover declawing. Please see this post for more information regarding onychectomy.
While exceedingly rare, there are two possible reasons why a cat may be born without claws: epitheliogenesis imperfecta and syndactyly.
A rare congenital defect, epitheliogenesis imperfecta is a skin disorder where the skin has failed develop in areas on the cat. In certain cases, this particular disorder can account for a cat being born without claws. If large parts of the cat's skin have been affected, this disorder is considered lethal, but for the purposes of semi-realism, we will allow cats that are only affected with clawlessness, so long as this defect is played realistically.
Syndactyly is a genetic condition in which two or more digits on a paw to be fused together, which can cause claws to abnormally grow (or not grow at all). Little to no serious health problems have been reported in conjunction to syndactyly, so players are free to assume that their cat has no side-effects if affected.
Cats without claws are expected to have a more difficult time hunting or climbing, but a warrior's life does not have to be purely about one or two generalized tasks. Please reach out to your leader to see if your cat may be eligible for more accommodating tasks under their reign.
CURLED TAILS " rtrt "
A mutation found exclusively in the American Ringtail breed, the curled tail gene is a recessive trait expressed by "rtrt" for ease of calculation. It is unclear exactly what causes this funny mutation, but it sure is cute and (as a fun bonus) does not seem to be linked to any negative side effects as of writing this guide.
DWARFISM
Made ever-more prevalent due to the popularity of the "Munchkin" breed, feline dwarfism is caused by handful of genetic defects affecting a cat's build, bone structure, joints, and nervous system. There are three main types of dwarfism in cats – osteochondrodysplasia, pituitary dwarfism, and selective dwarfism. As with most diagnoses of this scale, there is a spectrum of severity to consider when discussing feline dwarfism. There are documented individuals that have lived full, happy lives, those that are able to adapt easily to their symptoms with a certain amount of help from their owners. However, there are just as many cats that are severely affected by bone dysplasia, joint pain, arthritis, lordosis, and other spinal and nervous disorders.
Cats with dwarfism are categorized mainly by their disproportionate body types, favoring short or "stumpy" legs and larger heads compared to the rest of their body. They may also have enlarged joints, bow-legged stances, and noticeably shorter or undershot muzzles.
For the purposes of semi-realism, our site does not require that the worst symptoms related to dwarfism be roleplayed out in detail (based on individual role-player comfort), but please be sure to be as sensitive and respectful as possible while approaching subjects such a chronic pain and long-lasting physical disability. It is expected that cats with dwarfism will most likely be unable to carry out certain duties due to. Please reach out to your leader to see if your cat may be eligible for more accommodating tasks under their reign. Please reach out to the moderator or admin team for clarification if needed.
POLYDACTYLY
Extra toe beans. No issues here.
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ALBINISM " cc "
Albinism in cats is very specifically tied to the "color restriction" gene, which typical presents a variation of a pointed cat. However, when a cat receives two copies of the recessive " c " allele, it will present as albino. Albino cats have a complete lack of pigment, making them white with some variation of light eye color (typically blue, pink, or lavender with a red pupil.)
Albino cats may be more susceptible to skin problems (due to their lack of pigmentation), deafness, blindness and/or photosensitivity (due their depigmented eyes). For the purposes of semi-realism, it is not required of any member to role-play out the worst symptoms of albinism (i.e: skin cancer, vestibular disease), but it is expected that some albino cats may have to have certain accommodations allotted to them in order to complete their warrior duties. Please reach out to your leader to see what accommodations would be allowed under their reign.
VITILIGO
A favorite among the genetics team, vitiligo is an inheritable gene that causes cats to progressively gain more and more white spotting as they age. This gene is separate from dominant white and white spotting, and is instead classified as a skin condition. While technically an auto-immune disorder (as the depigmentation is caused by the immune system attacking melanocytes), vitiligo in cats has not been directly linked to any other long-term health defects. It just... makes the kitties extra spotty.
SOMATIC MUTATIONS
An isolated gray or black patch that comes from a mutation affecting tissue cells during fetal development. Most often seen on red or cream cats but the genetics team had allowed isolated patches on other coat colors. May or may not be passed down to future generations but does not count as a type of chimerism or tortoiseshell for the purposes of litter calculation.
FEVER COATS
A temporary lightening of the coat that is present at birth and fades with time (usually between four months to one year of age). This is caused by the dam (or carrying parent) undergoing high levels of stress during the pregnancy. Fever coats are most often silver, but can also be gray, cream, or even white depending on the affected kitten and the base coat. Fever coats do not negatively impact the kitten themselves, though other stressors from pregnancy may lead to other problems or defects (see: cerebellar hypoplasia)
HAIRLESSNESS
There are a variety of genes that would affect a cat's coat to cause hairlessness, all of which can most easily be categorized by breed. Please see the breed categories below for the variations of hairlessness recognized by the genetics team so far:
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There are a few different reasons as to why a cat may not have a full range of hearing ability, however the most common congenital reason is attached to the dominant white gene "W _". Dominant white cats with blue eyes are 80% more likely than the average cat to be mostly to completely deaf. Can also be caused by ear mites, injury, or old age.
Deaf cats can still live perfectly normal, happy lives despite their disability and are prone to relying more heavily on other senses when their hearing fails. Cats on Purrgatory are also allowed to use their own forms of "kitty sign language" to communicate, if the player so chooses. Incompatible with the Aural ability.
BLINDNESS
There are a variety of reasons why a cat may have congenital blindness and a multitude of ways that such things can occur, including but not limited to: a dam carrying panleukopenia (FPV) while pregnant, kittens inheriting the recessive allele for congenital glaucoma, cataracts, or retinal dysplasia. Rarely, cats be also be born with missing eyes or no eyes at all based on certain genetic makeups.
Blind cats can easily have long, happy lives with some accommodations made for them. There is precedent in both real life and the Warriors book series for cats to not have too much difficulty adapting to an active lifestyle, and are able to be full-duty warriors if the player so choses. Incompatible with the Perspicacity ability.
ANOSMIA
A relatively uncommon condition that affects a cat's ability to smell properly, caused by a developmental abnormality of the olfactory bulb (which allows cats to distinguish and process scent). Cats can also develop a sort of anosmia as a symptom of brachycephaly or respiratory infection (non-hereditary.) Incompatible with the Redolence ability. -
Also known as "wobbly cat syndrome", this non-progressive neurological disorder is typically caused by the dam contracting feline distemper while pregnant. Causes general uncoordinated movement in a cat (usually described as "jerky" or "tremors"). This disorder is not fatal and most cats with CH live perfectly normal, healthy lives despite their motor quirks.
"Wobbly cats" tend to find their own way of moving through the world without much outside help, particularly seen with wide stances, elongated strides, and an increased reliance on pulling oneself up instead of jumping. - More specifically "narcolepsy with cataplexy", this condition is categorized as a chronic sleep disorder with sudden loss of muscle control. Cats affected will most likely present with symptoms of excessive daytime tiredness, sudden muscle control loss / collapse, poor sleep quality, sleep paralysis (twitching / rapid eye movement during sleep), rapid returns to consciousness. and hypnagogic hallucinations - just to name a few. Narcolepsy in cats is rare and typically hard to diagnose without veterinarian expertise, and there is no cure for this condition. However, narcolepsy does not heavily impact a cat's quality of life and can safely be assumed as non-fatal.
