Hello everyone! I hope that y’all are enjoying the last few days of summer. This past month on the website have been very exciting, with everything from a full-scale battle to a vote over whether to create an entirely new clan occurring. This next month is likely to be just as hectic as we follow through on moving EarthClan into DawnClan’s territory and keep working on the new clan. Unfortunately, conversation over where to take the plot and what we want the new clan to be has slowed over the past few days. I hope this Monthly Meow comparing our previous four clans to the canon clans will give you some ideas about what we should mold the new clan and EarthClan into.

First, I have some announcements and reminders. Over the past few days I’ve stumbled across a number of websites that have taken content from this website, usually from our home page. If you ever see anything that looks copied from here and left alone or only slightly edited, please report it to me. As well, if you want to make a spin-off website or incorporate some ideas from this website into your own roleplay, please contact me so we can make the sites official affiliates and make sure everyone’s work is respected. As well, I’ve noticed that a handful of our high ranking characters haven’t been very active. If you haven’t been getting online, have a medicine cat or other high ranking characters, and want to keep that character, please make an effort toward staying active. I won’t be demoting any characters for the next week, but after that grace period any high ranking character who belongs to a member who hasn’t been online in two weeks without giving me a heads up will be removed. Lastly, when you upload doll maker images, always clearly cite both the artist name and where you got the image from.

Onto the fun part! This Monthly Meow is part six of the series comparing the canon universe to Warrior Cats of the Forest and bounces of June’s discussion of the clans’ territories to comparing the individual clans to each other. Previous topics in this series included The Warrior Code, naming conventions, demographics, the living clans’ relationship with their dead, and a general overview of all of our clans in comparison to all of the canon clans. As in the previous Monthly Meows, I used the Avon paperback 2004 American edition of Into the Wild, my sketchy memory of the rest of the books, and the Warriors Wiki to write this, so if you see anything inaccurate please speak up. As well, The Warrior Cats canon universe is notoriously riddled with contradictions and continuity errors and is far beyond the scope of these newsletters, so I’ve limited these Monthly Meows to primarily focusing on the first six books published (Into the Wild-The Darkest Hour). Please note that my discussion of SkyClan will be particularly dubious, as I’ve never read a book that included SkyClan so that paragraph is based solely off of the Warriors Wiki. If I got something wrong, please speak up so I can correct it.

While I’ve always noted the similarities between the clans of this website and the houses of Hogwarts- brave, cunning, compassionate, and intelligent- comparisons to the canon clans has been going on since the website first began. For as long as we had the four clans, each sharing some traits with a canon clan, there is some perception of our clans having direct canon counterparts. In this monthly meow, I will examine each of our clans and the similarities and differences between them and the canon clan or clans which they most resemble.

MoonClan could be best compared to ThunderClan, though they share some traits with SkyClan. Both MoonClan and ThunderClan live in thick woodland and are strong hunters who prey on a variety of rodents and birds. ThunderClanners have the unique skill of hunting and fighting in dense undergrowth, a skill shared by MoonClan. However, ThunderClan’s personality diverges from MoonClan in that MoonClanners generally respect the other clans’ boundaries and soverignty, while ThunderClan can act rather paternalistically toward the other clans. Also unlike MoonClan, ThunderClan claims no special connection to StarClan and the foundation of the clans, but does often have a holier-than-thou attitude toward the other clans.

SkyClan is the only clan to not appear in the first series, as they were forced to leave the clans’ territories in an ancient time when their territory was taken over by twolegs. Modern SkyClan was founded away from the others clan’s territories in a rocky ravine, and SkyClan warriors are noted for their strong jumping and climbing ability, as well as the rough paw pads that allow them to walk across rocky surfaces unhurt. While MoonClan lacks the exceptional jumping ability and tough paws, they are the best climbers of the clans and have some attack moves involving climbing trees or otherwise using them to their advantage. Unlike MoonClan, SkyClan has been forced to be exceptionally forgiving of unusual cats and accept an adapted way of life unlike the other clans in which they have a handful of “daylight-warriors” who work for the clan during the day but return to their two-leg owners at night. MoonClan’s history has pushed them in the opposite direction, toward intolerance of cats who do not fit into the mold of an ideal warrior.

NightClan, meanwhile, could be considered something of a mix between ShadowClan’s personality and BloodClan’s history. Unlike NightClan, ShadowClan has a marshy forest territory and only supplement their freshkill pile with scavenged food, rather than using it as their primarily food source as NightClan does. Like ShadowClan, NightClan is proud to the point of arrogance and their small, sparse territory results in their ferocity, which occasionally manifests or is unfairly thought of as pure greed and blood-lust. While ShadowClanners have exceptionally sharp senses that allow them to hunt at night, NightClanners’ senses are dulled by the city and are generally poor hunters. In fact, Tigerstar comments in The Darkest Hour that walking through the city is akin to being deaf, blind, and lame.

BloodClan is not a true clan, but rather a loosely organized collection of alley cats living in a city. BloodClan cats are required to live alone, even apart from their immediate families, and they do not follow The Warrior Code. As a result, they have no medicine cats and cats who cannot hunt for themselves do not receive aid, even kits and elders. Like NightClan, BloodClanners are all highly trained fighters who rarely show mercy to others and feed primarily on two-leg trash. The city contains a much higher concentration of cats than the city clans, which makes prey scarce even with the abundance of scavenged food. This is not the same on our website, where NightClan shares an approximately equal share of territory with the rest of the clans and has roughly the same number of cats.

While DawnClan and RiverClan share several surface-level attributes –namely, their ability to fish and love for water- their clan personalities differ. DawnClan was started on a foundation of creating a peaceful clan, but RiverClan had no such beginning and RiverClanners are notoriously quick to take offense and their ready food supply makes them ferocious fighters year-round, when the other clans are suffering from malnutrition. Despite this difference, both clans are occasionally perceived by their neighbors as being needlessly stubborn and lazy. While I was designing DawnClan, I intentionally took a handful of small attributes from RiverClan that I believed also applied to DawnClan. Some of these include how DawnClanners’ thick, glossy coats help them swim and the occasional two-leg who mistakes a pretty DawnClanner for a kittypet.

SunClan has the most in common with their canon “counterpart,” WindClan. Both clans live in open grassland, are known for their love of open spaces, prey primarily on rabbits, and sleep in an open clearing. Both clans are also notably loyal and intelligent, but occasionally quick to flee and cautious about entering conflict. However, unlike SunClan, WindClan has an intimate knowledge of two-legs from seeing them on farms and have ranks of cats who specialize in building and navigating underground tunnels. WindClan also claims a special connection to StarClan that SunClan does not, as they are the nearest canon clan to the Moonstone and believe that as they always have unobstructed views of the stars, they are the most physically and spiritually close to their ancestors. On our website, MoonClan claims to have the strongest connection to StarClan, due to their history as the first clan and their proximity to the Moonstone.

While I could have gone on and on about the intricacies of comparing our clans to the canon clans, I tried to keep this monthly meow to the point. If you think there’s anything important or interesting I left out, please comment below, I’d love to hear all of your thoughts! I hope to update this Monthly Meow in a few months when the dust settles around the new clans, comparing them to the canon clans as well.

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Rowankit, Silk-kit, Narrowkit, Insanekit, Paranoidkit, Asylumkit, Frantickit: Early September

Stormi, Terrakit, Singingkit, Thunderkit, Risingkit, Sevenkit, Ghostkit, Sparrowkit, Thunderkit, Oak-kit, Talonkit: Mid-September

Bearkit, Northkit, Silverkit, Amberkit, Featherkit, Southkit, Sturmkit, Northkit, Westkit: Late September

Warriors:

Heronpaw: Early September

Silverpaw, Autumnpaw, Crimsonpaw, Leafpaw, Owlpaw, Jaggedpaw, Glacierpaw, Kaiser II, Cinderpaw, Callingpaw, Shellpaw: Mid-September

Dazzlingpaw, Splashpaw, Heavenpaw, Thornpaw, Foxpaw, Lionpaw, Falconpaw, Riverpaw, Moonpaw, Jaypaw: Late September

Elders: Honeyflame, Witheredflame

Death: Kaiserstar

EarthClan

Apprentices:

Frigidkit, Amberkit, Malicekit, Peachkit, Timberkit, Knightkit, Mallowkit, Flintkit, Hollowkit, Phantomkit, Hauntedkit: Early September

Hallucinatingkit, Cranekit, Firekit, Tallkit, Redkit: Mid September

Maplekit, Black-kit, Blazingkit, Falconkit, Dappledkit, Hopekit: Late September

Warriors:

Hawkpaw, Nightpaw, Legendpaw, Meadowpaw, Risingpaw, Young Eagle, Foxtail Grass: Early September

Tigerpaw, Vixenpaw: Mid-September

Exambientpaw, Brokenpaw: Late September

Medicine Cat: Spiritpaw (Early September)

Elders: Endlesstears

Deaths: Lionwhisper, Pantherfang, Threekings

SunClan

Apprentices:

Pantherkit, Wildkit; Early September

Crowkit, Slatekit, Frostkit, Meadowkit, Snakekit, Acornkit, Cragkit, Dragonkit: Mid-September

Brightkit, Nuclearkit: Late September

Warriors:

Red Cloud, Daisypaw, Variety of Flowers, He Fights, Races Eagles, High Backed Wolf, Standing Elk: Early September

Apep, Nephthys: Mid-September

Bloomingpaw, Burningpaw, Downwardpaw, Robinpaw, Distant Thunder: Late September

Deaths: Doehunter, Gorsepelt

NightClan Rebels

Warriors:

Wildpaw, Darkpaw, Fallenpaw: Early August

Deaths: Belarus

DawnClan Rebels

Elders: Antvenom, Prairieowl

Update: a formal poll regarding the new clan's name can be found here. Once you complete the poll, there will be an option to "see previous responses" that will let you see where everyone else is standing. If it's close or we get a bunch of "other" responses, we could potentially re-poll.

The vote on what to do about EarthClan closed yesterday, with those in support of keeping EarthClan and forming a new clan receiving the most votes. While this new clan won’t be able to actually come together until we have EarthClan moved into DawnClan’s territory, we should start planning for the new clan now so we know what they want to be when they are formed.

Please limit discussion of how we will form this clan to what immediately affect the clan’s identity. Keeping plot-planning to the actual Plot Planning Blog Entry will help us keep on-topic here as we focus on building up two new clan identities. As well, this is not the place to discuss who will be the leader of the new clan. I will decide who it will be using our usual criteria and announce the new leader and deputy closer to when the clan is formed. The best thing you can do now to increase your chances is participating actively in this blog and following the suggestions on the How Leaders and Deputies are Chosen.

I think the best way to go about this would be to see what the established clans are based on, and then use that as a framework for building EarthClan and the new, still unnamed clan. So, here is more or less what I believe each clan identity boils down to.

MoonClan

• Proud/arrogant, honorable, and courageous
• Conformist and the most nationalistic clan
• Moderately skilled hunters and fighters
• Highly value discipline; regimented day to day lives; strict clan hierarchy
• Suspicious of outsiders
• Strong belief in StarClan and The Warrior Code

NightClan

• Cunning, fierce, and ambitious.
• Individualistic
• Strong fighters but weak hunters, mostly scavenge for food
• Loose clan hierarchy and administration, with a low value placed on discipline
• Very accepting of outsiders
• Weak belief in StarClan and in the value of the Warrior Code

DawnClan

• Peaceful, compassionate, and forgiving.
• Individualistic with low value on discipline
• Moderate hunters and weak fighters, have the unique skill of fishing
• Paternalistic leadership style with a flexible hierarchy and a Leisurely day to day existence
• Moderately accepting of outsiders
• Moderate belief in StarClan and generally follow the Warrior Code

SunClan

• Cautious, intelligent, strive to embody “clan before the individual.”
• Value teamwork and place little stock in the individual; conformist
• Strong hunters but weak fighters
• Strict leadership style and hierarchy, highly demanding expectations of warriors
• Suspicious of outsiders
• Moderate belief in StarClan, but follow The Warrior Code to the letter.

Based on those facts, here’s one direction we could potentially go with the new clans, assuming that EarthClan ends up in DawnClan’s old territory and the NightClan rebels resettle in NightClan’s old territory and form the new clan.

New Clan (Possible names: EclipseClan, SkyClan, CometClan, GalaxyClan, NovaClan, MeteorClan, NebulaClan, please suggest more)

• Resourceful, fierce, domineering
• Individualistic
• Strong fighters but weak hunters, mostly scavenge for food
• Rigid clan hierarchy and administration, with each rank asserting themselves over lower ranks
• Moderately accepting of outsiders. Only accepts those who they deem strong enough, or alternatively, those who actually seem committed to their clan. Expect all outsiders to assimilate into clan life.
• Weak belief in StarClan, but a high degree of value in Warrior Code

EarthClan

• Tolerant, compassionate, and grounded
• Individualistic with low value on discipline, strives to encourage each cat’s strengths rather than make a uniform
• Moderate hunters and weak fighters, have the unique skill of fishing
• Paternalistic leadership style with a flexible hierarchy and a Leisurely day to day existence
• Very accepting of outsiders
• Extremely variable beliefs in StarClan and the Warrior Code

Of course, this is only one way to go about it, and I want to hear all of your thoughts on which direction we should head in to creating these new clans.

Hello everyone! The next gathering is scheduled to take place this coming weekend, August 18-20th. About 40 cats should attend the gathering from each clan. Leaders, make sure that each member with an eligible character in your clan has at least one character attending and try to have the invited character lists posted as soon as possible. The clans will travel to Hawk’s Tree on Friday, the gathering will officially begin Saturday, and the clans should return to their camps by Sunday evening. However, the gathering can go past that point if necessary. The medicine cat meeting will take place the following weekend (August 25-27th), following the same pattern. The upcoming plot is very uncertain, so there isn’t anything specific planned to happen during these events.

I plan on closing the vote on the future of EarthClan on Thursday the 17th so we can plan where we want to take the plot. There’s more information about that vote on the Plot Planning Page and if you haven’t voted yet, please do.

 

Hello everyone! If you aren’t up to date on what we have planned for the roleplay over the next little while, please check out the Planned Events Section of The History Page.

While the recent log-in glitch set us behind, we’re still on track to have the battle start this weekend. I currently have an EarthClan patrol going to steal food from SunClan’s territory, which as planned should prompt Desolatestar to call in MoonClan and go forward with the attack. EarthClan will win this battle by splitting up the attackers and ambushing them, but we haven’t decided what should happen following EarthClan’s victory and if y’all agree, that’s where we should focus most of our attention during this plot planning discussion.

 

There’s a reason why the first line of the code requires that cats defend their clans, even if their lives: the life of a warrior is dangerous. While starvation and fights with the other clans are constant threats, clan cats also come across a variety of dangerous animals in their day to day lives. While sometimes these enemies can be allowed to go about their lives, others must be confronted and killed or chased away, and others even hunted for food.

This guide to Warrior Cats of the Forest enemy animals is by no means inclusive of all species found in the clans’ territories, nor should encounters with many of these animals be common, but is meant to show the variety of animals cats could encounter and to show how enemy animals in our Michigan territories varies from that in the canon books.

For more information about the species our clans interact with, check out the Environment Guide, Herbs Guide and Prey Guide. A map of the territories can be found on The Clans Page. All references are listed at the bottom of this guide. As always, if you have any suggestions for corrections or additions, please message me.

Snakes

Blue Racer

Description: A 4-6 foot long snake with a gray or blue body. Their head is darker than their body. They are alert and active, and can climb into bushes and trees to escape predators and have been rumored to also use these skills to attack kits. While they do bite when threatened, this species is not venomous.

Location: Blue racers live in thick vegetation and are therefore most common along the MoonClan-EarthClan border.

Black Rat Snake

Description: A 4-8 foot long snake with whiny black scales. This is the largest snake found in the clans’ territories and are skilled climbers and known thieves of clan prey. While they are not venomous, they are very strong and a well-placed strike can kill a cat.

Location: These snakes live in woodlands, and are therefore found mostly in Earth- and MoonClan territories, but are occasionally spotted in The Abandoned Barn of SunClan’s territory.

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake

Description: A 18-30 inch long snake with a thick, brown body covered in large dark brown blotches. Their head is wide and triangular and their tail is adorned with rattles. This is the only native venomous snake found in the clans’ territories and has been known to kill cats.

Location: commonly inhabits Snake Gorge.

Northern Water Snake

Description: A bluish-grey 2-4 foot long water snake with dark bands or blotches.

Location: These snakes prefer the shorelines of streams and are there found most commonly along the river, especially in EarthClan territories. They are strong swimmers and eat frogs and fish. While they are not venomous, they are known to bite if cornered.

Ring-necked Snake

Description: A small black or grey snake with a yellow ring around its neck and a plain yellow body.

Location: These snakes are slightly venomous and live along Snake Gorge, hiding under rocks to stay away from the sun and feeding on salamanders and other snakes.

Birds

Bald Eagle

Description: A large eagle with chocolate brown body and wings, white heads, and a long, bright yellow, hooked beak.

Location: This bird is rarely found near the clans, as the river is too small to be home to their preferred prey. However, when they are spotted, it is along Snake Gorge or nesting in MoonClan’s pines.

Broad-winged Hawk

Description: A small raptor with broad black and white bands on their tails, a dark brown back and a chestnut chest. The underside of their wings is white, with a striking black band along their edge. They compete with the cats for food and are a threat to small, unattended kits.

Location: Found in the thick forests of northern MoonClan during green-leaf.

Canada goose

Description: A big, black-necked goose with a white chinstrap, a tan breast, and a brow back. These birds can be very aggressive when threatened and while it’s rare that they will kill a cat, they can seriously injure cats with their sharp, strong beaks.

Location: These birds land in SunClan territory in giant flocks while migrating, making them a common seasonal pest.

Northern Harrier

Description: A long-tailed hawk with a white rump patch and a distinct, low “wobbly” flight style. They hunt rodents and other small creatures, and have been known to dive for unprotected kits or even a full grown cat when prey is scarce.

Location: A common sight over EarthClan and SunClan territories.

Osprey

Description: A large raptor with brow upper feathers and white under feathers. They prey only on fish and have long talons to keep hold of their prey, as well as a distinctive wing posture to help them dive. Ospreys do not target kits, but if harassed by over-daring apprentices, they have been known to strike back.

Location: These birds nest in the pine groves along the southern edge of MoonClan’s territory.

Peregrine Falcon

Description: a crow-sized bird with slate-grey feathers and a beige underbelly. They require large open areas for hunting and are known for their impressive dives, which make them especially dangerous to the kits of SunClan.

Location: these birds nest along Snake Gorge and hunt over SunClan territory.

Short-Eared Owl

Description: a medium-sized owl with rounded head, broad wings, and a short tail. They are brown and spotted white, with pale underwings. Unlike many other birds, they reside in the clans’ territories year-round, and are especially threatening to cats both directly by stealing kits and indirectly, by competing for prey, during leaf-bare.

Location: These birds prefer large, open grasslands and are therefore commonly spotted along the eastern reaches of SunClan’s territory.

Mammals

Beaver

Description: a large semiaquatic rodent with a large, paddle-shaped tail and a thick layer of fat under their skin. Their dark-brown fur is coarse and waterproof. They are primarily active at night and prefer to stay in the water. Beavers’ lodges create pools so deep they do not freeze solid in the winter, but disrupt the flow of the river in the process which can diminish cats’ food supplies. While beavers are herbivores, they have very strong, sharp teeth and similar claws that can be dangerous to cats who attack a beaver or attempt to run them away.

Location: Beavers occasionally construct lodges out of mud and sticks along branches of EarthClan's portion of the river.

Black Bear

Description: a medium sized bear with dense black fur. These bears have sharp senses as well as the ability to swim and climb, are active throughout the day and night, and hibernate through the winter. They mark their territories by clawing bark off of trees. While bears are unlikely to attack a cat unprovoked, an attack is almost an assured death sentence for a cat who doesn’t immediately flee. Thankfully, black bears are a rare sight as far south as the clans are.

Location: a bear may turn up at any part of the forest territories and may even explore the fringes of EclipseClan or SunClan.

Brown rat

Description: A brown or grey rodent with a body up to a foot in length, with a tail of a similar size. They have acute hearing and sense of smell and can be fierce fighters when threatened. They are capable of swimming, digging, and can squeeze through any hole smaller than their skull. This makes them difficult to catch, but their sheer number, especially in the city, makes them a common prey.

Location: Brown rats are found throughout the territories, but are especially common in EclipseClan.

Cougar

Description: a large, slender cat with round ears and a tawny pelt. Unlike other big cats, cougars cannot roar, but rather emit cry-like hisses, grows, and chirps similar to those of domestic cats. However, the domestic cats of this website cannot understand the language of a cougar. Cougars’ ambush strategies make them dangerous hunters and they will attack a cat who strays too close to them. A clan cat, no matter how skilled, cannot hope to fend off a cougar and only in the most desperate of situations would a large patrol be sent to chase one off. Otherwise, they must wait for the cougar to move on away from clan territories.

Location: Cougars can be found in all of the forest territories and occasionally stray into the edges of EclipseClan. However, they prefer thickly forested areas and are therefore most likely to travel through MoonClan.

Coyote

Description: a small wolf-like animal with predominantly light grey fer, interspersed with black, white, and red patches. They have longer ears than a wolf, as well as a thinner frame. They are generally solitary, but can band together in small groups while hunting for larger prey. Coyotes are a menace for cats, as they will actively hunt them and are too large for a cat to take chase off alone. Interestingly, badgers and coyotes can form a mutualistic relationship when digging up rodent prey.

Location: found throughout the forest territories, SunClan, and the fringes of EclipseClan's territory.

Dogs

Description: a wolf-like animal that has been domesticated by two-legs and bred into a variety of shapes and sizes. Dogs can be as threatening as a coyote or wolf, but often are restrained by two-legs or too small to do serious damage to a trained warrior.

Location: dogs can be found throughout the territories, but for EclipseClanners, dog-encounters are an everyday occurrence.

Ermine

Description: a weasel-like animal with variable fur, depending on the season. During the winter, ermines have dense, silky white fur, while in the summer their fur is rougher, shorter, and sandy-brown. These animals inhabit the burrows of rodents they kill and have several dens within their ranges. They are fierce animals and are capable of taking down prey much larger than themselves, including, when desperate, cats. Therefore, only experienced hunters are advised to attempt to hunt ermines, and those guarding the camp must be careful that ermines stay away from the nursery.

Location: ermines are found throughout MoonClan and EarthClan territories and occasionally also live in SunClan or in The Burnt Woods.

Fisher

Description: a weasel-like animal with seasonally changing fur, that is approximately the size of a cat. They forage on the forest floor, as well as being successful hunters of things as large as porcupines and bobcats, and lynx. Fishers are known to attack cats and are fierce, skilled fighters, making them a danger to the clans. However, as they are solitary, a well-trained patrol can reasonably run off or kill a fisher.

Location: fishers prefer full forest and is therefore found most commonly in MoonClan territory, though they do stray into EarthClan from time to time.

Gray Fox

Description: they grey fox has a black-tipped tail and a silvery grey pelt, meeting a rusty-colored neck and white-highlighted face. Unlike other canid species, gray foxes can climb trees. Grey foxes are nocturnal and solitary. While they primarily hunt small rodents, grey foxes can attack and kill cats.

Location: Grey foxes are not very adaptable to human development and thus stay away from the city, most commonly found in the thicker portions of MoonClan’s territory.

Least weasel

Description: the smallest member of the weasel genus, with a slender body and short legs and tail. They have a chestnut back and a white underbelly. They are fierce and carnivorous, capable of taking down rabbits ten times their own weight, and have been known to go after cats.

Location: these weasels prefer wet areas and are therefore most common throughout EarthClan.

Lynx

Description: A solitary cat species with a variable coat usually ranging from tan to grayish brown, with black stripes on the body, legs, and tail. Their ears are black-tipped and pointed. They are an adaptable predator that prefers to stay to woodland, but can survive in other areas. Lynx are 30-40 inches in length and weigh 7-14 kilograms when full grown. Lynx do occasionally hunt cats, making it important for clans to chase them away with large patrols as soon as they are scented in the territory.

Location: Lynxes prefer to live in MoonClan’s thick forests, but are also found across EarthClan and SunClan.

Michigan Badger

Description: a stocky animal with powerful legs, huge foreclaws, and distinctive black and white head markings. Their bodies are covered in grizzled, brown, and black and white fur. These animals are generally nocturnal and solitary, but occasionally form mutualistic relationships with coyotes. Badgers are fierce fighters and are an almost hopeless opponent for individual cats, who are encouraged to retreat and return with a patrol when they come across a badger.

Location: badgers prefer open prairie regions with sandy soil, meaning they are most commonly found in SunClan, but also make their homes in the meadows of MoonClan and EarthClan.

Mink

Description: a dark, thickly furred, semiaquatic mammal related to weasels, otters, and ferrets. They are very territorial and spend most of their time in one or two core areas of their territory, where food is plentiful. Mink are often two feet in length, making them a formidable opponent for any cat who attempts to hunt them and a danger to kits or untrained apprentices.

Location: mink prefer to live near water, making them a common sight throughout EarthClan and near the EarthClan-SunClan border.

Muskrat

Description: a 15-30 inch long semiaquatic rodent with an adaptable lifestyle and diet. They are covered in short, thick brown fur. Their long tails are scaly and dragged across the ground when they walk, which makes them easy to recognise. They will not hunt cats, but can get aggressive when their nests are threatened.

Location: Found throughout EarthClan's territory.

North American porcupine

Description: a large rodent covered in a coat of quills, which they can make stand up when they’re threatened. When these quills become stuck in an attacker’s flesh, their barbed shape makes them difficult and painful to remove. They also emit a strong odor to warn away predators. Porcupines will not attack cats unless threatened, but some daring cats may underestimate their defenses attempt to hunt these animals.

Location: porcupines live in mixed forest areas, which makes them a relatively common sight in EarthClan and MoonClan.

Opossum

Description: an opportunistic marsupial that grows to the size of a cat. They have white-grey fur, prehensile tails, and small ears and eyes. They are omnivorous and have been known to attack cats and can be dangerous when attacked. However, often when they are threatened they mimic the appearance of a rotting animal by fainting and secreting a foul-smelling fluid.

Location: found throughout the territories, especially in EclipseClan.

Raccoon

Description: these 15-30 inch mammals have a greyish coat with a thick underfur, a striped tail, and white “eyebrows” over a black mask over their eyes. They are very intelligent animals who are well-adapted to a variety of lifestyles, including living in two-leg areas. Raccoon and cat conflicts usually come about as a result of competition over food sources. Raccoons are primarily scavengers and will steal hidden prey or even attempt to break into the camp. Due to their size, endency to carry disease, and sharp teeth, raccoons can be dangerous opponents to even well-trained warriors.

Location: found throughout the territories.

Red Fox

Description: Red foxes are the largest species of fox and the most well-equipped to adapt to living alongside humans. Their tail is longer than their bodies and very fluffy, while their body is long in comparison to their short lengths. They have narrow, elongated skulls and limited sexual dimorphism. Their fur is dense and silky, usually a reddish-brown in color, highlighted with red patches. They usually live in small family groups and have an omnivorous diet. While cats are not their prey of choice, they will hunt and kill cats when available.

Location: Foxes are found across the territories, but are especially common along The Fox Place in SunClan’s territory and along the forested edges of EclipseClan's territory.

Striped skunk

Description: a stout, short-limbed animal with a conical head and long, thickly furred tail. Their forefeet have five long, curved claws adapted for digging, while their hind claws are shorter and straighter. Their fur has a black base and a white stripe extending from their forehead to the tips of their tails. They have two scent glands containing a foul-smelling musk which can be sprayed at attackers from several meters. Skunks are not an immediate threat to a cat, but can spray them when attacked, which would make it difficult for cats to hunt due to the lingering smell and can blind cats.

Location: skunks are found throughout SunClan, EarthClan, and MoonClan.

Wild boar

Description: While boars are furry, dark grey, pig-like animals who are known for being aggressive and scavenge for food. They are social animals who live in female-dominated groups. While a boar will not attack a cat on sight, if a cat foolishly attacks an adult or their offspring, they are likely to be killed.

Location: found across SunClan and occasionally located in EarthClan and MoonClan.

Wild turkey

Description: A large flightless bird with greyish-green legs and black body feathers, featherless heads, white and black striped feathers on their wings. fan-shaped tail and a high degree of sexual dimorphism. Males are much larger than females, with brighter feathers, while the hens are duller and smaller. While a turkey will not attack a cat on sight, if a cat foolishly attempts to hunt an adult, they are likely to be killed.

Location: Wild turkeys primarily roam the meadows and clearings of MoonClan.

Wolves

Description: a large canine species with a broad snout, short years, and a powerful build. Their coloration is highly variable, ranging from black to white, to mottled grey and brown. They are highly social animals who live in family groups of a mated pair and their adult offspring. They are highly territorial and unless run off, will only leave their territory in the event of a severe food shortage. However, wolves are very fierce and large, meaning that cats have little hope of running them off except in cases of clans banding together to chase off a pack.

Location: Wolves are very rarely seen across the territories, but when they are, they are in SunClan, EarthClan, or MoonClan.

Fish

Longnose gar

Description: a large fish with a slender body, olive scales, and one dorsal fin near the end of the back. The gar has a long, narrow snout and a mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth, which can be dangerous to cats who attempt to catch them or accidentally stray near them while swimming. They can survive out of water for hours, granted that their body remains moist.

Location: found in weedy or rocky areas of the river, especially under Snake Gorge.

Snakehead

Description: An invasive species of fish with an elongated body and a snake-liike head and face. They are capable of surviving on land for up to four days and can grow to four feet in length. While they are very unlikely to kill a cat, their teeth can cause nasty and infection-prone bites.

Location: found throughout the river.

Bugs

Bald-faced hornet

Description: a stout-bodied hornet with white, rather than yellow. They are mostly black, with a pattern of white bands on the edges of their body segments. They are extremely aggressive if their nest is disturbed and sting repeatedly. While the stings are dangerous only if too many are received or if a cat is allergic, the stings will swell painfully and may become affected.

Location: These hornets prefer to build their nests on high-up places, and are thus found throughout EclipseClan, MoonClan, and EarthClan. While they are far rarer in SunClan, bald-faced hornet nests are occasionally built in the Abandoned Barn or along the Sky Rocks.

Black widow

Description: A shiny black spider with a red or orange hourglass shape on their abdomen. They build webs of irregular, sticky fibers, and prefer to nest near the ground. Black widows are extremely venomous and can result in cats’ deaths.

Location: found throughout the territory in rarely disturbed areas.

Bumble bee

Description: a fuzzy black and white bee common throughout the clans. They rarely sting and are generally docile, but their stings can cause swelling and allergic reactions in certain cats.

Location: found throughout the clans.

Cow Killer

Description: A fuzzy red and black striped solitary wasp that is occasionally mistaken for an ant. Their bites are extremely painful and cause swelling, but are not generally dangerous unless a cat is allergic. As well, cow killer wasps do not attack unless disturbed.

Location: found in the meadows and clearings of the clans, especially in SunClan’s territory.

Eastern Buckmoth Caterpillar

Description: Eastern Buckmoth larvae are brown and black caterpillars covered in stick-like hollow spines attached to a poison sac. When a cat is stung, they will experience a painful rash and an upset stomach. The full grown moths are harmless.

Location: These caterpillars abound on oak trees and leaf litter during green-leaf.

Firefly

Description: a beetle capable of producing bioluminescence during twilight on their abdomen. They are brown in color, with sunflower-seed like covers over their wings. While fireflies cannot sting or bite, they are toxic if eaten. Kits, in particular, may be enticed to try, and experience symptoms ranging from nausea to even death.

Location: Fireflies are found throughout the territories during early green-leaf twilights.

Ladybug

Description: A small red beetle with black spots. Ladybugs are not aggressive, but if a curious kit attempts to eat them, they can cause chemical burns to the cat’s mouth or digestive tract.

Location: found throughout the territories.

Mud Dauber

Description: a wasp with bright legs, a needle-thin waist, curved antennae, a dark body, and a less aggressive nature than other related species. If a cat does enrage them to the point of stinging, the sting will swell slightly and may be dangerous if the cat is allergic.

Location: found throughout the clans, especially around the Abandoned Barn in SunClan territory.

Stink bug

Description: A half inch long, green or brown beetle with a trapezoidal shape and the capability to emit an unpleasant smell. Stink bugs aren’t toxic enough to kill a cat, but eating one can cause excessive drooling and some vomiting or an upset stomach.

Location: found throughout the clans.

Tiger Moth Caterpillar

Description: a fuzzy caterpillar with a red stomach, a black back, and white spines. When a cat comes into contact with their spines, they are likely to acquire a painful rash.

Location: found throughout the clans, especially in the densely wooded portions of MoonClan and EarthClan.

Yellow Jacket

Description: A wasp with yellow and black stripes. They are extremely aggressive and will sting repeatedly. Their stings are incredibly painful and can swell up and become infected, or cause an allergic reaction.

Location: These wasps live along the edges of forests and prefer to nest near the ground.

Sources:

• http://www.insectidentification.org/insects-by-type-and-region.asp?thisState=Michigan&thisType=Bee,%20Ant,%20Wasp%20and%20Similar
• http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12145_12201---,00.html
• https://www.allaboutbirds.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fauna_of_Michigan#Mammals
• http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/spatialdatalibrary/pdf_maps/fish_atlas/maps/
• https://www.drmartybecker.com/petconnection/do-bug-eating-cats-bite-off-more-than-they-can-chew/
• http://pets.thenest.com/predators-house-cats-8588.html

Prey, or fresh-kill, is a clan term for all of the animals in their territories consumed as food. The Warrior Code prohibits cats from killing prey without the intention to feed the clan with it and requires that hunters refrain from eating the prey they have killed until the rest of the clan has been fed. Cats who believe in StarClan often opt to give thanks to their ancestors for the fresh-kill’s life immediately after killing their prey. After prey is killed, warriors bury it to prevent other predators from finding their prey until they are ready to carry it back to the camp. What remains of the prey after it is eaten, such as feathers or bones, is buried in the dirt place.

This guide to Warrior Cats of the Forest prey animals and miscellaneous food sources is by no means inclusive of all species found in the clans’ territories, but rather is meant to show the variety of prey cats could potentially bring back to the camps, to provide inspiration for patrol roleplaying, and to show how the prey available in these Michigan territories varies from that in the canon books.

For more information about the species our clans interact with, check out the Herbs Guide, Enemy Animal Guide, and the Environment Guide. For more information about clan-specific hunting specialties, see The Clans Page. A map of the territories can also be found on The Clans Page. All references are listed at the bottom of this guide. As always, if you have any suggestions for corrections or additions, please message me.

Amphibians

Blue-spotted salamander

Description: A black salamander with blue or teal flecks and spots across their body. Hybrids with other small salamander species are common, resulting in duller color patterns.

Location: found in the dense leaf-litter along the the northern reaches of the river.

Bullfrog

Description: A large olive-colored frog with a yellow throat and a deep rumbling croak.

Location: They live in warm, permanent waters and therefore favor EarthClan territory.

Eastern American Toad

Description: A common toad with warty, brownish skin in a tortoiseshell pattern. Its legs are short but muscular.

Location: found across the shaded, grassy portions of MoonClan and E.

Eastern tiger salamander

Description: a large salamander with a broad, rounded snout and small eyes. Their background color is black or dark brown, decorated with scattered yellow blotches. They spend most of their time in burrows underground, eating worms and slugs.

Location: found only in EarthClan's territory.

Four-toed salamander

Description: a small, slender salamander with orange skin speckled in small, black spots. The tail narrows at its base and unlike other salamanders, it only has four toes.

Location: found in the dampest meadows of EarthClan's territory.

Fowler’s Toad

Description: a fat, brown, bumpy toad. They have bitter-tasting but mostly harmless poison glands on the back of their heads.

Location: found throughout sandy soiled woodlands, especially in the northern portions of MoonClan’s territory.

Gray treefrog

Description: a tiny brown frog with dark brown stripes across their back and a black stripe across their eyes.

Location: found throughout EarthClan and MoonClan territories.

Green frog

Description: a large brown or olive green frog with blotchy markings across their back and sides. Their underbelly is lighter. These frogs eat insects, small frogs, and minnows.

Location: they are common in EarthClan's territory.

Marbled salamander

Description: a short, fat salamander with marbled black and white patterns across their head, back, and tail. They breed in the fall, unlike other salamanders, and live primarily in leaf litter.

Location: found in the consistent shade along the MoonClan-EarthClan border.

Mink Frog

Description: a medium spotted green and brown frog with a bright green upper lip and yellow-beige stomach. Produces a foul smell when threatened.

Location: found throughout the river and the park pond.

Mud puppy

Description: a permanently aquatic salamander with feathery, rust-colored gills. Its body is grey-brown with bluish-gray blotches.

Location: found in the slowest-moving parts of the river along EarthClan's southern border.

Northern Leopard Frog

Description: a medium sized frog with dark brown spots on green skin, with a white stomach.

Location: found across the EarthClan-SunClan border.

Northern Spring Peeper

Description: A pale pink frog with a distinctive bell-like croak.

Location: Occasionally found near the northern EclipseClan-MoonClan river border.

Red-backed Salamander

Description: A thin, long salamander with a dark brown body with a thick red stripe down its back.

Location: these salamanders live in thick leaf litter under deciduous woods and can therefore be found in MoonClan’s territory.

Small-mouthed salamander

Description: A dark brown salamander with a short head and blunt snout.

Location: this salamander prefers moist forested land and is therefore most commonly spotted in EarthClan territory.

Spotted salamander

Description: a chubby black salamander with two rows of bright yellow spots on either side of their body. They live primarily in underground burrows, but are also known to live under rotting logs or leaf litter.

Location: They prefer mature, moist woodlands and are therefore common only in EarthClan's territory.

Snakes

Blue Racer

Description: A 4-6 foot long snake with a gray or blue body. Their head is darker than their body. They are alert and active, and can climb into bushes and trees to escape predators. While they do bite when threatened, this species is not venomous.

Location: Blue racers live in thick vegetation and are therefore most common along the MoonClan-EarthClan border.

Brown Snake

Description: A small, 9-15 inch long snake with a brown body, a pale stripe along their back, and black dogs along either side of this stripe.

Location: They prefer dry, enclosed, quiet spaces, and are thus found mostly in the northern reaches of MoonClan’s territory.

Butler’s Garter Snake

Description: A 2-3 foot long black or brown snake with three yellow stripes down its back and a yellowish belly and a small head. These snakes are harmless and feast primarily on earthworms and other bugs.

Location: this snake prefers moist marshes and the edges of lakes and slow-moving rivers and is therefore found most commonly in EarthClan's territory.

Copper-bellied Water Snake

Description: A 4-5 foot long snake with a black upper body and copper belly. This snake is extremely rare and are harmless to cats.

Location: This snake enjoys wooded flood plains and slow-moving rivers and is therefore found in the southern reaches of EarthClan's territory.

Eastern Fox Snake

Description: A 3-5 foot long snake with a distinctive yellow body and black blotches. They mimic the action of a rattle snake when threatened, but are nonvenomous.

Location: This snake prefers marshes and adjacent wet meadows and is therefore most common in EarthClan territory.

Eastern Garter Snake

Description: A 2-4 foot long snake with three yellow snakes running down their grey or brown back. Their tongue is bright red with a black tip.

Location: These snakes are very common and found in a variety of habitats throughout the clans, but are particularly common in EclipseClan's territory. When they are frightened, they release a musky smelling secretion.

Eastern Hognose Snake

Description: a thick-bodied, slow-moving snake with a flattened “nose”. Their color is variable, usually grey or brown with darker markings. These snakes are harmless, but when threatened they puff up with air, flatten their necks, and hiss loudly. If a cat persists in harassing them, they write about, excrete a musk, and then play dead.

Location: Found in any dry, sandy place, but are especially common within The Burnt Woods.

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake

Description: A 18-30 inch long snake with a thick, brown body covered in large dark brown blotches. Their head is wide and triangular and their tail is adorned with rattles. This is the only native venomous snake found in the clans’ territories and has been known to kill cats.

Location: commonly inhabits Snake Gorge.

Eastern Milk Snake

Description: A slender 2-4 foot long snake with reddish blotches on a gray or tan background color. Their belly is white and has a black checkerboard pattern.

Location: This is one of the most common snakes across all of the territories. They compete with the clans for prey, and are occasionally mistaken for rattle snakes as they vibrate their tails when threatened.

Kirtland’s Snake

Description: A 12-18 inch long snake with four rows of black blotches down its back and checkered scales. Its belly is pink with a row of black dots along its flank. They eat only earthworms and slugs and live in former rodent burrows. These shy snakes rarely bite and are completely harmless to cats.

Location: They prefer moist soil to burrow in, and therefore live mostly in EarthClan territory.

Northern Ribbon Snake

Description: A very slender black snake with three bright yellow or white stripes down their back. 1-3 feet in length. These snakes are unusually active and are strong swimmers.

Location: These snakes are exclusive to the southern portion of EarthClan's territory, where they live along the edges of the river.

Northern Water Snake

Description: A bluish-grey 2-4 foot long water snake with dark bands or blotches.

Location: These snakes prefer the shorelines of streams and are there found most commonly along the river, especially in EarthClan territories. They are strong swimmers and eat frogs and fish. While they are not venomous, they are known to bite if cornered.

Queen Snake

Description: A slender 1-3 foot long snake with grey or brown scales and a white stripe on either side of his body.

Location: An aquatic snake that basks in shrubs hanging over the water, they are found most commonly in EarthClan territory or along the SunClan border.

Red-Bellied Snake

Description: A very small brown or grey snake with a bright red belly.

Location: These snakes like to burrow underground in woods, and are therefore found in the thickly wooded sections of MoonClan and EarthClan.

Ring-necked Snake

Description: A small black or grey snake with a yellow ring around its neck and a plain yellow body.

Location: These snakes are slightly venomous and live along Snake Gorge, hiding under rocks to stay away from the sun and feeding on salamanders and other snakes.

Smooth Green Snake

Description: A bright green 12-20 inch long snake with smooth scales. These snakes are harmless, but rare, and lay tiny eggs under rock cover.

Location: Found most commonly in SunClan’s territory and occasionally lay eggs around Sky Rocks.

Lizards

Five-Lined Skink

Description: A five-inch long lizard with short legs, a streamlined body, and grey scales with five white or yellowish stripes. These lizards can run quickly and break off their tails when threatened.

Location: These lizards are found in wet places and often climb up trees, so they’re a common sight in EarthClan.

Six-Lined Racerunner

Description: A dark green, brown, or black lizard with six yellow stripes that extend from its head to its tail. They are fast runners and can quickly dart into cover when threatened, making them a difficult catch.

Location: they live mostly on rocky outcroppings and are therefore found along Snake Gorge and Sky Rocks.

Birds

American Goldfinch

Description: A small songbird with a bright yellow body contrasting black wings and a black head. They do not migrate southward during the winter.

Location: These birds are found throughout the forest territories, but are especially common in the meadows of EarthClan and throughout SunClan.

American robin

Description: A relatively large songbird with a large, round body and a relatively long tail. They are grey-brown birds with a warm orange underparts and dark heads.

Location: These birds are a common sight throughout the clans.

Baltimore Oriole

Description: A small, slender, bird related to the robin with thick necks and legs. The males are bright orange and black, while the females are yellow-orange and greyish. They have distinctive calls, but are difficult to catch because of their small size, deft flying ability, and preference for high perches.

Location: Found throughout the less thick areas of Moon- and EarthClan territory.

Black-backed Woodpecker

Description: A small woodpecker with glossy, black bakes and a white strike running from behind their bill down under their eyes. The males have a yellow patch of feathers on the crowns of their heads. They make a lot of noise when boring for insects, and are therefore easy to track down, but remain difficult to actually catch.

Location: These birds live in the thick conifer forest of MoonClan’s territory.

Black Tern

Description: This bird is similar in appearance to a seagull, but slimmer and with more pointed beaks and wings. Their numbers have fallen dramatically, making them a rare sight.

Location: Found along the SunClan-EarthClan border.

Brown-Headed Cowbird

Description: a stocky blackbird with a brown head. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds at the expense of the host’s own chicks. These birds also feed on the ground and are very noisy, making them an easy catch for even mediocre hunters.

Location: These birds are found throughout the territories, but are especially common in MoonClan territory.

Canada goose

Description: A big, black-necked goose with a white chinstrap, a tan breast, and a brow back. These birds can be very aggressive when threatened and while it’s rare that they will kill a cat, they can seriously injure cats with their sharp, strong beaks.

Location: These birds land in SunClan territory in giant flocks while migrating, making them a common seasonal pest.

Cedar Waxwing

Description: A sleek, medium-sized bird with a large head and short neck. Their crest lies flat and droops over the back of the head. They are a pale brown across their head and chest, which fades into a blueish gray hew across their wings and tail. There is a narrow, black mask outlined in white across their face. Their tail is tipped in yellow, and there are red spots on their wings.

Location: These birds are rare, but can be seen throughout the territories year round.

Chimney Swift

Description: A bird with sooty olive and greyish brown feathers, and a pale throat. They build large nests on vertical surfaces, often on two-leg structures.

Location: While two-legs consider these birds pests and remove their nests, these swifts sometimes still are found in EclipseClan’s territory.

Common Crow

Description: A blue-black bird with a straight and narrow tail. These birds are very opportunistic and can tolerate a range of food and environments, making them a common sight. However, their adept flying skills make them a challenging catch. Crows are known to challenge hawks or owls who venture into their nesting area, so when prey is plentiful clan cats may opt to avoid hunting them.

Location: While these birds are found throughout the territories, they are especially common in EclipseClan's territory.

Common loon

Description: A large, diving water bird with a rounded head and sharp bills. They have a black head and bill, and a black-and-white spotted back and a white breast. They are mostly aquatic birds, diving into the water without a splash to catch fish. These birds are only seen in the clans’ territories while migrating, making them only seasonally available. However, due to their loud calls throughout the night, they are easy catches for those used to hunting at night.

Location: These birds are found all around the river, which makes them especially common in EarthClan's territory.

Common Raven

Description: A large, glossy black bird with a heavy bill. Their wedge-shaped tail distinguishes them from the common crow. These birds are extremely territorial and will attack other birds and cats who encroach on their habitat. As well, their excellent flying skills make them a difficult catch.

Location: These birds are common at the center of the clans’ territories, around Hawk’s Tree.

Common Tern

Description: A small water bird with a black cap, pale grey back and wings, and a white stomach. Their bill and feet and bright red. These birds are nimble fliers specializing in hunting minnows, which makes them prey for only advanced hunters. When protecting their nests, the adults dive at intruders and can injure cats by striking them with their bills.

Location: these birds arrive in EarthClan territory in May in colonies of 10-30 individuals and fly northward in late June or early July.

Eastern Bluebird

Description: A small thrush with a large, rounded head, and plump body. The males are a vivid, deep blue above and rusty across their chest and throat. The females are greyish above with blueish wings and tail, and a duller orange-brown breast.

Location: These birds prefer meadows surrounded by thick trees and backyards. They’re a fairly common sight along the EclipseClan-MoonClan border as well as throughout EarthClan.

Gray Catbird

Description: a medium-sized songbird with a long, rounded black tail and a straight bill. They are slate gray, with a small black cap and a birch-red patch under their tails. Their name comes from their eerie meow-like call. They fly across open areas only reluctantly, rather they prefer hopping from branch to branch and stay in dense tangles of vegetation.

Location: These birds are most common in MoonClan territory, but also stray into EarthClan from time to time.

Great Blue Heron

Description: A large grey-blue heron that wades in shallow marshes and stream edges.

Location: These birds are occasionally spotted in the southeast portion of EarthClan's territory.

Green heron

Description: A dark, stocky bird with short legs and thick necks. They have short crown feathers they can raise into a crest. They appear dark from a distance, but they can look deep green and chestnut closer up. They are large birds but can make easy prey for a larger cat due to their habit of standing motionless at the water’s edge and their awkward flight. However, these birds are rare prey because they are only occasionally seen in the territories and only ever in their green-leaf breeding season.

Location: These birds occasionally live in the southern reaches of EarthClan's territory.

House Sparrow

Description: A small, chunky bird with a full chest and round head. The males are brightly colored with gray heads, white cheeks, and rusty feathers. The females are plainer, with dusty-brown feathers overall and grey-brown underparts.

Location: These birds are common throughout the clans, especially in EclipseClan's territory where they are excellently adapted to city life.

King Rail

Description: A bird with rust-colored feathers, a long tail, and a distinctive grunt-like call.

Location: Spotted only in the cattail-lined meadows of EarthClan's territory.

Kirtland’s Warbler

Description: An exceptionally rare bird with a small body, with bluish-brown upper feathers and pale yellow underparts.

Location: Only ever seen in the southern reaches of EarthClan's territory.

Loggerhead Shrike

Description: A robin-sized bird with a black stripe running from its bill down to its wings. The rest of its body is grey, with dark wings and tail. They actively hunt mice and other small rodents by grabbing their prey, then impaling their meal on a thorny bush.

Location: This bird prefers open areas with thorny bushes, which means that it most commonly makes its home along SunClan’s northern border and in The Burnt Woods.

Mourning Dove

Description: round, soft-looking bird with grayish-brown backs, buff-colored undersides, black spots on their wings, and white feathers along their tail.

Location: These birds are among the most abundant species in all of the clans’ territories.

Northern Cardinal

Description: A large, long-tailed songbird with a short, thick bill and a prominent crest. The males are a brilliant red, while the females are a pale brown. They perch on low shrubs and forage near the ground, commonly in pairs or small groups.

Location: These birds are common throughout the forest territories and along the edge of the city, but are less common in SunClan.

Pileated Woodpecker

Description: A crow-sized woodpecker with a large crest of red crown feathers and a long, black bill. The males have a patch of red feathers from across their checks to a point under their eye. Females have a black patch of feathers instead.

Location: These birds live throughout the mature forests of EarthClan and MoonClan, living primarily in the decaying trees that provide most of their prey.

Red Crossbill

Description: A bird in the finch family with a distinct crossed-tipped beak idea for prying open pine nuts. Their feathers are red, deepening into a dusty-black color over their wings.

Location: They prefer conifer forests and are therefore found in EarthClan and MoonClan territories.

Rock Pigeon

Description: A tubby bird with small heads and short legs. They are rather variable in color, but most pigeons are bluish gray with two black bands on either wing and a black tip to the tail. They often gather in small flocks, walking along the ground and pecking for food.

Location: These birds are found throughout the territories, but are especially common in EclipseClan's territory.

Sandhill Crane

Description: A tall, long necked grey bird with red, featherless foreheads. They are an aquatic bird that preys on frogs and fish.

Location: due to the nearness to the city, this bird is a rare sight only ever spotted in EarthClan territory and along the EarthClan-SunClan border.

Scarlet Tanager

Description: The males are a brilliantly red bird with black wings, while the females are more olive-green in color. These birds fall easily to cowbird parasitism and habitat fragmentation, meaning that they are a rare sight throughout the clans.

Location: These birds live in mature forests and prefer to stay to the highest reaches of trees. As well as making this bird a difficult catch, these habits mean that they are found only in MoonClan.

Spruce Grouse

Description: These birds are highly sexually dimorphic, with white-spotted males and comparatively drab, deep brown females. They nest in needles and leaf litter along thick branches and are slow-moving, making them relatively easy prey.

Location: These birds are found only in the thick pine forests of MoonClan.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Description: These birds have long tails and are brown above, with pale brown or white underbellies. They call on hot days, often signaling that rain is forthcoming.

Location: They live primarily in the deciduous portions of EarthClan and MoonClan territories, but sometimes venture into the Burnt Woods or EclipseClan's Park.

Mammals

Brown rat

Description: A brown or grey rodent with a body up to a foot in length, with a tail of a similar size. They have acute hearing and sense of smell and can be fierce fighters when threatened. They are capable of swimming, digging, and can squeeze through any hole smaller than their skull. This makes them difficult to catch, but their sheer number, especially in the city, makes them a common prey.

Location: Brown rats are found throughout the territories, but are especially common in EclipseClan.

Cinereus shrew

Description: a small grey-brown mammal with a light grey underside and a pointed snout. It has a long, furry tail, with a dark tip. They eat a variety of creatures, from seeds to snails to salamanders, and are active year-round and during both the day and the night.

Location: these shrews are found throughout the territories, but are less common in EclipseClan, where they are found mostly in the park and in two-leg gardens.

Deer mouse

Description: A brown mouse with a striking white stomach and large eyes. They are skilled jumpers and runners. They are nocturnal and spend their days in burrows.

Location: these mice are common throughout the territories, especially in SunClan.

Eastern chipmunk

Description: A small reddish-brown chipmunk with five dark brown stripes contrasting light brown or white stripes along its back, ending in a thick, furry tail.

Location: these animals live in deciduous wooded areas and urban parks, and are therefore found everywhere but SunClan.

Eastern cottontail

Description: the most common rabbit species in the clans, these rabbits are chunky, red-brow or gray-brown, with large hind feet, long ears, and a short, fluffy white tail. It differs from that of a hare because of the brownish-grey coloring around its head and neck. Cottontails are territorial and their strong, clawed feet and long teeth can be a threat to even full grown cats to fail to kill them quickly. However, even catching these rabbits is difficult, as they run much more quickly than rabbits and prefer areas where they can easily hide. As they are much faster than a cat, they’re often hunted in groups who surround the rabbit and chase it toward each other until it comes close enough to a cat that they can spring atop it.

Location: These rabbits are found throughout EarthClan and MoonClan, as unlike the rabbits in SunClan, they do not burrow and prefer areas with plentiful shelter.

Eastern Mole

Description: A rarely seen, sleek-furred mammals capable of burrowing through nearly any soil type and flourishing in total darkness. They build complex tunnels and can flee to the surface or deeper tunnels when threatened. As they rarely emerge from these tunnels, they are exceptionally difficult to catch.

Location: these moles are found throughout the territories, but flourish best in the well-drained parts of SunClan and EarthClan where they don’t risk having their tunnels flooded.

Ermine

Description: a weasel-like animal with variable fur, depending on the season. During the winter, ermines have dense, silky white fur, while in the summer their fur is rougher, shorter, and sandy-brown. These animals inhabit the burrows of rodents they kill and have several dens within their ranges. They are fierce animals and are capable of taking down prey much larger then themselves, including, when desperate, cats. Therefore, only experienced hunters are advised to attempt to hunt ermines, and those guarding the camp must be careful that ermines stay away from the nursery.

Location: ermines are found throughout MoonClan and EarthClan territories and occasionally also live in SunClan or in The Burnt Woods.

Flying squirrels

Description: a rare, nocturnal mammal with large eyes, a thin frame, and webbing between their legs to allow them to glide from tree to tree. These rodents are difficult to find and even harder to catch.

Location: these squirrels are found mostly in the thickest forested parts of MoonClan’s territory, but occasionally extend into EarthClan territory.

Groundhog

Description: a large rodent with short, powerful limbs, and curved, thick claws. Their tail is short, and their fur a dusty brown color. They are accomplished swimmers and can climb trees, if necessary. They are fierce when their burrow is threatened, but will leave cats alone if not antagonized. When cats are desperate, they may turn to hunting groundhog pups.

Location: groundhogs are found throughout SunClan territory and in the meadows of MoonClan and EarthClan.

Hoary bat

Description: a palm-sized bat with a dense, dark brown pelt with white tips to each hair. They roost alone in trees, hidden by foliage, and hunt moths at night, making them a difficult and rare catch.

Location: these bats are found throughout MoonClan and EarthClan during green-leaf, before they migrate south.

House mouse

Description: a small rodent with a pointed snout, small rounded ears, and an almost hairless tail. They vary in color from light to dark brown, sometimes with lighter bellies. They are mostly nocturnal and omnivorous, though they prefer plant matter.

Location: They thrive in many conditions, but are especially common throughout EclipseClan and SunClan.

Jumping mouse

Description: a mouse-like rodent with elongated hind limbs, a long tail, and pouched cheeks. When disturbed, they can take enormous leaps of up to ten feet in length.

Location: these animals live throughout grassy and wooded areas, making them common throughout the clan territories with the exception of EclipseClan.

Least weasel

Description: the smallest member of the weasel genus, with a slender body and short legs and tail. They have a chestnut back and a white underbelly. They are fierce and carnivorous, capable of taking down rabbits ten times their own weight, and have been known to go after cats.

Location: these weasels prefer wet areas and are therefore most common throughout EarthClan .

Little brown bat

Description: a uniformly dark brown bat with dark brown wing membranes. They move between different roosting areas depending on season and time of day. They are a primarily nocturnal insectivore.

Location: they are found throughout the territories, especially in the quieter parts of the city and the thickest parts of MoonClan territory.

Meadow Vole

Description: Also known as a field mouse, or meadow mouse. A small rodent with grey fur, small years, and a long, naked tail. These voles are active-year round, usually at night. They dig underground burrows where it stores food for the winter and gives birth to young.

Location: Found throughout the territories, but are especially common throughout SunClan’s territory.

Mink

Description: a dark, thickly furred, semiaquatic mammal related to weasels, otters, and ferrets. They are very territorial and spend most of their time in one or two core areas of their territory, where food is plentiful. Mink are often two feet in length, making them a formidable opponent for any cat who attempts to hunt them and a danger to kits or untrained apprentices.

Location: mink prefer to live near water, making them a common sight throughout EarthClan and near the EarthClan-SunClan border.

Opossum

Description: an opportunistic marsupial that grows to the size of a cat. They have white-grey fur, prehensile tails, and small ears and eyes. They are omnivorous and have been known to attack cats and can be dangerous when attacked. However, often when they are threatened they mimic the appearance of a rotting animal by fainting and secreting a foul-smelling fluid.

Location: found throughout the territories, especially in EclipseClan.

Pine marten

Description: a two foot long weasel-like animal with bushy tails comprising about a third of their total length. Their fur is variable in color, ranging from a pale beige to dark brown. They are agile climbers and spend much of their time in trees, where they prey on squirrels and chipmunks. Pine martens rarely attack cats unless threatened, but can be an indirect threat by competing with the clans for prey.

Location: they prefer mixed coniferous and deciduous forests, which mean that pine martens live in the central area of MoonClan’s territory.

Prairie vole

Description: a vole with long, coarse, greyish-brown fur on the upper portion of their body and yellowish fur on the lower part of their body. They have a short tail and short ears. They are active year-round, though are active during the day in colder weather and at night in warmer weather.

Location: Prairie voles stay to dry fields with ample grass cover, meaning that they stay primarily to SunClan’s territory.

Short-tailed shrew

Description: a large shrew species, with a short tail, velvety grey fur, and a sharp sense of smell. They are opportunistic, but prefer insects, and other shrews, though are known to also eat salamanders and mice. Their saliva contains a protein that can paralyze their prey, but is not dangerous to a full-sized cat. They avoid predators by remaining hidden under vegetation and leaf litter, meaning that only cats with sharp senses of smell and hearing can catch them.

Location: found throughout EarthClan and MoonClan, often near sources of water.

Show-shoe hare

Description: a hare with large feet that prevent it from sinking into snow when it hops. Their fur turns white during the winter and rusty brown during the summer, with black tips on their ears year-round. As they are much faster than a cat, they’re often hunted in groups who surround the hare and chase it toward each other until it comes close enough to a cat that they can spring atop the hare.

Location: Snow-shoe hares prefer open spaces and young forests, making them consistently located in The Burnt Woods and SunClan’s territory.

Southern bog lemming

Description: a type of small vole covered in thick brownish fur. They have large heads and small eyes and ears. They eat mostly fresh vegetation and are active year-round, primarly at night. Their populations go through 4-year long boom and bust cycles, helped along by cats discovering and preying on their colonies.

Location: Lemmings are found throughout the forest and plains clans, but are especially common in SunClan and along The Burnt Woods.

Squirrels

Description: a handful of squirrel species are found throughout the clan territories, varying in size and color. They are medium-sized diurnal animals with long, fluffy tails and rodent-like teeth.

Location: They live and nest atop trees and make up a primary food source for EarthClan, EclipseClan, and MoonClan.

Star-nosed mole

Description: a small mole covered in thick, blackish-brown, water repellent fur with large scaled feet and a thick, naked tail. They have fleshy appendages ringing its snow, used as touch organs. They have poorly developed eyes, but are capable of smelling underwater and can sense electromagnetic fields as they search for prey in their underground burrows.

Location: these moles live in low, wet places, making them common only in EarthClan's territory.

Striped gopher

Description: A chipmunk-like squirrel with 13 alternating brown and white-spotted lines across its back and sides. They are strictly diurnal and are especially active on warm days, but hibernate through the winter. They live in long burrows with long side passages, a foot or two below the surface. It is known for surveying its domain in an upright position and its ability to run in reverse.

Location: found throughout the forest territories and occasionally in SunClan.

Water shrew

Description: a tiny, black, mouse-like animal with a long tail and hind feet. They are insectivores who dive to the bottom of slow-moving streams and wetlands, then bob to the surface with the help of air trapped in their fur.

Location: These shrews are found primarily in the southern reaches of EarthClan's territory.

White-footed mouse

Description: a small rodent with grey fur and white bellies. They are omnivorous and timid, but commonly reside along two-legs.

Location: these mice are common throughout the territories.

Woodland vole

Description: a small vole species with brown fur and a whitish or silvery underside. They have small ears, eyes, and tail, which aids their underground lifestyle. These voles live in family burrows and feet on the root systems of trees.

Location: they prefer wooded areas and dry fields, making them a fairly common sight in SunClan territory and in the northern reaches of MoonClan.

Fish

Alewife

Description: a flat, silver species of herring invasive to this region. They are about a foot and a half in length, and the front of their body is deep and larger than native fish.

Location: found in the deeper portions of the river.

American eel

Description: a slender, snake-like fish growing up to four feet in length. Their body is black and smooth as a result of their small, embedded scales. While an unmanageable catch full-grown, cats can hunt the juveniles.

Location: lives at the bottom of the river in burrows and masses of plant matter. They prefer muddy areas.

Banded killifish

Description: a small fish with distinct black and white vertical bandings.

Location: these fish live in small shoals throughout the water column in slower moving portions of the river.

Blacknose shiner

Description: a soft-rayed fish with gill arches that contain two rows of teeth. Their heads are scale-less, in contrast to the rest of their body. Their scales are bronze, but they have pale undersides and two long, lateral stripes along either side of its body.

Location: these fish prefer shaded, cool portions of the river, especially the weed-choked areas.

Blackside darter

Description: a dark olive fish with a row of black spots along their sides. They have black spots under their eyes and on their caudal fin. A small fish, backside darters rarely exceed three inches in length.

Location: these fish are fairly rare, found only in slow areas of the river with plenty of places to hide.

Bluegill

Description: These fish grow up to 12 inches long and four and a half pounds. Their scales are deep blue and purple across their face and gill cover, dark olive bands down their sides, and a bright orange or yellow stomach. They are voracious fish that will eat anything they can fit into their mouth. Thankfully, that does not include a cat.

Location: these fish prefer to hide around or inside underwater structures, such as rotting trees or rocks.

Bluntnose minnow

Description: a small fish with a rounded head. They have a “cross-hatched” look due to the dark coloration of the edge of their scales. They have a black dot at the end of their tails.

Location: these fish are very abundant and can be found throughout the river and park pond.

Bowfin

Description: a 20-inch long fish with an elongated, olive-colored body covered in a dark netted pattern. The underside is white or beige. They can also get oxygen from both their gills underwater, and by gasping at the surface.

Location: found in the slow moving warm water in the smaller creeks of EarthClan's territory.

Central mudminnow

Description: a small fish that is unusually tolerant of low oxygen waters. Their scales are bronze to muddy brown in coloration.

Location: they thrive in the slow-moving, warm parts of the river.

Central stoneroller

Description: a small, minnow-like fish whose spine forms a black stripe across their side. They feed primarily on algae scraped from the sides of rocks and nose smaller rocks around to create bowl-shaped depressions in calm water.

Location: found in the calmest portions of the river.

Common carp

Description: a common fish with a wide, silver body, and a yellow patch of scales along their tails.

Location: found in the faster-moving parts of the river.

Common shiner

Description: a four to six inch long fish with bronze scales and rust-colored scales.

Location: found in the rocky stretch of river under snake gorge.

Creek chub

Description: a 2-6 inch long minnow with a dark brown body and a white line spanning across their body. These fish are extremely adaptable and can live in many different foods and water parameters.

Location: found in schools throughout the river.

Golden redhorse

Description: a 12-18 inch long fish, weighing around 4 or 5 pounds. They have olive backs, white bellies, and golden scales along its sides. They are very sleekly built, allowing them to fight up currents.

Location: these fish prefer calm, sandy portions of the river.

Goldfish/Koi

Description: brightly colored orange, white, or yellow fish. They have a variety of color patterns and body shapes, but because they are often on display in shallow water by two-legs, they are an easy snack for any EclipseClanners who aren’t nervous about getting their paws wet or being yelled at by a two-leg.

Location: found in the park’s pond in EclipseClan territory.

Grass pickerel

Description: a fish in the pike family with greenish-brown scales. Their fins have dark leading edges and a more amber coloration than their bodies. They grow to a foot and a half long and approximately 2 pounds.

Location: these fish live primarily in sluggish, vegetated portions of the river.

Hornyhead Chub

Description: A four to six inch long fish, rarely reaching 9 inches. It has a silver and gold tinted body, with a small red spot behind its eyes.

Location: Found in pools, creeks, and the slower moving parts of rivers.

Largemouth bass

Description: an olive-green fish with dark blotches forming a horizontal stripe across each side. They are much too large for a cat to reasonably kill at their full size of 30 inches and 25 pounds, but are manageable when younger.

Location: they live in the widest-fastest moving portions of the river.

Longnose gar

Description: a large fish with a slender body, olive scales, and one dorsal fin near the end of the back. The gar has a long, narrow snout and a mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth, which can be dangerous to cats who attempt to catch them or accidentally stray near them while swimming. They can survive out of water for hours, granted that their body remains moist.

Location: found in weedy or rocky areas of the river, especially under Snake Gorge.

Northern brook lamprey

Description: a long, silver, jawless fish with one dorsal fin that runs along their entire length. They spend most of their lives buried in fine sediment or gravel.

Location: the warm, clean streams to the southern reaches of SunClan.

Redside dace

Description: a ray-finned fish that leaps from the water to feed on flying insects. They have a bright red stripe extending from their head to their dorsal fin, but are otherwise grey.

Location: found in schools throughout the upper layers of the river.

Silverjaw minnow

Description: A small fish, 2-3 inches long. It possesses a silvery-white color with tan fins.

Location: Large schools exist at the bottom of shallow creeks and streams with sandy floors.

Stonecat

Description: a small, flat-headed catfish with thick, yellowish-brown skin and a whitish belly. They have very few, weak teeth. Fully grown, they can reach up to twelve inches, but average four to eight inches.

Location: these fish prefer fast-moving, rocky areas of the river.

Sunny kivver

Description: a four inch long fish ranging from orange, green, to blue in color with bright speckles and stripes across their sides. They are among the most vibrant fish in the clans’ territories. Their body is compared in shape to a pumpkin seed.

Location: these fish live in the clear, sunny, slow-moving portions of the river along the EarthClan-SunClan border.

Weed Darter

Description: a tiny, slim fish with two dorsal fins and sandy coloration. The bottom halves of their dorsal fins have blue, rectangular spots.

Location: these fish prefer cool, clear water over sand. Therefore, they’re a common sight along Sunning Rocks.

Western blacknose dace

Description: a tiny yellow fish with a red stripe running down both of their sides and forked tails. Sometimes, dark blotches are scattered across their sides.

Location: they are found in the quietest, shallowest parts of the river.

White sucker

Description: a long, round-bodied fish with a dark back and a lighter underbelly. When full grown, these fish can grow over a foot long and weigh up to 6 pounds, making them a prey source. Unfortunately, these fish are rare and stay to the bottom of the murkiest parts of the river, which make them very difficult catch.

Location: these fish are occasionally found at the bottom of the darkest, murkiest portions of the river.

Yellow bullhead

Description: a medium-sized catfish with mottled, olive-yellow skin. They have white “whiskers” and grow to be as large as 7 pounds. These fish are tough scavengers that feet on the bottom of the river, making them difficult for cats sitting on the shore to catch.

Location: anywhere in the river with a sluggish current.

Yellow perch

Description: a 4-10 inch fish with a maximum weight of four pounds. They have a yellow body with olive-green vertical triangular bars. These fish are also a favorite of two-legs, who hunt them throughout green-leaf in EarthClan's territory.

Location: these fish travel in large schools in the deeper portions of the river.

Scavenged food

Crowfood

Description: any prey or other food that has become rotten or otherwise unfit to eat. Cataas will eat this only when desperate, as it is known to cause bellyaches or other illnesses.

Location: Rotten food can always be found in The Scavenging Place.

Pellets

Description: Dry pellets provided by two-legs. Pellets are occasionally compared to rabbit droppings due to its visual similarities and general unpalatability.

Location: occasionally left out for feral cats or kittypets by two-legs in the city.

Two-leg food

Description: food prepared by and consumed by two-legs

Location: scavenged from trash throughout the city, especially in The Scavenging Place.

Sources

• http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12145_12201---,00.html
• https://www.allaboutbirds.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fauna_of_Michigan#Mammals
• http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/spatialdatalibrary/pdf_maps/fish_atlas/maps/

Hello everyone! This past July on the site has been full of ups and downs, from the excitement of a two-leg attack on a rabbit warren in SunClan territory to the frustration of a Webs glitch that prevented everyone from posting or even staying logged in. August will hopefully have all off the excitement and none of the glitches, but we’ll see how it goes. Registrations are scheduled to remain open. However, the moderators will be handling rule enforcement and taking the lead on organizing the plot from July 29th-August 11th as I will be out of the country and my activity will be sporadic at best.

The series of Monthly Meows comparing the canon series to this roleplay will continue next month, in the meantime we have a guide from Kingfish on how to write hero or villain characters. Thank you so much, King, for writing this monthly meow! If any of you would like to submit your own monthly meow, check out the Member Submitted Monthly Meows Blog Entry.

Making a hero or a villain is actually harder than it sounds. You can't make them perfectly good or pure evil or else they aren't believable. Good guys that are too good are often called "Mary Sue" or "Gary Stu", meaning that they are so perfect and so good that virtually everyone hates them. Likewise, a villain that is just evil is boring, and people don't often care; the villains become very forgettable.

So, how do you go about making a believable villain or hero?

The first step is to take time to make them a backstory. Now, these don't have to be long, complicated novels that make your character super-duper deep, (in fact, Ember gets annoyed when character descriptions go over about 500 words) they just need to be something that gives your character a base. As an example, I will be creating two characters: Redfire, the hero, and Swordtongue, a villain.

In Redfire's case, he is a hero, and needs to therefore be good, and in the same way, Swordtongue needs to be bad in order to be a villain. Here, I will show you do's and don'ts for making back stories…

1. Dark Backstories

If you want a hero who understands loss and pain, or want to create a villain in general, they need a dark and tragic backstory, right?

WRONG!

Heroes don't necessarily have to suffer to understand suffering. Nor do villains need a deep dark reason to be evil. For example:

DON'T: Redfire was born without a father around, because his father was killed during a white out by a ravenous gang of evil cats. Then when he was just a kit, his mother took him to DawnClan, where he was left to grow up. But his mother could not hold on. She was too weak from caring for him during the Leaf-Bare that she died of starvation shortly after giving him to the clan. Then, when he was an apprentice, he was bullied by the other apprentices because he was freakishly large, but unintimidating, and they beat him up a lot. He bears scars over his cheek from one incident with an apprentice. Now, he cares for orphaned kits , and vows to make sure no cat feels like they don't have a family.

Blah, it's just too much, isn't it? His whole backstory is sad, and therefore, you would think he'd put on a black cape and mask, claim that he's Batman, and brood about his life.

DO: Redfire grew up in a gang and only knew how to fend for himself and fight off other gang members who might want a bite of his meal. But, after running into his friend Bubblestream one day while on a hunt, he snuck away and met her more frequently. When she told him of her clan, he became curious about them, and after much convincing, he finally came into camp one day to meet the clan. The leader of MoonClan seemed interested and even intrigued by him, and soon, Redfire was accepted into the clan. He felt like family with the clan, instead of like another individual in a group, and he decided to stay.

But the thing that that most inspired him to remain with them was all of the kits without fathers. In the gang, his father was around, but not as a father- just another gang member; his mother was one of many queens who cared for him and the other kits in his gang, forcing him to compete for her undivided attention. He now feels a fatherly connection to MoonClan’s kits and apprentices, and wants to show them what it would be like to have a father. He spends his days mentoring them and treating them with love like a father would.

Much more interesting! Now Redfire isn't just a tragic character. While he does have a little heart ache- his father not treating him like a father would, and his mother not having time for him- he isn't made up of sad stories. He also still had a reasonably bright and personal story that many people could probably identify with in one way or another.

Now, to make a villain.

DON'T: Swordtongue was abused by an owner when he was a young kittypet. He got hit with bottles and was kicked by his owner, and then he thrown from a car, and left to die. Then, he was taken in by a gang that only thrashed him on a daily basis. He was nearly killed until one day he finally killed the leader of the gang. Ever since, he felt an undying hatred for everyone.

He's not very well rounded, and he just sounds cheesy. So, how do we fix that?

DO: Swordtongue was raised in SunClan, and as he grew older, he realized he did not approve of the leadership style. Time after time, he waited for things to change, but instead the leaders in succession did nothing better than the ones preceding them. Finally one day, he decided that he had had enough with it. That was the day his friend Rabbitchaser was promoted to deputy. Determined not to watch his clan fail again, Swordtongue persuaded Rabbitchaser to make bolder decisions than the leader, Wrenstar, and force her hand by starting more border skirmishes, invading other clans, and taking prey from the surrounding territories; perhaps then SunClan could be perceived as a strong clan. Then, he convinced Rabbitchaser to do the unthinkable: kill Wrenstar. The assassination didn’t work; Swordtongue warned Wrenstar in time and Rabbitchaser was exiled. Finding no one else to turn to, Wrenstar named Swortdtongue deputy. Now he just has to figure out how to control Wrenstar and change his clan for the better...

This backstory sounds more convincing, and his motive for being evil is simply not liking the way the clan is run, and is now taking things into his own hands... er, paws...

Also notice that Swordtongue is not in NightClan like most villains. While, yes, villains are allowed to come from evil origins such as a gang or NightClan, making a villain in a less suited clan makes them stand out more. An example of this is Weepingstar, who came from MoonClan. MoonClan is a good clan, right? Thus, he is memorable not only for his actions, but also for his clan of origin.

2. Creating a Disposition and Weaknesses

Dispositions and weaknesses are another way to round your character. After all, no one is flawless, and everyone has his or her own vice.

DON'T: As a hero, Redfire is a kind tom and all he ever does is be nice to people. He loves everyone, and with a love a strong as his, he feels the need to protect everyone, and would even die at the drop of a hat for his friends. Red believes in being nice to everyone, no matter what they've done to you.

Redfire is just too good. He has no real personality. While it’s not bad that he’s good, his goodness borders on cringe-worthy. No one can relate to him and without conflict, a roleplay just isn’t interesting! Here’s how to fix it:

DO: Redfire is a kind cat, and he truly loves his clan mates. But, for as much as he loves them, he fears death, and cannot bring himself to truly put his own life on the line for his clan mates. He hates that he is that way, but when he looks death in the face, he turns back, too afraid of what might happen, or rather, what may not happen after he passes.He also has anger issues. While he is kind, if someone makes him angry, it takes a lot to calm him down. Red once took his anger too far and hurt Bubblestream. While he has has since tried to conceal his rage, it still plagues him. On top of that, he has a hard time with "turning the other cheek"; he prefers revenge. Letting go is too hard.

So, now Redfire is still good in his core, but he also has vengeance problems and a fear of death that keeps him from being sacrificial and following a basic tenet of The Warrior Code.

One method I use to making a good guy is to make your ideal hero, and then add struggles to him. These can become very minor ones like laziness, or can be as serious as an addiction of sorts. When I say addictions, this doesn’t mean they have to be into catnip all the time. This could be things like enjoys getting into arguments or fights, or eats non-stop. Remember that on this site, the role play must remain PG or less.

Now, for villains...

DON'T: Swordtongue is a hateful, evil cat. He hates everyone, and is insane. Blood is his favorite flavor of ice cream, and he bathes in the guts of his slain victims. He has never loved anyone, and has no interest in anyone but himself.

*Yawn* All he does is hate. No one really cares. So how do you fix it?

DO: Swordtongue is a very mild tom cat. Slow talking, relaxed and often cool-headed, he rarely over-reacts to anything, but instead studies the problem and proceeds to handle it as he sees fit. Around friends and she-cats, he's charming, always friendly and- if he can say so-the life of the party; it would seem many cats very well like him.

But while he's kind to their faces, he holds no one closer than arm's length. After all, he says, “trust is like willingly putting your head on the executioner's block and not expecting to get killed.” With his little trust, he also has severe punishments for those who betray him or his views. Anyone who turns his back on the clan, he sees as death-worthy; cats who are too cowardly to fight in a battle and do their share to protect the clan deserve to be publicly shamed and beaten if not killed for their treachery. If someone makes an attempt on his life or reputation, he quietly executes. All of this out of the sight of others. And he seems to have no exceptions; not warriors, not queens, not apprentices.

But that's where is mercilessness stops. As cruel as he can be, he physically cannot make himself kill a kit. He won't even kill it if it is unborn inside a queen. Swordtongue isn't sure why, though it could be to blame for the fact that he's always wanted a mate and kits, but has been so mistrusting that he couldn't ever have that. If he couldn't have kits, why should he make kits suffer because of it?

Swordtongue seems kinds of scary now, and also kind of relatable. The key to a good villain is to make them almost good, minus the fact that they are okay with murder/blackmail/other means of evil. Remember: mental illness in villains is a very hard way of playing. While I’m sure most other players will let you get away with making a character with a mental disease, playing them correctly must be a priority. Research the illness first before you make an “insane” villain and strive to make your portrayal respectful to those who suffer from the disease.

3. Lusting for Blood/Always Doing the Right Thing

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: no one is purely evil or purely good.

For an example, Redfire and Swordtongue will demonstrate a scene. At a gathering, Swordtongue hears Snowstar claim that MoonClan is thriving, but has neglected to tell the other clans that DawnClan has taken some of their territory, and are now suffering from the loss. Finding him weak, Swordtongue decides to talk to a MoonClan warrior, Redfire. Swordtongue believes that Snowstar’s demise would not only benefit MoonClan, but also give SunClan an opportunity to ally with, if not take over, MoonClan in their time of need.

DON'T: Redfire shook his head. "No, Swordtongue! I would never kill Snowstar; he's been a good leader, and I could never betray him like that!" he spat. "And if you want him dead so bad, then you'll have to fight me!"

Okay, not bad, honestly, but not all heroes just do the right thing, and it's very interesting to make heroes struggle to do the right thing.

DO: Redfire looked at Swordtongue with confused eyes. Kill Snowstar? But, why?

"Why would you, of all cats, want Snowstar dead?" He asked. When Swordtongue explained that Snowstar had betrayed his own clan by letting DawnClan take that sliver of territory by the moor, the one place that held the most prey, without even fighting for it, Redfire tilted his head. Sword was right, Snowstar had done nothing to keep DawnClan from taking MoonClan’s food source, and now they are starving. He flicked an ear.

"It... would be easier to kill him... And MoonClan might be better off..." His yellow eyes rose to Swordtongue again. "But what about Warblerfeathers? If she becomes leader..."

"She would form an alliance with SunClan to stand against DawnClan, and we would both get along just fine; no one would stab the other in the back, and no one would leave their clan in the dust for their own skin."

Red blinked. "Yes...." His eyes widened again. "But, no! I'm a loyal warrior of MoonClan; I can't kill him!"

"Then you leave your clan to starve just like Snowstar is doing." Swordtongue looked up at the waning full moon. "Good night, Redfire; I do hope your clan doesn't die off by the time leaf-fall is over." And with that, the gray tabby tom walked away.

Now, for Swordtongue's side of this...

DON'T: "He must die!" whispered Swordtongue to himself. He hated Snowstar. He always seemed so high and mighty, and he was a MoonClanner, now a sworn enemy. His claws itched at the frosty ground, and he swept his tongue over his right fang. He could already taste Snowstar's blood in his mouth. If only no one would kill him, he would jump up on high rock and tear his throat out! How could he let DawnClan take away other clans’ territories?

He only seems crazy. Calculated killers are often scarier and work better in the context of a medium-sized roleplay, such as this one.

DO: "Pathetic, cowardly excuse for a leader..." muttered Swordtongue. He hated Snowstar. Ever since the leader gave up the moor to DawnClan, Sword had seen him as weak. He'd rather be killed for decimating an enemy clan than let his own clan starve. And now Snowstar had the gall to stand in front of the four clans and claim that he was not a force to be reckoned with? DawnClan's newest territorial addition was proof enough that he was a liar!

Sword flicked his tail back and forth. As much as he disliked the other clans, it wasn't fair that MoonClan was dying without cause. Leaf-Fall made hunting hard, and without their hunting ground, they would die in a famine. If MoonClan was to live, Snowstar had to resign or…

...Die. His blue eyes lifted to the leader once more.

"Is that how MoonClan can survive...?" He looked down toward his paws as the faintest shadow of a grin flickered at the corners of his lips. "Then you'd better start praying, sir; they might not spare you while you're alive."

He looked over at the congregation of MoonClan. If he just started with one warrior... Maybe he could turn the entire clan on Snowstar...

Here, Swordtongue seems slightly concerned for MoonClan, but he also wants all of MoonClan to kill their leader. Thus, he's still a villain, but he's not just blood lusting.

Of course, these are not absolutes. All of the examples above have their own flaws. Play with your characters, but do remember to keep some of these tips in mind to keep your stories interesting.

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Foxkit, Lionkit, Falconkit, Riverkit, Moonkit, Jaykit, Snowkit, Flamingkit, Enchantingkit, Breezekit, Firekit, Dark-kit, Candlekit, Mammothkit: Early August

Amberkit, Pinekit, Cometkit, Wispkit, Ivykit, Rainkit: Late August

Warriors:

Glidingpaw, Beetlepaw, Shadepaw, Ghostpaw, Stillpaw, Ravenpaw: Early August

Blackpaw, Moltedpaw, Flowerpaw, Coalpaw, Teutonicpaw, Hysteriapaw, Dicepaw, Splatterpaw, Twistedpaw, Milkypaw, Quietpaw, Cloakedpaw, Triumphpaw: Mid August

Mauka: Late August

Medicine Cats: Doepaw (Early August)

Elders: Kaiserstar

Deaths: Kendrick, Dawnfire, Silentcrusader, Blazestripe

EarthClan

Apprentices:

Nettlekit: Early August

Nightkit: Mid August

Stormkit, Ashkit: Late August

Warriors:

Mistpaw, Summitpaw, Pheasantpaw, Shadepaw: Early August

Duckpaw, Baredpaw, Goldenpaw, Dovepaw, Cougarpaw, Wolfpaw, Coyotepaw: Mid August

Foxpaw: Late August

Medicine Cats: Sorrelpaw (Early August), Smallpaw (Early August)

Elders: Decimus CV, Threekings

SunClan

Apprentices:

Brindlekit, Cloudkit, Rock-kit, Tumblekit, Icekit, Mintkit: Early August

Dawnkit, Deliverance, Honeykit, Dusk-kit, Vanishingkit, Sparrowkit, Whitekit, Greykit, Pumpkinkit: Mid August

Xenokit: Late August

Warriors:

Flightpaw, Cinderpaw, Lusterpaw, Monarchpaw, Moorpaw, Ma’at, Ashenpaw: Early August

Returning Moon, Coyote: Late August

Medicine Cats: Maplepaw

Elders: Doehunter, Gorsepelt

Deaths: Sedgefoot, Coalnose, Bramblefrost, Tungstenwolf

NightClan Rebels

Apprentices:

Queenkit: Mid August

Jaykit, Goldenkit, Birchkit: Late August

Warriors:

Temptationpaw: Early August

Owlpaw, Icepaw: Mid August

Tiger: Late August

Elders: Belarus

DawnClan Rebels

None

Hey guys, we have some planning to work out. By our usual calendar, the next gathering will fall this coming weekend (July 14-16) and the medicine cat meeting the weekend after that (July 21-23).

As well, we have planned a dog attack on MoonClan and to have the humans gas a rabbit warren in SunClan territory, followed by a major battle. We can have the dog attack and rabbit warren gassing happen in the coming week (which MoonClan and SunClan can try to hide during the gathering), followed by the gathering. Then, to give us a bit of time for the battle, we can let two weeks pass and have the battle take place on the weekend of the 28th-30th. Does that sound alright to you? None of this is set in stone, just my attempt at how it could work, so if you have any ideas please speak up.

Regardless of when exactly the gathering happens, about 30 cats should attend the gathering from each clan. Leaders, make sure that each member with an eligible character in your clan has at least one character attending and try to have the invited character lists posted as soon as possible. The clans will travel to Hawk’s Tree on Friday, the gathering will officially begin Saturday, and the clans should return to their camps by Sunday evening but the gathering can go past that point if necessary. As well, I’ve noticed that the medicine cat meetings have been poorly attended lately. Medicine cats, please put the meeting down on your calendars as I will not be sending out any reminders for it.

 

Hello everyone! I hope you’ve had a fantastic June and have even more exciting plans for July. The roleplay has been pretty active lately and we have lots of fun things planned in-character. Out of character, registrations are still open and are likely to remain so for a while longer, so if you have any friends you think might be interested in the site, please show it to them.

This is part five of the series of Monthly Meows comparing the canon universe to Warrior Cats of the Forest. Rather than jumping straight into discussing our specific clans’ specific to the individual canon clans, for this Monthly Meow I’ll be going over the general similarities between our clans as a whole and the canon ones. Previous topics in this series included The Warrior Code, naming conventions, demographics, and the living clans’ relationship with their dead. As in the previous Monthly Meows, I used the Avon paperback 2004 American edition of Into the Wild, my sketchy memory of the rest of the books, and the Warriors Wiki to write this, so if you see anything inaccurate please speak up. As well, The Warrior Cats canon universe is notoriously riddled with contradictions and continuity errors and is far beyond the scope of these newsletters, so I’ve limited these Monthly Meows to primarily focusing on the first six books published (Into the Wild-The Darkest Hour).

Our clans differ in a few key ways from their clan counterparts beyond the specifics of clan personality and territories. For instance, while the canon clans are all named after their founders, the only clan on this website to follow that tradition is MoonClan, the first clan. The rest were named rather haphazardly, with RiverClan being named after the canon clan and BoneClan being modeled after the canon BloodClan. I called up the friend who named StormClan, but she didn’t remember her reasoning so that one’s a mystery. NightClan was next, named to match MoonClan. DawnClan followed the nighttime theme with a bit of hope symbolism to reflect the reason Amberstar founded the clan to begin with. SunClan was named both to mirror the other clans’ names and the fact that SunClanners live in full sunlight without the shade of trees or buildings. EarthClan got its name both to fit in with SunClan and MoonClan, and to reflect a sense of stability that the new clanmates hoped for.

The other differences are centered on the clans’ location. The canon clans are located in England, while ours are near Detroit, Michigan. While a bunch of plants native to England have bled over onto this site (such as gorse), others haven’t (blackthorn is mentioned several times throughout the first book). The recently published Herbs Guide lists more specifics, but due to the shift there are some herbs from the canon series that do not thrive in Michigan, and some herbs that are unique to this website. As the herbs guide is so new it has yet to be integrated into the website fully or affect roleplay yet, but I look forward to seeing medicine cats using our Michigan natives in the future. The weather in both Michigan and England is wet and fluctuates with the season, so even members who don’t know that the clans here are located in Michigan go ahead with our seasons system without any trouble.

While this departs more into clan practices, which will be covered in a future Monthly Meow, the canon clans don’t know where the others’ camps are (page 94 and 254 of Into the Wild). I don’t know how this would be the case, given that there is a history of fighting and they always seem to target each other’s camp. Cats on this website fall into the other extreme, knowing so much about the other territories that their knowledge can step into being unrealistic for those who have not lived in another clan. This knowledge gap could be attributed to territory size. In the canon series, it takes a few hours to cross over a clan’s entire territory (page 59 Into the Wild), but on this site it isn’t unheard of for even DawnClanners unaccustomed to running long distances to travel from their camp to NightClan’s camp at an unbroken run. Even less realistic, cats jump between threads like no time has passed at all, usually for the sake of convenience and sometimes to the detriment of the roleplay.

I’ve already gone over the specifics of clan structure on the Warriors Hierarchy Guide, so I won’t be too repetitive here, but while the overall clan structure between our clans and the canon clans is mostly the same, there are a few key differences. Leaders and deputies, for instance, do not play an entirely essential role in organizing the clan’s day to day activities. Rather, warriors set up patrols of their own and patrols are generally less formal than they are in the canon books (Into the Wild, page 93). This is mostly for out of character reasons, as leaders and deputies can’t be online all of the time and if they were expected to set up every patrol, nothing plot-related would ever get done. Leaders in the series also take a more active role in resolving personal issues, a role which is mostly left to other clan members due to the sheer size of the clans on this website. As discussed in the last Monthly Meow, medicine cats on this website serve mostly as healers, with their role as a spiritual guide and interpreter being pushed to the side. As well, queens take up the responsibility of teaching kits about the code on this website, not medicine cats. Warriors take up a larger portion of our clans than they do in the canon series. As well, senior warriors are a much more official rank in the series than they are on this website, where the term is rarely even used. The warriors of the series also know some basic herbs (Into the Wild page 240), while roleplaying warriors with medicine cat knowledge frowned upon on this website. Warriors in both the canon clans and in our clans are responsible for training apprentices, but again for mostly out of character reasons, the bond between mentors and apprentices is much stronger in the canon series. Despite those differences, the role of a warrior in both the canon clans and in our roleplay is the same: to feed and protect the clan.

Are there any other differences you guys have noticed between the clans in the canon series and our clans on Warrior Cats of the Forests? I’d love to hear them in the comments! The next Monthly Meow in this series will likely be comparing the clans to their canon “counterparts.”

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Thunderkit, Tawnykit: Early July

Silverkit, Autumnkit, Crimsonkit, Leafkit, Owlkit, Barredkit, Jaggedkit, Glacierkit, Heatherkit, Kaiser II, Cinderkit, Callingkit, Shellkit, Nettlekit, Riverkit: Mid July

Foxkit, Lionkit, Falconkit, Riverkit, Moonkit, Jaykit, Maplekit: Late July

Warriors:

Flamingpaw: Early July

Ghostpaw: Mid July

Hirondelle, Dragonpaw, Unbreakingpaw, Redpaw, Doepaw: Late July

Elders: Kendrick, Dawnfire, Silentcrusader, Twistedgrin

EarthClan

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Mossypaw (Early July)

Apprentices:

Hawk-kit, Dark-kit, Spiritkit, Fallenkit, Nightkit, Skykit, Legendkit, Meadowkit, Sinkit, Risingkit, Firekit: Early July

Rain, Tigerkit, Risingkit, Owlkit: Mid July

Warriors:

Blazingpaw, Velvetpaw: Early July

Penguinpaw, Walruspaw, Mask: Mid July

Ravenpaw: Late July

Deaths: Silverpool, Ricochet

SunClan

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Maplepaw (Mid July)

Apprentices:

White Oak, Beautiful Valley, Red Cloud, Star Dancer, Young Eagle, Foxtail Grass, Willowkit, Graykit, Daisykit, Variety of Flowers, Restless Sky, He Fights, Races Eagles, High Backed Wolf, Cottonwood, White Tailed Deer, Dusk-kit, Standing Elk, First to Dance: Early July

Walks Without Sound, Apep, Nephthys: Mid July

Burningkit, Downwardkit, Robinkit, Distant Thunder: Late July

Warriors:

Venompaw: Early July

Patchedpaw, Tigerpaw: Mid July

Elders: Coalnose, Bramblefrost, Sedgefoot

Deaths: Snakeslither, Tugstenwolf, Jaguargaze

NightClan Rebels

Warriors:

Red Cedartail, Stormpaw: Early July

DawnClan Rebels

Warriors:

Loomingpaw: Early July

Hello everyone!  I'm so sorry that I totally dropped the ball this past week and forgot about the gathering.  Thankfully, we don't have any big plots going on that will be hurt by pushing the gathering back a week.  So, the next gathering is scheduled to take place this coming weekend, June 16-18th.

About 40 cats should attend the gathering from each clan. Leaders, make sure that each member with an eligible character in your clan has at least one character attending and try to have the invited character lists posted as soon as possible. The clans will travel to Hawk’s Tree on Friday, the gathering will officially begin Saturday, and the clans should return to their camps by Sunday evening but the gathering can go past that point if necessary.

The medicine cat meeting will take place the following weekend (June 23-25th), following the same pattern.

Hi guys!  If you haven’t yet, please check out the last Plot Planning Page and the History Page, which was updated on the 25th.

As Ripple pointed out on the EarthClan Camp thread, there seem to be a whole bunch of disconnected side plots going on right now. Ideally, we can talk here about how to wind some of those side plots together to aid the overall plot.

As well, we need to decide what to do about the meeting between MoonClan and SunClan scheduled to take place in 14 in-game days. This doesn’t necessarily need to be 14 out-of-game days.

Hello everyone, I hope that you had a wonderful May! The past few weeks on this site have been very eventful, as NightClan and DawnClan merged into EarthClan and tore The Burnt Woods away from SunClan. For more details, please check out the History Page. Out of character, registrations are open and will likely remain so for at least another week, possibly two. If you have any friends who have been meaning to join the site, make sure they sign up before registrations close. As well, if you have some time you’d like to kill advertising for this site, please private message me. Before we jump into the fun part of this Monthly Meow, I have a few reminders for everyone. Firstly, please update your profile character lists to reflect the current pages (MoonClan, EarthClan, SunClan, and rebels separated by NightClan or DawnClan). If you haven’t filled out the member survey yet, it is still open and I will continue to check for new responses for the next week or so. Leaders, please remember to only post ceremonies for characters that are still on the pages. The Monthly Meows are not updated to account for characters that have moved or died, so the pages should be used as a reference for which characters actually need to be promoted with each ceremony.

This is part four of the series of Monthly Meows comparing the canon universe to Warrior Cats of the Forest, this time with a focus the relationship between the living clans and their dead ancestors. Previous topics included The Warrior Code, naming conventions, and demographics. As in the previous Monthly Meows, I used the Avon paperback 2004 American edition of Into the Wild, my sketchy memory of the rest of the books, and the Warriors Wiki to write this, so if you see anything inaccurate please speak up. As well, The Warrior Cats canon universe is notoriously riddled with contradictions and continuity errors and is far beyond the scope of these newsletters, so I’ve limited these Monthly Meows to primarily focusing on the first six books published. While roleplaying in StarClan and the Dark Forest outside of ceremonies or approved plot points is not allowed under ordinary circumstances, around Halloween each year we open up StarClan and Dark Forest threads. Most of the references to Dark Forest and StarClan cats from this site come from either those roleplays or ceremonies.

Across both the canon series and the clans of Warrior Cats of the Forest, StarClan is composed of deceased cats who live on as ghost-like spirits and watch over their living descendants. Only cats who have lived an honorable life and respected the warrior code –even if they broke it on occasion- are welcomed into StarClan. If a cat doesn’t live an honorable life, they go to the Dark Forest. However, on both our website and in the canon series, there isn’t a hard-and-fast rule to determine which characters deserve to go to StarClan. In the canon series the ThunderClan warrior Ashfur goes to StarClan, despite being involved in an assassination attempt on Firestar and attempting to kill Squirrelflight and her kits out of frustration with his unrequited love. Meanwhile, Thistleclaw was not responsible for any unjust deaths, but is found in The Dark Forest presumably for his somewhat violent tendencies. On this website, whether a character ends up in StarClan or The Dark Forest depends on the judgement of their owner. 

While in the canon series StarClan is responsible for sending omens and signs to the clans as warnings of dangers to come, the set-up involved in going through with prophecies constrains roleplaying and therefore hasn’t been used since the early days of the website. This marks what I consider to be the largest difference between clan life in the canon series and on WCF. In the canon series, even everyday occurrences or things clearly instigated by living cats are considered to be signs from StarClan. StarClan is also invoked less on this website. While in the canon series, cats are expected to give thanks to StarClan with every piece of prey they catch or eat and regularly say farewell with phrases such as “may StarClan guide your path,” neither of these practices are nearly as ubiquitous on the roleplay. Instead, StarClan is only consistently mentioned during ceremonies, in which they are ritually invoked with traditional ceremony words. However, unlike in the canon clans were ceremonies are a very solemn occasion believed to be overseen by StarClan, leaders on this website have been known to shorten or otherwise change ceremonies with little regard for StarClan. The only ceremony that is consistently left intact is the leadership ceremony, with the notable exception that lives are occasionally given by Dark Forest cats.

On both the website and in the canon series, medicine cats are considered to be specially bonded to StarClan. However, while this connection is the main reason they’re revered by the canon cats, medicine cats on this website are respected for their healing first, then their close relationship with StarClan. In both the canon series and this website, medicine cats meet regularly at the Moonstone. However, while in the canon series they go there to speak with their ancestors, on this website they only converse with each other instead of contacting StarClan.

How exactly a cat joins StarClan is poorly defined. In both the canon series and this website, StarClan is composed primarily of clan cats, that is, it isn’t overwhelmingly populated by kittypets. As well, cats don’t have to be in the clans at the time of their death in order to be welcomed into StarClan when they die. For instance, Pinestar in the canon series is found in StarClan despite having retired into the life of a kittypet at the time of his death. On our site, cats who were never in the clans are in StarClan. Often these are the deceased parents of cats, who are either spotted during StarClan roleplaying or give lives in leadership ceremonies. Across the canon series and WCF, how a cat transitions from life to StarClan is inconsistent. While sometimes when a cat dies, they are guided to StarClan by a deceased cat who played an important role in their life, sometimes cats simply close their eyes in the living world and reopen them in StarClan.

Unlike the living clans, where surviving is a struggle, the cats of StarClan live a leisurely existence free from the dangers the living cats face or the need to carry out defined tasks throughout the day, and therefore there is no need for a singular leader or rigid hierarchy. This is true across both the canon series and our roleplay.

Which rank a cat is in StarClan is inconsistent, as at different point cats are described as living in StarClan at the highest rank they would have achieved had they not died, or staying at the age they were upon death, or even living in StarClan as they age they were at when they were happiest. The one consistent thread is that once a cat is reborn in StarClan, they do not age. All of this is somewhat consistent with our roleplay, where the age of cats in StarClan is left to the discretion of their owner, but to my knowledge no one has roleplayed a cat in StarClan as older than they were at the time of their death. While it is possible for cats to be killed in StarClan in the canon series, this has never happened on this roleplay. In the canon series, a cat disappears from StarClan when they cease to be remembered by any living or dead cats. This has never come up in our roleplay, to my knowledge, and the closest equivalent would be cats who are forgotten because they belonged to a former member and cannot be found on the pages anymore. Strangely, the Character Updates Page acts as a sort of StarClan in which cats from before July 2013 have disappeared. One interesting aspect of joining StarClan that is rarely, if ever, discussed on the website is how that whenever a leader loses a life in the canon series, that life appears as a faint copy of the leader in StarClan that grows more solid with each lost life. This ghost-copy of the leader is unable to communicate with the other StarClan cats until that leader loses their final life and officially joins StarClan.

The actual territory of StarClan is described in the canon series as a moonlit forest in eternal green-leaf, always masked in cloud-like mist and shadows. Several locations exist in both The Forest territories and in the living world, such as Fourtrees. Interestingly, Fourtrees, not the Moonstone, is considered the most common landmark seen in the dreams of cats while visiting StarClan. Even after Fourtrees was destroyed by twolegs, it remained in StarClan as a remnant of cats’ memories of the place. On our website, the territory of StarClan has never been described in any great detail as StarClan threads are open for such a small portion of the year, but I imagine that they would follow a similar pattern of resembling the living clans’ territories, with prominent landmarks existing in both StarClan and the living territories. The canon Dark Forest, meanwhile, has a less defined territory. It’s described as dull, vast, and dank, with no shared landmarks with the living territories. As with StarClan, the WCF Dark Forest is poorly defined. Unlike the canon series, where cats in The Dark Forest rarely stumble across each other and live in almost complete solitude, The Dark Forest of WCF is more similar to StarClan in which cats travel and converse freely, as they would in the living clans.

One major difference between the relationship between StarClan and The Dark Forest in the canon series and on Warrior Cats of the Forest is the ability to travel between the two. While in the canon series, StarClan cats can enter the Dark Forest, but they risk being unable to find their way back out again. However, the opposite is not true and cats from The Dark Forest cannot travel into StarClan. On our website, the relationship is more fluid. The original StarClan/Dark Forest roleplay was all in one blog entry, leaving StarClan and Dark Forest cats jumbled up together. While they were later separated, cats still seemed aware of each other between the two threads. As well, cats who presumably would live in The Dark Forest after their deaths are spotted during leader ceremonies, sometimes even giving lives. This does not seem to occur in the canon series.

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Sagekit, Springkit, Lavenderkit, Shadekit, Ghostkit, Stillkit, Crowkit, Ravenkit, Havenkit: Early June

Seakit, Whitekit, Riverkit, Otterkit, Oceankit, Dovekit, Birchkit, Moltedkit, Flowerkit, Cinderkit, Coalkit, Ghostlykit, Teutonickit, Hysteriakit, Dicekit, Splatterkit, Swampkit, Twistedkit, Milkykit, Cloakedkit, Triumphkit: Mid June

Cow, Creamkit: Late June

Warriors:

Sparkpaw: Early June

Gingerpaw, Dutchpaw, Legendpaw, Reichpaw, Regalpaw, Pikapaw: Mid June

Elder: Solardemise

Death: Jerboapounce

EarthClan

Apprentices:

Shadekit: Early June

Maplekit, Furkit, Komorebi, Duck-kit, Goldenkit, Dovekit, Cougarkit, Wolfkit, Coyotekit: Mid June

Lurkingkit, Rye: Late June

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Mossypaw (Late June)

Warriors:

Wavepaw, Envypaw: Early June

Hailpaw, Tidepaw: Mid June

Nettlepaw, Graypaw, Rockpaw, Shadowpaw, Carnationpaw, Wolfpaw, Lostpaw, Lastpaw, Lastpaw, Smallpaw, Devilpaw, Ashpaw, Red Cedartail, Blazingpaw, Brokenpaw, Pantherpaw, Jaypaw, Blindingpaw, Toweringpaw: Late June

Elders: Boundstar, Murdercrow, Silverpool

Death: Alienfish

SunClan

Apprentices:

Wavingkit, Cinderkit, Lusterkit, Monarchkit, Moorkit: Early June

Returning Moon, Coyote Out Hunting: Late June

Warriors:

Frostpaw, Honeypaw, Lionpaw: Early June

Terrier, Lightningpaw, Dovepaw, Kindlepaw: Mid June

Lilypaw: Late June

Elder: Jaguarstar, snakeslither, Tungstenwolf

Deaths: Osiris, Horus

NightClan Rebels

Apprentices:

Quietkit, Baredkit, Bristlekit: Mid June

Owlkit: Late June

Warriors:

Elmpaw: Early June

DawnClan Rebels

Warrior:

Speckledpaw: Late June

Throughout the clans, medicine cats serve dual roles as advisors and healers. While how they are expected to behave in these roles and the medicine cats’ access to specific plants and other supplies vary, all medicine cats use herbs to heal their fellow clanmates from wounds and sickness.

This guide has been adapted from the herbs used in the canon Warriors series to account for our original clans and territories. As our clans are set outside of Detroit, Michigan, the herbs found in this guide are not identical to the ones found in the canon Warriors series. However, there is substantial overlap between our clans and the canon clans from plants having been introduced by humans to the United States or there being closely related species between The United States and England that share a common name. In addition to the plants from the original series that would reasonably be found in Warrior Cats of the Forests territory, I’ve included a handful of native Michigan medicinal herbs that our clans would be exposed to and incorporated into their healing practices.  For more information about the other species the clans' interact with, check out the Environment Guide, Prey Guide, and Enemy Animals Guide.

All references are listed at the bottom of this guide. As always, if you have any suggestions for corrections or additions, please message me.

Alder

Description: a deciduous tree with one or several trunks and broad, obovate leaves

Location: Grows in the boggy, wet terrain throughout EarthClan's territory and the across the EarthClan-MoonClan border

Usage: The bark is chewed to ease toothaches

Anise

Description: a herbaceous plant with a grooved stem and alternately arranged leaves. The lower leaves have a toothed edge, while the upper leaves are feathered and become progressively shorter toward the top of the plant.

Location: This plant is only found in the two-leg gardens of the city, meaning only EclipseClan consistently has it in stock.

Usage: The leaves are eaten in small doses to decrease bloating, and in high doses to help asthma and bronchitis.

Barberry

Description: A tall, thorny shrub with arching branches, wedge-shaped leaves, and thorns.

Location: As this plant requires full sunlight, it it most commonly found in SunClan territory.

Usage: Cats can eat the leaves to strengthen their liver

Basil

Description: a short-lived plants with a thick taproot and silky oval leaves branching out from its central stem.

Location: this plant is only found in the two-leg gardens of the city, meaning only EclipseClan consistently has it in stock.

Usage: the leaves are chewed into a poultice and slathered onto wounds to fight infection

Bearberry

Description: A small woody evergreen

Location: Grows in dense clusters throughout the fertile moist areas in MoonClan and EarthClan territories, as well as the Burnt Woods.

Usage: The leaves can be chewed into a poultice and slathered over wounds to fight infection.

Bergamot

Description: a square-stemmed herbaceous plant with paired, serrated leaves that are either triangular or oval.

Location: As this plant requires dry areas with full sunlight, it is most commonly found in SunClan territory but occasionally pops up in other clans.

Usage: Leaves and flowerheads are eaten to treat colic in kits, fever, yeast infections, and stomachaches.

Blackberry

Description: A bush bearing berries with thorny branches and prickly leaves

Location: This hardy plant can grow almost anywhere, but is most commonly found in MoonClan’s territory.

Usage: The leaves are chewed into a pulp and put on bee stings to ease the swelling.

Black Cohosh

Description: Smooth perennial plant with a long stalk rising above low-lying leaves

Location: Found only in the thick woodlands of MoonClan territory, near the Ancient Oak Grove.

Usage: The roots can be eaten to fight snake venom and inflammation.

Bloodroot

Description: A small, flowering plant with single, multi-lobed leaf.

Location: Found in rich, moist, floodplains and streambanks, making it a common sight in EarthClan's territory.

Usage: Poultice of root and rhizome can be used to treat skin ailments, while the root can be eaten in small doses to treat internal parasites, or in large doses to act as a deadly poison.

Blueberry

Description: Woody shrub with short stalks and small, elliptical, and slightly toothed leaves.

Location: Grows throughout EarthClan and MoonClan’s territory hwere it can find partial shade.

Usage: Queens can eat the leaves to lessen the pain of birthing.

Borage leaves

Description: A herbaceous plant with small blue or pink star-shaped flowers and hairy leaves

Location: Grows best in the thick forests of MoonClan’s territory, but can occasionally be found in EarthClan.

Usage: Is chewed and eaten by nursing queens to brings down fevers and allow them to produce more and better milk.

Broom

Description: A shrub with small leaves and small, yellow flowers.

Location: Only found in SunClan’s territory around the Sky Rocks, where it thrives in the well drained soil and full sunlight.

Usage: Used in poultices for broken legs and wounds to reduce swelling.

Bunchberry

Description: Small herbaceous plant with a whorl of six parallel veined leaves and characteristic white false petals.

Location: As this plant grows in colonies in cool woodlands and swamps, it can be found along the MoonClan-EarthClan border.

Usage: Elders can eat the leaves to treat aches and pains.

Burdock root

Description: Tall single-stalked plant with a purple-green hue and large, coarse, wavy edges leaves

Location: This plant thrives in the poor soil of roadsides and waste areas and is therefore most commonly found in the strip of land between EclipseClan's territory and the stream, but occasionally grows inside the city itself.

Usage: Roots eaten to treat rheumatism or chewed into a pulp and placed on rat bite to help prevent or treat infection

Burnet

Description: A short plant with oval-shaped leaves with serrated edges, with large clusters of small flower buds on top.

Location: As this plant prefers dry, grassy meadows, it is found most commonly in SunClan’s territory and occasionally grows in the park of EclipseClan's territory.

Usage: A traveling herb used to keep up a cat’s strength. As well, the leaves can be chewed and placed on wounds to help stop minor bleeding.

Catchweed

Description: A plant with fuzzy green balls topping long stems

Location: Commonly found in hedges or other low, shrubby vegetation throughout the clans.

Usage: Burrs are placed on the pelt where poultices are to stop the poultices from being rubbed off without hurting the skin.

Catmint

Description: A leafy, soft plant with a delicious smell

Location: this plant is only consistently found in the two-leg gardens of EclipseClan's territory, forcing other clans to attempt and steal it during greencough outbreaks.

Usage: The leaves are eaten to treat greencough and whitecough.

Chervil

Description: A sweet-smelling plant with large, leafy, fern-like leaves and small white flowers. The roots are knobby and brown.

Location: Found in any sunny, dry area with compact soil in the territories, making it most common in SUnClan and EclipseClan's, but occasionally found in the meadows of MoonClan

Usage: Chewed to extract the juice of the leaves or root to treat infected wounds or bellyache, or to relieve pain during kitting.

Chickweed

Description: A tell-stemmed plant with broad, almond shaped leaves

Location: Grows best in dry soil with full sunlight; found throughout SunClan and EclipseClan's territories, but occasionally grows in the meadows of EarthClan.

Usage: Eaten to treat greencough

Chicory

Description: A tall herbaceous plant with blue or white flowers, whose leaves form a basal rosette.

Location: Grows well in poor soil and constant sunlight, especially on roadsides and disturbed fields. This plant is most commonly found in EclipseClan's territory, but also grows alongside the road cutting through SunClan’s territory.

Usage: The root is chewed as a diuretic or laxative.

Chives

Description: An onion-like plant with large purple flowers

Location: This plant is only found in EclipseClan's territory, as it is commonly grown in two-leg gardens.

Usage: the scapes are eaten as a mild antiseptic and stimulant

Choke Cherry

Description: A large bush or small true with elliptical leaves and bunches of white flowers

Location: This versatile plant can grow in anything from swampland to dry, open woodlands and therefore can be found throughout the territories.

Usage: The roots and bark are chewed to help expel mucus.

Cleavers

Description: A three foot tall plant with whorls of six to eight simple leaves, covered in tiny velcro-life hairs.

Location: Found in the rich, moist woodland soils of MoonClan, EarthClan, and The Burnt Woods

Usage: Poultice of the stem and leaves relieves skin ailments.

Cobwebs

Description: The long, thin, shiny strands spun by a spider

Location: Everywhere. While all of the clans use cobwebs, EclipseClanners will occasionally find absorbent or sticky two-leg garbage as a substitute

Usage: Pressed over wounds to soak up blood and slow bleeding, as well as preventing kits from licking off the poultices

Coltsfoot

Description: A flowering plant with yellow or white flowers resembling dandelions.

Location: Grows best on shaded, moist ground. While this plant is only commonly found in EarthClan, it occasionally grows in MoonClan.

Usage: Leaves chewed into a pulp to eases breathing or kitten-cough, or slathered over cracked or sore pads.

Comfrey

Description: A plant with large leaves, small bell-shaped pink, white or purple flowers. This plant has fat roots and a tangy smell.

Location: Found along the river shores, particularly on the SunClan-EarthClan territory

Usage: The roots are chewed into a poultice to repair broken bones and soothe wounds. Occasionally used for wrenched claws, itching, inflammation of stiff joints, wrenched shoulders, or even burns.

Common hop

Description: A climbing plant with stiff downward facing hairs that provide stability. Their flowers are sweet-smelling and a favorite of butterflies.

Location: grows along the Abandoned Barn in SunClan’s territory.

Usage: The small cones are eaten to treat stress, insomnia, and digestive distress.

Corpse plant

Description: A strange, white and pink cane-shaped plant.

Location: This plant grows only rich, moist soil with plentiful shade and therefore is found solely in EarthClan's territory where it is still a rare find.

Usage: Entire plant can be eaten as a sedative or to provide pain relief.

Creeping snowberry

Description: A ground hugging creeping shrub with tiny oval leaves with a distinctive smell similar to that of wintergreen.

Location: Found in the mossy evergreen forests of MoonClan’s territory and occasionally migrates southward into the drier parts of EarthClan's territory.

Usage: the leaves and stem can be eaten to sooth headaches and muscle aches.

Curly dock

Description: A herbaceous plant with characteristic leaves with curled or wavy margins

Location: Requires moist, rich soil and therefore is most commonly found in EarthClan.

Usage: The root is dried out, then chewed by cats to treat anemia or respiratory conditions

Daisy

Description: A flower with dark green, oval shaped leaves

Location: This is a very common plant that can be found almost anywhere, but is most common in SunClan

Usage: the leaves are chewed into a paste and either eaten as a travelling herb or left to soak into the skin above aching joints.

Dandelion

Description: a common yellow-flowered plant with long, hollow stems. After flowering is finished, the flower transforms into a sphere made out of hundreds of smaller white florets with seed heads at the bottom that connected to the flower head.

Location: This plant is found almost everywhere, but is especially common in sunny areas and therefore is a staple of SunClan’s territory.

Usage: The white liquid from the hollow stems is applied to bee stings. The leaves may also be chewed to act as a general pain killer.

Elderberry

Description: A multiple stemmed shrub with small, dark purple to black berries.

Location: Grows in sunny locations in fertile soils, especially alongside bodies of water. Most commonly found along the SunClan-EarthClan border.

Usage: Cats can eat the ripe berries to treat rheumatism and or slather them over injuries to hasten healing.

Evening primrose

Description: A small herbaceous plant with a single, erect reddish flower stalk. The flower has four broad, white, yellow, or pale pink petals.

Location: Thrives in the poor, well-drained soil of EclipseClan and SunClan territories.

Usage: Roots can be eaten to treat inflammation and allergies.

Fennel

Description: A herbaceous plant with thin, spiky leaves

Location: Found in dry, sunny places such as SunClan’s territory and in the two-leg gardens of EclipseClan's territory.

Usage: The stalks are broken and the juice is squeezed into the receiver's mouth to treat migraines and dizziness.

Feverfew

Description: a small bush with flowers resembling daisies. It has a sharp and tangy smell and small, soft leaves

Location: This plant grows best along water and is therefore found alongside the river, most commonly in EarthClan territory

Usage: Eaten to reduce body temperature for cats with fever or chills. Also heals aches and pains and is especially good for headaches.

Fleabane

Description: A short lived weedy plant with a sparse rosette of basal leaves with toothed margins. The aster-like flowers are white, with yellow centers.

Location: This plant grows in wet meadows, open fields, and floodplains and can therefore be found in SunClan and EarthClan territories, especially along their borders.

Usage: Stem, leaves, and flower can be chewed into a poultice and rubbed onto ticks or into the pelts of flea-infested cats. May cause an itching sensation.

Garlic

Description: A bulbous plant with a short, woody central stem and a soft stem made up of overlapping leaf sheaths.

Location: this plant occasionally grows along the edge of the city, but is more commonly grown in twoleg gardens in EclipseClan's territory.

Usage: the root is eaten to strengthen elders’ hearts

Garlic mustard

Description: A plant with rosettes of triangular heart-shaped leaves with coarsely toothed margins. The small flowers are white and yellow.

Location: This plant grows in EarthClan territory and is tolerant of many different soil types, but requires partial shade.

Usage: The poultice is applied to wounds to stave away infection.

Ginseng

Description: Short plant with wide, oval leaves, thick roots, and bright red berries which grow in clumps

Location: Prefers to grow in full shade and on slopes, particularly in EarthClan territory.

Usage: Cats can eat the root or chew it into a poultice to slow inflammation.

Goldenrod

Description: A herbaceous plant with multiple lance shaped, three veined, serrated leaves. The single step is smooth at the base, but becomes hairy just below the flower branches.

Location: This plant is tolerant of many soil types and requires bright sunlight, making it a fairly common sight in SunClan and the meadows of EarthClan

Usage: The roots chewed into poultices to treat burns or eaten to soothe sore throats.

Goldenseal

Description: A small plant with coarse, hairy leaves with five to seven double toothed lobes. The stem is reddish to purple and like the leaves, is hairy.

Location: Lives only in rich, moist, densely shaded deciduous forests and is therefore found in EarthClan and MoonClan territories.

Usage: Root is chewed into a poultice to fight off infection or eaten to aid digestion.

Goosefoot

Description: A branching herbaceous annual with slender, grooved stems that are tinged with red where the alternate leaves meet the stem.

Location: Grows well in sunny areas with disturbed soils, making it a common sight along EclipseClan thunderpaths and The Burnt Woods.

Usage: Young shoots and leaves can be chewed into a poultice to help fight off infection.

Hawkweed

Description: A small green plant with yellow and orange flowers

Location: Found in the sunny, dry meadows of SunClan.

Usage: Eaten to treat greencough and whitecough, but is less effective than catmint.

Honey

Description: A sweet, golden-coloured liquid made by bees

Location: In honeycombs or bees nests up in trees. Honey is easiest to find in EarthClan's Bee Meadow, but can occasionally be swiped from other bee nests throughout the territories.

Usage: Eaten or given by moss soaked in it to sooth coughing and infections, as well as soothing sore throats or giving energy.

Horsetail

Description: A tall, bristly-stemmed plant with fleshy stalks

Location: Found along the river in all territories or in any other marshy areas.

Usage: chewed to a poultice and applied to wounds to treat infections and stops bleeding.

Houndstongue

Description: Distinctive green-gray shoots that smell of mice.

Location: Found only along Snake Gorge.

Usage: Chewed into a poultice to help wounds heal faster.

Jewelweed

Description: A herbaceous plant with toothed, oval leaves. The lower leaves are arranged in opposite, while the upper leaves are alternate. The stems are somewhat translucent and have swollen or darkened nodes.

Location: Grows in ditches and along creeks, where the soil is rich and moist. It is most commonly found between the city and river, north of The Burnt Woods.

Usage: The stems and leaves are chewed into a poultice and applied to stinging nettle and poison ivy rashes

Juniper

Description: A large evergreen bush with purple-blue berries and needles.

Location: Found in the dry woodland of MoonClan’s territory and The Burnt Woods.

Usage: the berries are chewed and eaten to soothe bellyaches, give strength, or helps troubled breathing. If nothing better is available, some medicine cats will use the berries to calm cats.

Lamb’s ear

Description: A low-lying, fuzzy green plant

Location: Found in dry areas with high elevation, such as in SunClan and EclipseClan territory.

Usage: Eaten to give a cat strength.

Lavender

Description: A small, purple flowering plant

Location: Can be found in the twoleg gardens of EclipseClan and in the sandy or gravelly patches of SunClan.

Usage: Placed under a cats nose and is to be inhaled constantly, or rubbed/placed on an animal's body to hide the scent of death. As well, lavender can be used to used to hide the smell of death, calm cats, and soothe irritated skin.

Lemon balm

Description: A two to three foot tall plant with lemon scented, heart-shaped leaves arranged alternately along the stem.

Location: Grows in open fields and the edges of forests. Prefers well-drained soils and full light, although it can be semi-shade tolerant. Commonly grown in two-leg gardens. Found in EclipseClan and SunClan territory, as well as along the western shore of the rivers.

Usage: Cats can eat the leaves and stem to improve appetite and digestion

Mallow

Description: A flowering shrub with fuzzy, three-nubbed leaves

Location: Grows best near river shores and can be found in all of the territories.

Usage: The leaves can be eaten to soothe bellyache.

Marigold

Description: A low-growing flower, yellow to bright orange

Location: Grows best in damp, partially shaded areas of EarthClan's territory.

Usage: Petals or leaves chewed into a poultice to stop infection or bleeding, as well as for the inflammation of stiff joints.

Marjoram

Description: A woody plant with multiple branching stems. The leaves are oval or round and are arranged alternately on the stem. The plants produce small pink or white flowers bearing brown fruit.

Location: Commonly grown in two-leg gardens, but requires full sun, which makes it a rare plant only found in EclipseClan's territory.

Usage: the leaves are eaten to treat stiff joints

Mayapple

Description: A herbaceous plant with a single branched stem and two large, deeply lobed umbrella-like leaves.

Location: Moist, lush woodlands; found only in the southern reaches of EarthClan's territory

Usage: The root can be eaten to treat worm infections.

Meadowsweet

Description: A shrub with dense, small leaves and bunched, white flowers.

Location: Prefers the full sun, and moist, rich soils along the SunClan-EarthClan bordered.

Usage: Entire plant can be consumed to dull pain and inflammations.

Motherwort

Description: A herbaceous plant with a square stem and opposite leaves with serrated margins.

Location: Found in the open fields and meadows of SunClan’s territory

Usage: Cats can eat the young leaves and shoots to treat insomnia or dull the pain of kitting.

Mouse bile

Description: A foul-smelling yellow-green liquid

Location: This substance is acquired from mice and is therefore more easily attained in MoonClan and EclipseClan.

Usage: The liquid is stored in moss and dabbed into ticks embedded in pelt to make them fall off.

Mullein

Description: A tall, herbaceous plant with a large rosette of fuzzy, green-gray leaves and a spike of light yellow flowers. The leaves are large, oval shaped and extremely hairy.

Location: found throughout SunClan’s territory as well as the meadows of EarthClan.

Usage: Flowers, leaves and roots can be eaten to quiet coughs.

Nightshade

Description: A small shrub with faintly scented, bell-shaped flowers that are purple tinged with green in colour. Berries are shiny and black when ripe.

Location: Moist, shady places. Often grows in places where the soils are rich in limestone. Found only in EarthClan's territory.

Usage: To quickly kill a cat who cannot be saved. Some medicine cats use them to end a cat's life to prevent unnecessary suffering and resource consumption.

Orange daylily

Description: The leaves are several feet long and bend to the ground under their own weight, leaving the leafless flower stalk to rise alone. The flower is large and bright orange

Location: A very flexible plant that does well in any brightly lit area. Most commonly found in EclipseClan and SunClan territories

Usage: All parts of the plant are eaten to quickly kill a cat who cannot be saved. Some medicine cats use them to end a cat's life to prevent unnecessary suffering and resource consumption.

Oregano

Description: A woody plant with multiple branching stems and round, alternately arranged leaves. The flowers are small and pink, purple, or white in color.

Location: Commonly grown in two-leg gardens and thus in EclipseClan territory.

Usage: the leaves are eaten to treat respiratory tract disorders.

Oxeye daisy

Description: A small herbaceous plant with a single stem and thin, serrated or deeply toothed edges.

Location: Found in the meadows, fields, roadsides and lawn edges of EarthClan, EclipseClan, and SunClan territories.

Usage: Leaves are eaten to to slightly lessen inflammation.

Parsley

Description: A long-stemmed plant with ragged-edged crinkly leaves, Sharp scent, tastes cold and fresh, tastes the same fresh or dried

Location: Grows best in moist, well drained soil, with full sun. Found in the eastern reaches of SunClan’s territory.

Usage: Eaten to stop a queen from producing milk if her kits die, don’t need milk anymore, or are producing too much milk. Can also be used to cure bellyache.

Peppermint

Description: A small, herbaceous plant with sharp-tasting ovate leaves, branching stems, and bunches of small purple flowers

Location: Commonly grown in the two-leg gardens of EclipseClan's territory.

Usage: The leaves are eaten to relieve soreness and digestive issues.

Pipsissewa

Description: A tall herbaceous plant with shiny, toothed leaves.

Location: found only in the dry woods of MoonClan’s territory

Usage: Leaves are chewed to treat backaches, coughs, bladder infections, and kidney infections

Plantain

Description: A herbaceous plant with broad, ovate leaves with prominently raised veins that run parallel to one another on the underside of the leaf. The base of the leaf stem is often purple in color.

Location: Occasionally found in the compact soil, cracks in sidewalks, and open meadows of EclipseClan and SunClan territories.

Usage: Cats can chew the leaves to soothe blisters, inflammation and intermittent fever.

Poppy

Description: A small plant with few, slender leaves and colorful flowers

Location: Found throughout the territories in sunny, well-drained areas. While it is most commonly found in SunClan’s territory, this plant occasionally grows in MoonClan clearings or in the EclipseClan park.

Usage: The seeds are eaten to help a cat sleep, sooth shock or distress, or ease pain. Not recommended for nursing queens.

Purple coneflower

Description: Flowers with prominent cone-shaped disk surrounded by deep purple flowers. Leaves are lance shaped, stiff, and hairy.

Location: Found in dry woods, prairies, and barrens. Prefers sandy, well-drained soil and can tolerate drought. Often grown by twolegs as an ornamental flower. While it is a staple of EclipseClan's territory, this plant is also occasionally found in MoonClan

Usage: The root can be chewed as a poultice to treat snake bites.

Ragwort leaves

Description: Tall shrub with yellow flowers. Tastes foul to cats.

Location: Grows almost everywhere, especially in the cool, wet areas of EarthClan's territory.

Usage: Crushed and chewed, then mixed with juniper berries to treat aching joints and keeps a cat’s strength up.

Rosemary

Description: Tall with needle-like leaves and purple flowers.

Location: a very tolerant plant grown by two-legs and easily found in EclipseClan's territory and occasionally spotted in the other clans’ territories.

Usage: Can be put on the pelt of a cat to prepare for burial and hide the scent of death.

Rush

Description: It has long narrow leaves and lavender-colored head stalks.

Location: Often grows in infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. Found along roadsides in EclipseClan and SunClan

Usage: Used to bind broken bones by helping to hold the broken limb in place.

Sage

Description: A bush with woody stems and broad, elliptical, silvery-green leaves and fragrant purple flowers on the ends of each stalk.

Location: while this plant is occasionally found in other clans’ territories, it is easiest to find in the two-leg gardens of EclipseClan's territories.

Usage: The leaves are eaten to treat digestive problems.

Saint John’s Wort

Description: A woody plant with a single branched stem, and opposing, stalkless, oblong leaves.

Location: St. John’s Wort can be found in the meadows, roadsides and other open areas throughout the clans, but is most common in SunClan’s territory.

Usage: Flowering plant tops are eaten to treat depression.

Sassafras

Description: A tall, deciduous tree with yellow-green egg-shaped leaves

Location: Grows best in rich, moist, loamy soils. As they mature they require full sunlight and are therefore found along the SunClan-EarthClan border.

Usage: The leaves are chewed into a poultice to speed healing.

Sheep sorrel

Description: An upright herbaceous plant with arrow-shaped leaves,

Location: This plant favors moist soil, so it thrives in floodplains or near marshes. Found most commonly in EarthClan's territory, though it’ll occasionally pop up along the shores of the river in other clans’ territories.

Usage: The leaves are eaten to treat fevers and inflammation.

Shepherd’s purse

Description: A weedy herbaceous annual with deeply lobed leaves that grow in a basal rosette. Easily mistaken for dandelion.

Location: Along thhe roadsides and unmowed meadows and lawns of SunClan and EclipseClan.

Usage: The young leaves can be chewed into a poultice to stop bleeding.

Skullcap

Description: A slightly hairy plant with toothed, ovate leaves that are arranged in opposite

Location: Skullcap grows in the rich woods with moist thickets throughout EarthClan's territory and occasionally in MoonClan’s southern reaches.

Usage: The leaves are eaten as a mild sedative, used to calm and soothe nerves.

Solomon’s Seal

Description: An approximately three foot tall herbaceous plant with alternate, parallel veined leaves. The bell-like flower is drooping, with whitish to yellow-green petals.

Location: Found in the rich woods of MoonClan and EarthClan.

Usage: Cats can eat the rootstock to treat indigestion and arthritis.

Staghorn sumac

Description: A deciduous perennial shrub or small tree with a velvety texture and alternate, compound leaves

Location: Found along the dry forest edges and roadsides along the EclipseClan-MoonClan border.

Usage: Cats can eat the berries to treat persistent coughs.

Sweet cicely

Description: a tall herbaceous plant with fern-like leaves and clumped white flowers. the plant is hairy and smells sharply when crushed.

Location: Commonly grown in the two-leg gardens of EclipseClan's territory.

Usage: the leaves are eaten to help with cough and other breathing problems.

Sweet sedge

Description: Thick green stem with long buds at the top.

Location: Prefers moist soil and grows throughout EarthClan's territory.

Usage: Cats can swallow the sap to ease fever and infection.

Sweet woodruff

Description: A plant with white, sweet-smelling flowers that lies on the ground or is supported by other plans

Location: Occasionally grown in the two-leg gardens of EclipseClan's territory.

Usage: the leaves are chewed into a poultice or eaten to treat inflammation.

Tarragon

Description: A small, shrubby herb with glossy, pungent leaves

Location: Commonly found in EclipseClan's territory in two-leg gardens.

Usage: The leaves are dried out and eaten to fight toothache and infections.

Tetterwort

Description: A yellow flower with four horizontal flowers

Location: Grows in the partially-shaded, damp forest ground of the more thinly forested areas of EarthClan's territory

Usage: Juice is trickled into the eye to soothe any recent damage.

Thyme

Description: a small evergreen shrub with linear leaves and woody, branching stems.

Location: Grows best in dry, sunny locations and commonly grown in two-leg gardens. Found throughout EclipseClan and SunClan territories.

Usage: the leaves are eaten to calm nervousness, anxiety, and help cats who are in shock or treat worm infections.

Tormentil

Description: It has a strong, aromatic scent to it and a sharp taste.

Location: Occasionally found in the two-leg gardens of EclipseClan gardens.

Usage: Chewed and slathered over wounds to speed healing and extract poison.

Valerian

Description: A large plant with heads of pink and white flowers

Location: This plant grows anywhere with full sunlight and can therefore be found throughout SunClan territories and occasionally in sunny areas of the other clans.

Usage: The root is chewed to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders

Water hemlock

Description: A short, herbaceous plant with green or white flowers with petals in umbrella-shaped clusters

Location: The wet, marshy areas of EarthClan's territory.

Usage: To quickly kill a cat who cannot be saved or to poison an enemy. Unlike slower acting poison, once a cat eats water hemlock, they cannot be saved.

Water mint

Description: green, leafy plant with clumps of small purple flowers

Location: Found in the streams or damp earth of EarthClan's territory

Usage: It is usually chewed into a pulp, and then eaten to treat bellyache.

White Pine

Description: A very tall tree with long, blue-green needles

Location: Prefers the well-drained soil of MoonClan’s territory.

Usage: Cats can eat inner bark and sap as a cough suppressant. The sap can be applied to open wounds to protect from infection and speed healing.

Willow

Description: A group of deciduous trees with watery bark sap, and elongated, hanging leaves

Location: found most commonly on river shores and throughout EarthClan's territory.

Usage: Cats can lick the inner back or eat the leaves to ease pain and stop vomiting.

Wintercrest

Description: A herbaceous plant with deeply lobed, dark green and toothless leaves that grow in a basal rosette. When the flower stalk appears, the upper leaves clasp the stalk and become long.

Location: Prefers moist soil and full sunlight, making it common in ditches, roadsides, and vacant lots, and found throughout the river’s shores in all territories.

Usage: The leaves are chewed as an appetite stimulator

Wintergreen

Description: A small plant with woody stems and ovate evergreen leaves and a distinct smell

Location: This plant prefers the rich, acidic soils of pine and hardwood forests and can therefore be found in the northern reaches of MoonClan’s territory.

Usage: The leaves soothe greencough, headaches, fever, and sore muscles.

Winter savory

Description: A woody shrub with clouds of small, white flowers and with leaves of a strong, spicy flavor.

Location: Occasionally grown in two-leg gardens and accessed by EclipseClanners.

Usage: chewed into a poultice to treat infection.

Witchhazel

Description: A deciduous tree with umbrella-like shape and dense clusters of stems emanating from its base
Location: Witchhazel grows in dark, rich soils the canopy of large trees in MoonClan’s territory.
Usage: Cats scan chew he leaves and twigs to slow inflammation.
Effects: Anti-inflammatory and astringent.

Yarrow

Description: A tall plant with thin stems and white flowers
Location: Yarrow is found in any damp, sunny place, making it a common sight in EarthClan's meadows.
Usage: Its leaves are chewed into a poultice that can be given to cats or applied to a wound depending on the situation to extract poison from wounds, make cats vomit toxins, or soften and heal cracked paw pads.

Yew

Description: Red berries from the dark-leaved, poisonous yew bush. Referred to as “death berries” by many cats.
Location: Found in any wet, shady place.
Usage: Sometimes used to kill other cats by making them eat the berry as it kills a cat within minutes when consumed. As well, some medicine cats use them to end a cat's life to prevent unnecessary suffering and resource consumption.

References:

• http://warriors.wikia.com/wiki/Medicine
• http://www.botanical.com/
• http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/
• https://www.plantvillage.org/
• http://livingafield.com/

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for filling out the survey, it would be difficult to overstate how valuable the surveys are for helping me understand how to improve members’ experiences of the site. If you haven’t filled it out yet, don’t worry, it’ll continue to check it over the next few weeks. As well, the “contact us” box on The Help Page is always open for anonymous messages, but be warned that it can take a few hours for the message to end up in my inbox.

Based on the responses I’ve gotten so far I’ve planned a bunch of small changes that will go into effect over the next few days. I’m going to change the welcome message I use for members to highlight the importance of reading the rules and to explain where they can find the guides and other helpful resources. As well, I’m going to keep a closer eye on the ceremonies and reach out to leaders as soon as the ceremonies are late. I’m already working on a guide on how each clan uses herbs and other medicine cat techniques differently based on their philosophy and resources. If you have any ideas for the guide, I’d love to hear them. Finally, I plan on adding border threads to the forums when I reorganize them to include EarthClan as one unit.

There were also a few suggestions for features that the website already has: we have an event around Halloween each year where members are allowed to play StarClan and Dark Forest cats, a frequently asked questions page can be found under the guides section of The Help Page (though ideas for new questions are always great!), and a list of all mentor-apprentice pairs can be found at the bottom of The Clans Page.

The biggest criticism of the site from this survey- as in past surveys- is the plot planning system and personally I couldn’t agree more with everyone’s complaints. However, while there’s some consensus that it’s a flawed system, there weren’t any concrete suggestions for how to solve the Plot Planning Page’s faults. While having more members post consistently would (at least in my opinion) help, I’m at my wit’s end for how to encourage more members to post. As well, I know that my opinion and the moderators’ opinions carry more weight in the plot planning page than they should, but I don’t know how to correct that beyond reminding people that unless we’re raising concerns about whether a plot breaks the rules, we should carry the weight of an ordinary member. So, please, if you have any ideas for how to improve that system, don’t hesitate to speak up.

Unfortunately, there were also a handful of suggestions that I’m unable to fix. I’m in contact with our website host about the array of technical issues they’ve accumulated (such as the glitchy side bar and the “Recent Activity” section getting stuck on 1 second ago) and I’ll pass information on to you guys as soon as I get it, but so far their engineers seem stumped. As far as notifications go, I can’t control which notifications members get. If you want to change your personal notifications, go to your page>edit profile>notification preferences.

I also received some suggestions that I won’t go ahead with, but would like to acknowledge. I don’t want to bring back restrictive rules regarding how members can name their characters and restricting the roleplay to prevent members from focusing on romance side-plots or quickly going through characters. While I do think that the clans’ history and the cats’ close interactions with two-legs would reasonably change what exactly the naming rules are (I discussed this in more depth in Monthly Meow LVII), my biggest reservation here is that I think it’s more important to allow members to be true to their characters and the stories they want to tell than to rigidly adhere to the canon Warrior Cats Universe rules with something as insignificant as naming. As for romance plots go, for as much as I beg and plead that members keep an eye toward the site-wide plot, I don’t think it’s fair to force them to roleplay certain storylines when what they want to roleplay isn’t directly interfering with a plot the rest of the website has agreed to. If you don’t like to roleplay romance plots -or anything else- you don’t have to join the people who do. As for members who quickly go through characters, I ask that you consider whether you intend to keep a character long-term before posting them to help me stay on top of updates, but don’t feel comfortable making a restrictive guideline on how many characters members can make in a certain timeline. I understand that members mostly make characters with the best of intentions and managing their characters should be left in their hands.

Hi guys,

I've been working on cleaning up the site the last few days, but now I'd like to get some feedback before I dabble in any significant changes.  I’ve created a quick survey to help me understand how I can improve the website.  Don’t worry, everything is completely anonymous and you can skip any questions you don't want to answer.  I read every response and really do take to heart all of the feedback I receive, so please answer honestly and be as specific as you can with any suggestions or criticism.  The survey can be found here.

Thank you!

Hello everyone! I just updated the History Page and its Planned Events section.  If you haven't yet, please check those out. Unfortunately, some of those plans have fallen through and we hadn't discussed how to proceed on the last plot planning page, so I had to make some adjustments on my own.  For instance, as Creekstar is presumed dead, arranged mateship between her and Tiger won't be possible, but we can still have arranged mateship between other prominent DawnClan and NightClan members.

I'd like to hear all of your thoughts regarding the planned events and any other ideas you have!  While the merge itself is relatively set in stone now, the details of it are not.  I've noticed that participation in the site-wide plot has dropped fairly substantially in the past few weeks and am uncertain of why that is, but I'd like to remind everyone that you'd don't need to have a high ranking or prominent character to make a difference.  Usually the hardest part to making plots happen is to have characters even acknowledge what is supposed to be going on- be it anything from a weather event to political turmoil- so even just having your cats gossiping or sharing their opinions is a help.  As well, you should never hesitate to post here or message other members if you are having trouble finding a place for your characters in the overall plot.

Hello everyone!  The next gathering is scheduled to take place this coming weekend, May 12-14th.  However, it looks like the ball is finally rolling again on the EarthClan merge, so I think it would be best for the gathering to be held off a week (May 19-21st).  That way, we won't have to wait another month for SunClan and MoonClan to find out about the extent of the merge, and there won't be yet another roadblock in the way of getting DawnClan and NightClan together.  Do you guys agree we should hold it off?

Either way, about 35 cats should attend the gathering from each clan. Leaders, make sure that each member with an eligible character in your clan has at least one character attending and try to have the invited character lists posted as soon as possible.  The clans will travel to Hawk’s Tree on Friday, the gathering will officially begin Saturday, and the clans should return to their camps by Sunday evening but the gathering can go past that point if necessary. The medicine cat meeting will take place the following weekend (May 19-21st or the 26th-28th), following the same pattern.

Hello everyone! It’s been a rather slow April around the site, as we took a pause in the plot to make sure we were heading in the direction members wanted to. The ball is rolling again now, and DawnClan has proposed merging clans directly to Boundstar. While Boundstar condemned the whole idea, as NightClan comes to see the power they will have over DawnClan in Creekstar’s assumed death, he will take a more favorable outlook toward the merge. While the merge unfolds in DawnClan and NightClan, SunClan and MoonClan will struggle to maintain contact and establish a clear relationship. SunClan’s greencough outbreak will continue and as the addition of new head warriors and upcoming leadership changes as Scorchedwings then Jaguarstar retire, they will have to adjust to potentially much stricter leadership. As always, please share your thoughts on what direction the plot should be heading on the Plot Planning Page.

Out of character, this past month we’ve seen a huge wave of new members joining the roleplay. Registrations will be closing soon, so if you have any friends who have been meaning to join but haven’t gotten around to it yet, make sure they sign up within the next few days. As well, I have yet to receive any concepts or submissions for member submitted Monthly Meows and have decided to sweeten the deal by taking a human or cat portrait request from anyone who writes a 300+ word Monthly Meow body from now until July 31st. For the details, please check the Member Submitted Monthly Meows blog entry. The clan counts have also started to return the larger number I’m used to seeing, with MoonClan at 103 characters, NightClan at 89, DawnClan hat 62, and SunClan hat 86. DawnClan’s low number concerns me less than it otherwise might, as the EarthClan merge should be happening soon.

This month we’re going to be taking a little break from the canon vs. Warrior Cats of the Forests comparisons I’ve been writing for the past few months in favor of another get-to-know-each-other questions game. Thank you, Shiryuu, for the suggestion!

1. Something about you that most people don't know?

2. Are you listening to music right now? If so, what?

3. Do you sing in the shower? If so, what do you sing?

4. Strangest childhood injury?

5. Have any weird fears?

6. If you had a boat, what would you name it?

7. What is the craziest thing you believed as a kid, or were even tricked into believing when you were older and should have known better?

8. What is your least favorite, but often repeated, quote or piece of advice? Why don’t you like it?

9. If you had to be a plant, what kind of plant would you be and why?

10. Funniest YouTube video (or anything else) you’ve seen recently?

11. What would you consider to be the scariest children’s movie you ever seen?

12. Describe your least favorite commercial.

13. What is the craziest thing one of your teachers has done?

14. If you had to haunt one building for the next 100 years, which building would you haunt?

15. What supply in your house always runs low, and no one ever remembers to buy? (paper towels, batteries, lightbulbs, whatever)

16. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

17. If you could know the ultimate truth to any one question, what would you ask?

18. If you had to eat a raccoon, how would you cook it?

19. What is your favorite thing about one of your grandparents?

20. What is your favorite Wikipedia article?

21. You can change three minor things about the world. What are they?

22. What is your current desktop background?

23. How long do you think you’d last in a zombie apocalypse?

24. What are you supposed to be doing right now?

25. If you could pick any character from a TV show and pair them with any character from a book for a whole new story, who would you put together? This relationship can be romantic/platonic/defined-by-their-mutual-love-of-earthworm/whatever.

I look forward to reading your answers!

MoonClan

Apprentices:

Willowkit, Distortedkit, Warpedkit, Dragonkit, Unbreakingkit, Petalkit, Scribekit: Early May

Redkit, Hedgekit, Scorchkit, Hyperkit, Elk-kit, Doekit, Hawk-kit, Leafkit: Mid May

Halfkit, Streamkit: Late May

Warriors:

Pachyrachispaw, Deathpaw Firepaw, Cloudedpaw, Kai: Early May

Firepaw, Peregrinepaw, Ploverpaw, Rubypaw, Amberpaw, Owl: Mid May

Elder: Jerboapounce

NightClan

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Crookedpaw (Early May)

Apprentices:

Blazingkit: Early May

Mask, Oak: Mid May

Warriors:

Nightpaw, Queenpaw, Killerpaw, Gatheringpaw, Huntingpaw, Mongrelpaw, Nebulapaw, Phantompaw, Swamp-paw, Meadowpaw, Kingpaw: Early May

Flamepaw, Shimmeringpaw, Gracklepaw, Rustpaw, Norma Jean, Blizzardpaw: Mid May

Midnightpaw, Scorchpaw: Late May

Death: SunFleck

DawnClan

Apprentices:

Loomingkit, Swankit, Macawkit, Ravenkit, Smallkit, Velvetkit: Early May

Penguinkit, Walruskit: Mid May

Warriors:

Goldenpaw, Featherpaw: Early May

Malardpaw: Mid May

Elder: Alienfish

Death: Flintwhisper

SunClan

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Dappledpaw (Late May)

Apprentices:

Heatherkit, Cloverkit, Fallowkit, Mottledkit: Early May

Patchedkit, Crowkit, Wildkit, Paintedkit, Lycaonkit, Doekit, Owlkit, Lilykit, Prairie-dogkit, Storm: Mid May

Wavingkit: Late May

Warriors:

Tinypaw, Dawnpaw, Mysticpaw: Early May

Anput, Nafretiri, Brownpaw, Wanderingpaw, Chigaru, Qebhsenuef, Tazmanianpaw: Mid May

Elders: Scorchedwings, Horus, Set, Thoth, Osiris

Deaths: Morningserval, Brindlesplash

The next gathering is scheduled to take place this coming weekend, April 14th-16th. About 35 cats should attend the gathering from each clan. Leaders, make sure that each member with an eligible character in your clan has at least one character attending and try to have the invited character lists posted by Wednesday afternoon.

The clans will travel to Hawk’s Tree on Friday, the gathering will officially begin Saturday, and the clans should return to their camps by Sunday evening but the gathering can go past that point if necessary. The medicine cat meeting will take place the following weekend (April 21-23rd), following the same pattern.

The plot is fairly up in the air right now, as how the EarthClan merge will come about hasn’t been planned out in detail and there’s been some discussion of DawnClan warriors holding out in their current camp and refusing the merge. Please keep up to date on the plot planning page so you know what’s going on and don’t hesitate to share your thoughts, member opinions and ideas are by far the biggest contributor to planned events.

 

Hello everyone! This morning a handful of members raised some concerns about the proposed EarthClan plot. To get the details, please check on the most recent plot planning page, but the gist of their worries is that it isn’t realistic for where the clans are now and feels forced. The plot hasn’t had much momentum so far, so I would like to hear from the rest of y’all whether you guys think we should continue with it as planned, alter the plan, or scrap the idea all together. If we do alter it, what do you think we should do instead of what is currently planned?

There is a gathering scheduled for this coming weekend, but if we need to move it back a week that isn’t a big deal, especially since the gathering would cover both Good Friday and Easter so a bunch of our members might not be able to make it anyway.