# New Ideas For A Were-Cat Tribe



## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 10, 2017)

I've been tossing around ideas for a story that I've had in my head for awhile, and the inspiration came [ironically] while I was watching Wolf's Rain. It would be interesting to show a group or a tribe of Were-Cats, but make them different from the usual cliches [if all else fails, I could always give them wings. ] Making them magical might be neat, but I'm mainly just concocting new bits and pieces of their characteristics so far. 
Any thoughts or ideas to share?


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## Ireth (Feb 10, 2017)

When you say "were-cats", do you mean a tribe of humans who turn into cats under the full moon (or some other significant time period), or more like anthropomorphic cat-people?


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 10, 2017)

I'm actually not sure! I'm not even sure if they are human at all. It's just an idea so far.


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## Saigonnus (Feb 10, 2017)

Why not " regular" albeit magical cats with their own society and culture?

In a couple of my short stories, my principal character is a magical "knight" that happens to be a cat. There are many others and they live side-by-side with humans and most don't realize how intelligent or powerful they are.


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## elemtilas (Feb 10, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> If all else fails, I could always give them wings.



Ah, echoes of the _Feleonim_ of Sally Caves!

However you decide to proceed, I for one would love to hear more about these Catfolk!


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## Futhark (Feb 11, 2017)

Here is a couple of questions to ponder.

Most cats are solitary by nature, lions being an obvious exception.  How cohesive would a were-cat tribe be?

When they change (if they change) do they have paws and claws, or are they tool users?

Are they large terrifying creatures, or cute and cuddly?

Do they see themselves as blessed or cursed?

Actually, just thought of the Egyptian cats.  Imagine a secret cabal of cat people guiding humanity from the shadows, for whatever cat agenda they may have.


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## Alyssa (Feb 11, 2017)

Futhark said:


> Actually, just thought of the Egyptian cats.  Imagine a secret cabal of cat people guiding humanity from the shadows, for whatever cat agenda they may have.



That's far better than my idea. All I can think of is a tribe of peaceful were-kitties killing mice and chasing balls of yarn every full moon. Until one day, an American businessman cum aspiring politician arrives... and they embark on a journey of revenge, searching for an ally that they don't actually hate (because cats hate everyone, kittens are adorable... but cats...) in order to take down the system.


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## Miseo (Feb 11, 2017)

Magic cats Cat sÃ¬th - Wikipedia


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 11, 2017)

Egyptian cats who have their own little sect for worshiping Bastet?


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## elemtilas (Feb 11, 2017)

Futhark said:


> Actually, just thought of the Egyptian cats.  Imagine a secret cabal of cat people guiding humanity from the shadows, for whatever cat agenda they may have.



Well, this is what cats do as a matter of course! Here's a bit of old _sawyery_ on the topic of Catfolk.

Way back in the dream time, it was Wolves that first hit on the idea of domestication of humans as a Good Thing. Some went all in and became Dogs; but some dissented and remained Wolves. They felt they were giving up too much of their liberty by becoming companions of Men; they didn't like the idea of hunting for a kind of animal that, they thought by rights, ought to be easy prey in and of itself. They didn't like the idea of being patted and cuddled and, and _fed_ by the unnatural paws of Man. Those that became Dog lauded Man for feeding them regularly and giving them a place at the hearth as a member of the clan. But Wolves remained unconvinced. Fire was a deadly danger, a thing to be avoided, a weapon in the hands of Man that was often wielded against Wolfkind.

Catkind, being the natural companion of Bastet, were wiser than their Wolf cousins. When Man came along, they withheld consent to the domestication for a very long while. And at first became alarmed when Wolves took to the notion of happy and contented domestication. And this led to a great and long debate among the Wise of Catkind. On the one hand, the prideful cats of the Lion and Tiger and Cougar and Leopard clans utterly rejected the notion of stooping to the level of mere Dogs, fearing that Men would try to turn them into mewling lapcats the way they were with their Dogs. But others had different ideas. They, too, were proud, but they felt their pride to be wounded by the Wolves, who had sought domestication first, rather than wait their proper turn for the Divinely Consecrated Cat to engage first with the strange walking Apes.

And so began the long history of mistrust and dislike of Catkind for Dogkind.

But in the end, they too were divided by the hand of Man. Some Cats determined to break ranks with the Wise and sought domestication as well, but fearful of becoming fawning, grovelling Dogs, they determined to enter pacts of domestication on their own terms. After all, they knew of Bastet of old their proper place at the very center of the Cosmos. And these Cats figured that of any of the animals in Earth, it would ultimately be Men that understand most fully the true nature of things.

And so, those brave Cats engaged their brilliant Plan to domesticate Man, but properly this time. Slowly, over the course of many ages, they demonstrated their worth as hunting companions but also instructing Man about the pride of Catkind and how this must be respected! In time, they consented to reveal the divine nature of Bastet and even condescended to allow Men to worship and venerate alongside Catkind.

And even now in our modern times, Cat folk continue to gently guide us silently from the shadows. A narrowing of eyes here, signalling that it is time to Venerate the Child of Bastet With Pats on the Head or Scratching Behind the Ears; a demure meyow there, signalling to the sacred attendant to the Child of Bastet (the human caretaker) that is is now time to Proffer Suitable Offerings in the Form of High Quality Victuals (Chunky Meaty Tins Only, Please); or a calm and tranquil, but subtilly commanding presence near the Divine Gates, because it is now time for the Child of Bastet to Go Forth and Survey Her Divine Demesne.

Yet all is not a packet of HappyJoyJoy moist cat treats! Even after thousands of years of domestication, Man sometimes forgets his proper place and, perhaps, becomes too familiar with the Child of Divine Bastet. And this must be remedied swiftly and consistently, with the Claws of Swift Justice extended and the Hiss of Impending Doom exhaled! 

Perhaps, TheCrystallineEntity, your Werecats could indeed be people in the shadows, guiding Mankind along according to some hidden feline agenda? Ordinary cats could be their agents, operating more openly in the world?

*niffodyr tweluanrem letteuim an*
_The gods have retractable claws_
from The Gospel of Bastet


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## Ireth (Feb 11, 2017)

elemtilas said:


> snip



My word, that is beautiful.


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 11, 2017)

It's kind of an unspoken rule that there are no humans whatsoever in my books, mainly because I want to be unusual and also because I prefer reading stories with non-human or vaguely humanoid characters.


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## DragonOfTheAerie (Feb 12, 2017)

You should totally do this; I love cats, and they seem to lend themselves to fantasy so well. Cats are so mysterious and magical seeming, it just makes sense that they would belong in a fantasy story. 

You could just make them magical cats. I've been wanting to write a story of intelligent cats for a while now. 

How anthropomorphic do you want them to be? Cats in shape, but with human thoughts and feelings? Or are they more human-like?


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

Hmm....*lightbulb appears over my head* What about Sphinxes? I've always loved the myth of the Sphinx, and especially that beautiful painting from The Voyage of The Basset:


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## elemtilas (Feb 12, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> It's kind of an unspoken rule that there are no humans whatsoever in my books, mainly because I want to be unusual and also because I prefer reading stories with non-human or vaguely humanoid characters.



Fair enough!

But without humans, who are the Cats going to groom and guide?  Will there be some human-analogue for them to work their gentle magic upon?


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

^I don't know, actually. 
So far, the territory is divided up into seven tribes: Werecats, Werewolves, Werefoxes/Kitsune, Were-ravens, Were-swans, Were-bats, and...something else, possibly with many wings.


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## Ireth (Feb 12, 2017)

I'm curious... if there are no humans in this story, why use the "were-" prefix for your animal people? "Were" means "man" in Anglo-Saxon, after all; so "werewolf" literally means "man-wolf", and refers to one who changes between both forms.


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

^Yes, I already thought of that, and haven't come up with something else to call them yet.


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## elemtilas (Feb 12, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> ^I don't know, actually.
> So far, the territory is divided up into seven tribes: Werecats, Werewolves, Werefoxes/Kitsune, Were-ravens, Were-swans, Were-bats, and...something else, possibly with many wings.









Sorry, only two wings on them!

I'm sure you'll come up with something wonderful!


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

I had this idea of creatures who had two or more sets of wings, but with full wings on each shoulder and each side of their backs, so that the wings would curl around. It's hard to describe without showing it visually, though.


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## elemtilas (Feb 12, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> I had this idea of creatures who had two or more sets of wings, but with full wings on each shoulder and each side of their backs, so that the wings would curl around. It's hard to describe without showing it visually, though.



No better time than the present to draw us a picture so we can all have a shufty!


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

I can't get the picture to post.


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## elemtilas (Feb 12, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> I can't get the picture to post.



I just clicked on the little thing that looks like a picture of an oak tree and it asked for a url for the picture. Is that what wasn't working?


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

^Maybe. *shrug* 






I tried to open the picture with Internet Explorer to get a url to post. I don't think it worked.


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## elemtilas (Feb 12, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> ^Maybe. *shrug*
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That looks like it's a picture on your own computer. I think you'd have to upload it first. Like to Imgur or DeviantArt or someplace.


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

Oh.  Oops. I neither have an Imgur nor DeviantArt account.


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## elemtilas (Feb 12, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> Oh.  Oops. I neither have an Imgur nor DeviantArt account.



Easy to fix! No worse than signing up for an account here at Mythic Scribes!


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## TheKillerBs (Feb 12, 2017)

You can also upload it here to a gallery.


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

^There. It's uploaded now in the fantasy art section.


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## elemtilas (Feb 12, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> I had this idea of creatures who had two or more sets of wings, but with full wings on each shoulder and each side of their backs, so that the wings would curl around. It's hard to describe without showing it visually, though.



Looks like eight wings: two pairs up at either shoulder and a nother two pairs about a third of the way down the back or so. Weird and wonderful, I'd say!


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 12, 2017)

^It was a quick sketch, so it's definitely not my best artistic moment [plus I used Paint].


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## Miseo (Feb 13, 2017)

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> I had this idea of creatures who had two or more sets of wings, but with full wings on each shoulder and each side of their backs, so that the wings would curl around. It's hard to describe without showing it visually, though.


Many wings


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 13, 2017)

Holy tenshi!  That's...wow! 
That's basically what the heroine of my book will look like shortly!


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## bestellen (Feb 22, 2017)

You could just make them magical cats. I've been wanting to write a story of intelligent cats for a while now.


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## TheSlovakPatriot (Feb 22, 2017)

I have been thinking of a race of rodent like creatures similar to marmots living in the high alpine meadows..(what role would they play in my world? Seems almost none  )


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## TheCrystallineEntity (Feb 22, 2017)

^I have loads of fantastical creatures only mentioned in the Appendices.


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## Saigonnus (Feb 22, 2017)

bestellen said:


> You could just make them magical cats. I've been wanting to write a story of intelligent cats for a while now.



I have a short story about a collective of intelligent, magical cats that serve to protect the realm of humans, usually without their knowledge. 


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