My Thoughts Are Stars (WCRPG Magazine) (Artists and writers needed!)

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This site use to be loosely based around cats. Warrior cats! More so now, then a few years ago, this site has evolved, allowing different types of roleplay. As much as I would love to help with dog behavior, this is about cats. Knowing more about what cats do when they feel a mad or sad or even scared, could enrich your roleplaying style. As well as help with writing those big paragraphs you see some people writing.

Personally, learning about different animal behavior has always caught my interest. It’s fascinating to see why an animal does what they do. It helps me write stories, having a more realistic look on animals can help your story feel more realistic. But it also helps in roleplays.

Now, a cat can’t realistically wave a paw at another cat. That’s where their vocal cords come into play. Meows. They are cute, make a kitten even cuter, and tell you when your cat wants dinner. But a meow is an all purpose word. If it being saying hi, or telling you back off, cat's meows are very general. If it’s high pitched in a greeting, or low and dragged out in a threat.

Cats have a lot more sounds, all of them meaning different things. If you’ve ever watched videos with kittens(come on, you know you have), you’ll find that some videos will have their mothers almost chirping at them. Never seen this before? Search it on youtube! “Mother cat chirping”. Then spend hours of your day watching cute cats chirp to their babies. Then realize you have a paper due in two hours... Ahem! Anyways! Mother cats chirp or trill to tell their babies to follow them. You would also find some cats talking to each other this way. Cats also make chitter, chattering, and twittering noises. This is when they see prey(birds.mice.voles), but they cannot get it. This is usually what house cats do whilst staring out a window.

Purring. Now if you have a cat, then you know cats purr when they're happy or content. This however is not always true. Now, learning this was interesting, since I just thought cats purred because they were happy. Cats will purr if they are anxious or sick. It’s comforting to a cat, like a blanket might be for a child.

When a cat is angry, most know they hiss, growl, or spit. There isn’t much to say about this, it’s pretty much something we all know. Now when a cat yowls or howls, this means that the cat is in some kind of distress. If its an elderly cat, they could be howling because of a disorder(dementia) their suffering and they’re disoriented.

Most of the time however, cats speak more with their body then anything else. Cat body language is very important when roleplaying one. First we are going to talk about their ears, eyes and tails.

Their ears. Cats don’t have many ear movements, so it’s rather easy to understand the ones they do have. Take for insist; a cat with its ears forward is alert, interested or happy. A cat with it’s ears backwards, sideways or flat is a irritable, angry or frightened cat. Lastly, when a cats ears are swiveling, they are interested in listen to every sound.

Now that we’ve talked about cat ears, we are going to slide down to cat eyes. Cats eyes aren’t complicated at all. There is two things you should look for. Their pupils constricted. Most see these as ‘snake eyes’. This could mean two possible things; offensively aggressive or just content. Light also plays a huge role in this. The more bright it is, the more constricted the eyes will be. Now, you should also look for the pupils being dilated, or large. They could be nervous or submissive. If not fully dilated, they could be aggressive. If very large, very dilated, the cat could just be playful.

Finally we will mosey on down to the cats behind. Their tails. If a cat's tail is erect, but their fur is laid flat, they could be alert or happy. If the cat’s fur is standing on end, they are angry or frightened. A cat’s whose tail is tucked between their legs is an anxious and insecure kitty. When a cats tail thrashes back and forth, the cat is angry. The faster it thrashes, the angrier the cat.

Despite those three main things to look at in a cat, it’s also very good to understand their whole body. A cat speaks with it’s whole body. So, with that being said, if a cat’s back is arched and his fur is standing on end, that is a frightened or angry cat. If their fur is flat, yet their back is arched, that cat is just waiting for touch. If the cat lays on his/her back and is purring, that cat is relaxed and content. If he/she is hissing, this cat is getting ready to strike.

Now wasn’t that fun and interesting? We can take all this and mash it together with what a cat is feeling at some point in time. This could really help any person during roleplays. Since we have all this, we will put it together, creating the cat’s mood.

Content: Sitting or lying down, eyes half-closed, pupils narrowed, tail mostly still, ears forward and purring—a really happy cat will often knead on a soft surface.

Playful: Ears forward, tail up, whiskers forward and pupils somewhat dilated—playing is hunting behavior; kittens may stalk his/her prey (a toy, a clanmate), then crouch down with his/her rear end slightly raised. A little wiggle of the butt, then…pounce! Your cat will grab his/her prey, bite it, wrestle it the floor and kick it with her hind feet: Their toy is now dead.

Irritated or over-stimulated: Pupils dilated, ears turned back and tail twitching or waving—cats may growl or put his/her teeth on the threat as a warning to cease and desist. Intense play can quickly turn into overstimulation in some cats, resulting in biting and scratching.

Nervous or anxious: Ears sideways or back, pupils dilated and tail low or tucked between legs—a cat may slink through the camp close to the ground, looking for somewhere to hide. He/she may turn his/her face to a wall to shut the world out.

Frightened or startled: Think Halloween cat—ears back and flat against her head, whiskers back, back arched, fur standing on end and tail erect or low. He/She may yowl, growl, hiss and spit.

Defensive: Crouched, ears flattened, whiskers back, tail between his/her legs or wrapped around his/her body, and pupils dilated—he/she may meow loudly, growl, hiss and spit.

Angry, aggressive: Ears back, pupils very constricted, and her tail may be up or down with the fur standing on end—an aggressive cat will stare down another cat and growl or yowl until the other cat gives way. Cats don't really want to fight; they prefer standoffs, but this can progress to fighting if one of the cats doesn't back down.

So! In conclusion, if you ever have trouble roleplaying a cat, think realistic. How would a cat react if put into that situation? Is it one where they are going to be a nervous wreck? Make sure to tuck that tail between their legs and make them look for a way to escape! Just knowing these little bits of detail can really help with roleplaying. Now, I can’t guarantee you will be super good at roleplaying after reading this, but you will have the knowledge to start somewhere. So, with that being said, maybe you should go off and join a clan? I’m sure you want to put this new found information to use!
By wolfwunder on Feral Front

Total number of words: 1303