TEXT: John Wick
  CAT
  
  Contents
  2011 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
  I Know I’m Dreaming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
  Part One: Making a Cat Character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Step 1: The Traits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
  Step 2: Names  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  Step 3: Reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  Step 4: Lives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  All Done!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  Two: Taking Risks  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
  Testing Fate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
  Advantage Dice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Scars  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Healing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Fighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
  Death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
  Reputation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
  Lives  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
  Style. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
  Three: Cat Magic  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Magic Points  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  Using Magic  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  Four: Narrator  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
  Advanced Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
  Narrator Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
  Step #2: Telling Stories  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
  Step #3: Running the Game  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
  Storytelling in the Kingdom of Dreams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  Dreaming Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
  Cat Adventures  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  A New Secret Name  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  Rescuing the King of the Cats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  Good Dogs and Bad Cats  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  Cross-Genre Cat  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  
  Kittens: Telling Stories for Children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  Forget What You Know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  How Do I Tell a Story?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  What Kind of Story Do I Tell?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  Use Your House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  When Do I Roll Dice? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  “Yes, and...”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  Morality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  Enemies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  Natural Enemies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  Boggins  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  Five: Other Worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  Gods Go Purr  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  Cat o’ Nine Tales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  Cats in Spaaaaaaaaace!  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  The Cats of Ulthar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  Your Favorite Fantasy Novel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
  Six: Fictional Facts and Factual Folklores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
  Facts  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
  Folklores  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
  Afterward  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
  
  1
  2011 Introduction
  I never need to pitch this game. Standing behind my booth at a game convention, 
  I have to pitch everything. Houses of the Blooded, Th irty, Discordia… everyone asks, 
  “What’s this game about?” 
  I give them the standard pitch for those games. I’ve got them down to thirty 
  seconds. A catch phrase and some follow-up to anticipated questions.
  But Cat? No pitch necessary. When someone asks, “What’s this about?” I always 
  say the exact same thing.
  “It’s about house cats who protect their owners from Monsters they can’t see.”
  And that’s it. Th at’s all I need. I’ve got the money in my hands and they’re walking 
  away with the game.
  And the story I tell in the game about having a dream? It really happened. A few 
  weeks aft er my cat died, he came back to me one night and told me everything. I was 
  clued in. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to spread the knowledge around a little bit.
  I designed Cat so everyone could play it. Grown ups and kids, gamers and gamer 
  girlfriends. I guess that’s why its one of my best-selling games.
  I’ve gone through the text and revised it a bit. Caught it up to my current game 
  design philosophy. I’ve streamlined a few of the mechanics and patched up the places 
  that needed patching up.
  (For those in the know, I fi nally reveal how to get Magic Points back.)
  Going through this game, I realized how much of it really infl uenced later designs. 
  I hadn’t read the game in many years—since I started work on that massive 400-page 
  tome Houses of the Blooded, in fact—and it wasn’t until aft er I was fi nished, someone 
  asked me to run a game of Cat. I took up the little rulebook to refresh myself… and I 
  found Style Points and wagers—essential elements in HotB—right there in the pages 
  of Cat. I couldn’t believe it. I was years ahead of myself.
  More than a few people have called Legend of the Five Rings my masterpiece. Some 
  say it’s Th irty. Others say its Houses of the Blooded.
  Whatever. 
  Th is is the one I’m proudest of. It’s reached the most people. And more than one 
  person has sent me a private e-mail telling me that my little paragraph at the end 
  about my cat passing away from feline leukemia has made them weepy.
  When Roland died, I couldn’t stop crying. Not for hours. I loved him so much. 
  And every once in a while, when I need him, he’s there. Watching out for me. 
  I’ll end this little introduction with the two sentences I use when I signed the 
  original book.
  Protect your kitty.
  Your kitty is protecting you.
  
  2
  I Know I’m Dreaming
  I know I’m dreaming. See, mummies usually don’t do their Wednesday wash at my 
  laundromat.
  “You’re right,” says my cat, sitting beside me as I pile microwave dinners into the 
  dryer. “You’re dreaming.”
  “How do you know?” I ask him, fumbling for quarters.
  “Because I’m dreaming, too.” He licks his chin and watches the dinners cooking in 
  the dryer.
  Th e dryer buzzes and I pull out the tin plates fi lled with food. “So, why are you 
  here?”
  He starts snacking on the Southern fried chicken. “It’s the only place you and I can 
  really talk.”
  “We talk?”
  “Well, I talk all the time. Problem is, you don’t know how to listen.” He chews 
  more chicken and I start with the cherry desert. “And you usually don’t remember 
  when we’re done. Sometimes, things stick in that little brain of yours. Th e important 
  things, at least.”
  “So you have something to tell me?”
  “Yup. A few things. But we don’t have a lot of time. It took me all night to fi nd 
  you, and it’s creeping up on dawn right quick.”
  I nod, and put the dinner back in the dryer. “Where are we off  to?”
  “Anywhere. I just want to get away from those mummies. Th ey give me the creeps.”
  * * *
  My cat and me, we walked through a city full of zombies. Not the fl esh eating, 
  drooling, rotting kind of zombies, but the “Where the heck am I?” kind of zombies.
  I ask, “Where did all these zombies come from?”
  “Th ey’re you. Well, most of you. You know when you can’t remember your 
  dreams?” He shrugs at the zombies. “Th at’s you.”
  I’m only briefl y aware that my cat just shrugged, almost get around to asking 
  how he shrugged when a beautiful brunette walks by and my head turns all the way 
  around my neck.
  “Th at’s your problem,” my cat tells me. “You men can’t keep focused. It’s why your 
  dreams are fi lled with all this nonsense.”
  “Yeah,” I say, my voice as far away as my cat’s voice. “Whatever you say.”
  “Ugh,” he says. “Th is isn’t going to work. You’re just not concentrating.”
  I shake my head. “No, no. I’m back. I’m back.”
  
  3
  “Good. Let’s get to work.”
  I look up and see us standing outside my 
  house.
  “Our house,” my cat says. “Let’s go inside.” He 
  opens the door and we go on in.
  “Hey, how did you…” I realize I don’t know 
  whether to ask him how he read my mind or 
  how he opened the door.
  “Never mind that,” he says. “Take a look 
  around.”
  I look up and see my couch, my TV, my desk, 
  my dining room table and… things. Black, inky 
  things with eyes and pincers and mandibles 
  and tentacles and mouths and teeth. So many 
  mouths, so many teeth. Th ey’re made of teeth. 
  Little, sharp teeth that bleed when the things 
  smile.
  “What are all those...” (I don’t know what to 
  call them) “... crawling all over the place?”
  “Th at one over there,” he points at the one 
  crawling all over my favorite chair. “Th at one’s 
  a Lazy.” Th en, he points at the phone. It looks 
  like a blood-bloated tick. “Th at one’s a Fear. 
  You made it real fat the last time you sat in 
  front of the phone, trying to call the girl you 
  met in class.”
  I nod. “I think I’m getting the idea. But what 
  are they?”
  “Th e fewer names you give them the better,” 
  my cat tells me, licking his paw, washing out his 
  ear. “My grandpa called them ‘Boggins.’ It’s a 
  pretty harmless name. I’ve heard them called a 
  lot worse.”
  I watch them oozing all over the furniture 
  for another moment or so, then I ask him 
  something. “Th ese things are dangerous?”
  “Oh yeah. Mostly because you can’t see 
  them.”
  “If they’re so dangerous,” I ask, “why are they 
  all over there?”
  My cat smiles. “Because I’m over here.” He 
  jumps up the stairs. “Come on. I’ve got more to 
  show you.”
  * * *
  I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, he 
  tells me. You aren’t in charge. Sure, I know you 
  like to think you are, and with your guns and 
  lights and cars, you can kill just about anything 
  you want. But killing a thing with a gun or a 
  car isn’t the same as killing it with your claws, 
  and that’s where you all fall short. When it 
  comes to fi erce fi ghting, your kind are about as 
  helpless as kittens.
  Th at’s why, every thousand years, we win the 
  contest, and why, every thousand years, you all 
  come in dead last. Your champion shows up all 
  half-witted and naked, no more ready for battle 
  than a white blister ready to be popped. You’ve 
  got no teeth and you’ve got no claws, and you 
  just don’t remember how to fi ght. It’s a shame, 
  really. You know why? Because the less you 
  know about protecting yourselves, the more we 
  have to know about protecting you. Th at’s our 
  job. Well, one of them, at least.
  * * *
  We get to the top of the stairs, and the door 
  opens up on a sky full of stars. “Come on,” he 
  says, and jumps on one of the stars. I give it a 
  shot, only make it halfway. I nearly fall all the 
  way through the sky to the water below — all 
  full of sharks and telephone booths — when he 
  catches me with his teeth.
  “You’re better at this than most,” he says 
  through the grip he’s got on me, “but not by 
  much.”
  He pulls me back up to the star. “Hold on to 
  my tail, but don’t tug.” I do what he says. He 
  keeps talking.
  * * *
  For as long as anyone can remember, he says, 
  there’s been the Contest. Every thousand years, 
  
  4
  we all meet here in Dream and fi ght it out for 
  the right to rule the world. Last time, it was us 
  who won. Th e King of the Cats, he beat out 
  the Bitch Queen for the rights, and her kind 
  ain’t given us no quarter since. Th ey’re a jealous 
  breed, them dogs, and they don’t like being in 
  second place.
  Now, us ruling the world is all well and 
  good, but there’s a catch. Th e one who wins 
  has to look out for the one who comes in last. 
  We won, you lost. You lost big time. You trim 
  off  your claws, you dull down your teeth and 
  you don’t pay attention to anything that’s 
  important.
  Th at’s the diff erence between us and you. We 
  know Dream is the “real” world, and this, the 
  fl esh and stuff , that’s nothing. We may be small 
  there, but in here, we got it all over you.
  * * *
  “When did you get all mean?” I ask him.
  “Sorry. I get caught up in the bragging.” 
  We’re not in the sea of stars anymore, but we 
  are on a boat. Th e crew is all made of candy and 
  we’re sailing over soda pop.
  “Don’t drink the water,” he tells me. Th en, he 
  tells me more.
  * * *
  So, anyway, you all came in dead last. Th at 
  means you need protection. No, not from the 
  dogs. You need protection from the Boggins. 
  Yeah. Boggins. Monsters. Bogeymen. Th ose 
  things.
  I know, you never seen them. You can’t. We 
  can. Th at’s where the protection comes in.
  Boggins are bad. I mean real bad. Th ey hook 
  into your soul with those barbs of theirs and 
  they hang on. Th ey sink their teeth into you, 
  and they drink, and they drink. Worst part is, 
  you can’t see it. You can feel it, but you men 
  come up with fancy explanations for some 
  pretty simple stuff , all because you don’t want 
  to look at the truth. You wake up one morning 
  and you feel about as tall as a turnip and you 
  call up your doctor and he gives you pills and 
  you think you feel better.
  It’s the Boggins that do that to you. Drinking 
  up your dreams. Soon, they get in there with 
  you. I see it all the time. Some man walking 
  around with his chin on his chest, walking like 
  he’s got no tomorrow, and he’s got Boggins 
  hanging on him like leeches, sucking and 
  sucking. I hate the sound of it. Yeah, I can 
  hear it. I hear it all the time. Th ere’s Boggins 
  everywhere you look. Everywhere but where 
  there’s one of us, that is. Th ere ain’t no Boggins 
  where there’s one of us, because we kill ‘em, and 
  we kill ‘em dead.
  * * *
  “If you’re doing such a good job, why are 
  there so many Boggins in my house?”
  “You should have seen it before I got there,” 
  he tells me. Th e crystal ship lands on the Moon 
  and he starts chewing.
  “What?” he says, looking at me looking at 
  him. “You didn’t think we came all the way up 
  here because it’s made of rock and dust, did 
  you?”
  I pick up a hunk of it and give it a taste. Now, 
  I know why he wanted to come up here. I chew 
  and listen, and he does his best not to talk with 
  his mouth full.
  * * *
  Th ere’s lots of kinds of Boggins, and if you’re 
  good, you know all kinds of diff erent ways to 
  take care of ‘em. You know the saying, “Th ere’s 
  more than one way to butcher a Boggin.” But 
  it’s dangerous work. Too many Boggins, and 
  even the best of us winds up losing lives to 
  ditch the bunch.
  Yeah, I said lives. We won the contest, we 
  get nine of ‘em. Dogs say they get seven ‘cause 
  
  5
  they came in second, but who believes what a 
  dog says? Now, go west — that’s right — for 
  another mile or so. When you hit the Jewel 
  Pool, let me know. I want to stop for a drink.
  Another thing you should know about 
  Boggins. Th ey’re contagious. Got them a 
  system of dropping off  eggs with a touch, and 
  it’s bad. You gotta keep yourself clean of the 
  eggs, or they hatch and dig right in. Damn hard 
  to get out, too. I know you won’t remember 
  much of this when you go back to the Wake, 
  but if you remember one thing, remember this: 
  them that smell bad, they’ve got the Boggin 
  eggs all in ‘em and around ‘em. I know your 
  nose is about as good as your teeth, but even 
  the dullest man can smell a Boggin. You’ve just 
  got to concentrate and not ignore the warning 
  signs.
  Heh. Th at’s kind of funny. For all your lack of 
  skill in other areas, there’s one thing you men 
  are damn good at: ignoring things. You never 
  see anything you don’t want to see.
  Some Boggins you got to kill with teeth and 
  claws, but others are less tough and a whole lot 
  more stupid, and you can use tricks. Sometimes 
  they sneak into the house in disguise. Th at’s 
  the worst. Th em we call “changelings.” Most of 
  the time, you can smell a changeling right out, 
  but other times, they use Boggin tricks to sneak 
  by you. Worst kind is the ones posing as kids. 
  Had to kill one in the crib, once. Th at lost me 
  my man. Nearly lost me a life. His woman was 
  one mean woman, so covered in Boggins, you 
  couldn’t even see her face. Just her eyes, shining 
  in that bright light. I’ll never forget that.
  * * *
  “Is that why you were in the adoption 
  agency?”
  He nods. “Let’s not talk about that, okay?” 
  We catch a moonbeam back down to the street.
  “See, I make sure you don’t have to worry 
  about the Boggins. I’ll take care of them. 
  As soon as we don’t have a Boggin problem 
  anymore, and I go somewhere else, and help 
  somebody who needs me.”
  Th ere’s a bit of sun on the horizon as we step 
  back into the house. Th e Boggins scatter under 
  the furniture when they see him, but he doesn’t 
  seem to notice.
  “You came all this way through Dream to tell 
  me about all this?”
  “Th at was a secondary goal,” he tells me. 
  “I tell you about the Boggins every night. 
  Sometimes you remember, as best as a man can, 
  that is. Most of the time you don’t.”
  “So,” I ask, giving my squirming couch the 
  evil eye. “What did you want to tell me?”
  He looks up at me with his big green eyes. 
  “Not so much ‘tell’ you, as ‘ask’ you. See, I need 
  a favor.”
  I looked over at the things staying far away 
  from me and my little friend, and I nod. “What 
  is it?”
  “Something you can do that I can’t. And, 
  aft er seeing the Boggins, I hope it isn’t too 
  much to ask…”
  “Anything you want.”
  He smiles and gives me a wink. “Glad you 
  said it that way.” Th en, he walks away and stops 
  in front of that big tan litter box.
  Cat is a game for telling stories about cats 
  protecting people from Th ings they can’t see, 
  both in the real world and in the Kingdom of 
  Dreams. 
  Storytelling games are the oldest kind of 
  games in the world (despite what fans of Go 
  think). People have been telling stories since 
  they fi rst wondered what the stars were and 
  what made those scary sounds in the dark of 
  night. Cat is a game in the tradition of those 
  
  6
  stories, where players explain just why cats 
  always jump at things that aren’t there, refuse 
  aff ection one moment, then rub up against 
  your hand the next, and otherwise act in 
  completely irrational ways. Th e easiest answer 
  to these questions is: cats see things we can’t.
  What You Need
  In order to play Cat, you need some pencils, 
  photocopies of the Catsheet, and a copy of 
  this book. One copy will do the trick, but the 
  Author encourages you to purchase as many 
  copies as you like, including copies you don’t 
  need, to share with friends.
  Before you play the game, you must fi rst 
  have a cat character. Photocopy the Catsheet 
  at the end of this book for each player in the 
  game. Next, look at the sheet. You’ll see a list of 
  physical descriptions: Face, Tail, Legs, Claws, 
  etc. Th ese are called “Traits,” and they describe 
  your cat’s abilities. Now, proceed step-by-step 
  below.
  
  7
  Part One: Making a Cat 
  Character
  Step 1: The Traits
  A cat’s Traits represent his physical and magical prowess. Each Trait is important 
  to a cat in specifi c ways. Your cat has a total of six Traits. Let’s take a look at them and 
  see how they help your cat.
  A cat’s Claws are important for fi ghting and climbing.
  A cat’s Coat shows off  his colors and protects him from claws and teeth and helps 
  him persuade others.
  A cat’s FACE is his sensory center. It contains his eyes, nose, ears, tongue and 
  whiskers, all of which help him sense the world. 
  A cat’s Fangs are important for fi ghting and carrying things around.
  A cat’s Legs are used for jumping, balance and other quick movements.
  A cat’s Tail is important for using Magic.
  Picking Traits
  Now you know what the Traits do, it is time to fi gure out which Trait is his Best 
  Trait and which of his Traits are his three Strong Traits. Th e remaining Traits you 
  don’t make his Best and Strong Traits are Good.
  First, take a look at the Traits, and think about which one is the most important 
  to you. Th is is your Best Trait. Th is is your cat’s shining, defi ning Trait, used for the 
  actions he is known for. Write “Best” in the Rank space next to the Trait. Notice that 
  under your Best Trait is a space “Bonus.” Write 5 in that space.
  Second, pick three other Traits that you like more than the rest. Th ese are your 
  cat’s Strong Traits. Th ese Traits aren’t as good as his Best Trait, but they’re better 
  than average. Write “Strong” in the Rank space next to these Traits. Again, with each 
  there is a space for “Bonus.” Write 4 in this space for all your Strong Traits.
  Finally, all the other Traits on your Catsheet are Good. Th ese Traits are no better 
  or worse than any other cat’s Good Traits. Write “Good” in the Rank space next to 
  those Traits and 3 under “Bonus” for all your Good Traits.
  For example, look at the Catsheet on the next page. Th is is Roland, my cat character.
  Claws = Strong (4)
  Coat  = Best (5)
  Face = Good (3)
  Fangs = Good (3)
  Legs = Strong (4)
  
  8
  Tail = Strong (4)
  Roland’s Best Trait is his Coat, which helps 
  in his attempts to persuade other cats and keeps 
  him warm at night. His three Strong Traits are 
  his Claws (for fi ghting and climbing), his Legs 
  (for jumping, running and balance) and his 
  Tail (useful for Magic, which we’ll talk about 
  in a minute).
  As I do this, I write “5” for my Best Trait 
  (Coat), “4” for my three Strong Traits (Claws, 
  Legs and Tail) and “3” for the remaining two 
  Good Traits (Face and Fangs).
  Step 2: Names
  One for a secret, one for a riddle, name puss 
  twice and befuddle the devil.
   
  Folk Saying
  Once you fi nish assigning your Traits, it’s 
  time to give your cat his names. As T.S. Eliot 
  suggested in his Old Possum’s Book of Practical 
  Cats, cats have many names. 
  Your cat has three names. His fi rst name, or 
  given name, is the name men know him by. 
  His second name, or cat name, is the name 
  other cats, mostly trusted friends, know him 
  by. Finally, a cat has a secret name, one that no 
  one knows, not even trusted friends. To know 
  a cat’s full name is a powerful secret, one that 
  opens up many forbidden magics. If a Boggin 
  ever discovered a cat’s secret name — well, let’s 
  just leave that thought alone.
  Step 3: Reputation
  While Mr. Eliot knew about names, he 
  failed to learn from his feline friends that each 
  cat also has a number of titles, also known as 
  Reputations. A Reputation is something a cat 
  is known for, a particular skill, knack, or quirk. 
  If you’re good at catching rats, you might have 
  the Reputation “Rat-catcher.” If you’re good 
  at hiding, you may have the Reputation “the 
  Unseen.”
  Like Traits, a cat’s Reputations have Bonuses. 
  Beginning cats (like yours) start with 7 points 
  of Reputations (and no beginning Reputation 
  should be higher than 3).
  Step 4: Lives
  A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for 
  three he strays, and for the last three he stays.
   
  Another Folk Saying
  Because the King of the Cats won Th e 
  Contest, every cat is blessed with nine Lives. A 
  cat’s Lives are very valuable to him, something 
  to be cherished and protected. Some cats are 
  reckless with their Lives, but most protect 
  them. Write down “9” in this space on the 
  Catsheet. You don’t need to know how to 
  use your Lives yet; we’ll talk about that soon 
  enough. Perhaps too soon…
  All Done!
  Th at’s it! Your cat character is all set to 
  protect his family from Boggins. Now, all you 
  have to do is learn how and that takes just a 
  second.
  
  9
  Two: Taking Risks
  When your cat tries to do something feline during the story, he usually succeeds 
  (he’s a cat, aft er all). But, there are times when the task is diffi  cult, and the success 
  of a cat’s action is questionable. In these times, chance has as much to do with his 
  success as his skill does. In Cat, we call this a “risk.” To sort things out, we use your 
  cat’s Traits to determine the outcome of a risky action. Use this simple system to 
  determine if his action is successful or not.
  All risks can be classifi ed in three categories: Easy, Moderate, and Hard.
  Easy
  An Easy Risk is something nearly any healthy cat can pull off  without any degree 
  of diffi  culty. Swatting a ball of string across the room, jumping over a low wall, or 
  climbing on the back of the couch are all good examples of Easy Actions.
  Moderate
  A Moderate Risk requires a bit more fi nesse. Catching a clever mouse, jumping up 
  to the top of the refrigerator from the kitchen table, or climbing a sheer wall are all 
  good examples of Moderate Risks.
  Hard
  Hard Risks are those that truly test a cat’s skills. Jumping up to the top of a high 
  ledge without making a sound or toppling the Tupperware, catching two mice with 
  one strike and sneaking by a sleeping dog to steal his bone are all good examples of 
  Hard Risks.
  Testing Fate
  Th ere is a way for a cat to perform Risks that are beyond his capabilities… but it’s 
  uncertain. Whenever a cat takes a chance, it is said he “tests fate.”
  Whenever you Test Fate, roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the appropriate 
  Trait. Count each die that rolls an even number (2, 4, or 6). 
  To beat an Easy Risk, you have to roll at least one even.
  To beat a Moderate Risk, you have to roll at least two evens.
  To beat a Hard Risk, you have to roll at least three evens.
  If the number of evens is equal to or greater than the Risk’s diffi  culty, you can 
  narrate the outcome of your cat’s risk.. However, if you less than the required evens, 
  Fate intervenes and the Narrator narrates the outcome of your cat’s risk.
  For example, Roland wants to jump from the kitchen fl oor to the kitchen table. Th e 
  Narrator determines this is an Easy Risk for Roland. I take a look at his Catsheet and see 
  Roland’s Legs are Strong, so he can do that with ease. I roll four dice (for my Strong Legs) 
  and roll:
  
  10
  That’s two evens. Because I only needed 
  one, I get to narrate the outcome of my Risk.
  Next, I decide I want Roland to jump 
  from the kitchen table to the top of the 
  refrigerator. Th e Narrator decides that’s a bit 
  more difficult of a jump because the top of 
  the ‘fridge is quite a way up. The Narrator 
  decides this is a Moderate Risk. Again, 
  Roland’s Legs are Strong, so he gets four dice 
  to roll. But the Narrator lets me know that 
  the top of the ‘fridge is covered with empty 
  Tupperware bowls, and if I do make the jump, 
  I’ll cause most — if not all of them — to fall 
  to the ground, making an awful racket. He says, 
  “Making it to the top of the ‘fridge without 
  dropping the bowls is a Hard Risk.” 
  I roll four dice:
  Th is time, I roll two evens again. Because 
  I needed three evens, the Narrator decides 
  Roland makes it up to the top of the ‘fridge, 
  but he also makes an awful racket doing it.
  Advantage Dice
  One of the most important elements of Cat 
  system is Advantage Dice. Th ese are dice the 
  Narrator hands out to players for showing 
  initiative and for good roleplaying. Each 
  Advantage Die is another die the player can roll 
  for a chance of rolling another success.
  Advantage Dice represent advantages your 
  cat has in any given Risk. Narrators should not 
  be shy about giving Advantage Dice; they are 
  here to reward good roleplaying, planning, and 
  innovative thinking. 
  A cat tries to hide from a dog. Th e player 
  says, “I have three advantages. First, it’s dark, 
  lending to my hiding skills. Second, it’s raining, 
  which makes it hard for the dog to catch 
  my scent. Finally, I’m up high, hiding on a 
  dumpster. High above the dog’s head.”
  The Narrator agrees and says, “Okay. 
  You have three advantages. You can roll three 
  additional dice to hide.”
  Scars
  Despite their natural graces, cats get hurt. 
  When they do, they sometimes walk away with 
  a Scar or two. Whenever your cat tests Fate 
  while doing something dangerous, there’s a 
  chance he will fail and get Scars. 
  For example, jumping from one rooft op to 
  another is “dangerous.” Catching a fl y with 
  your paw is not, so you can fail that Risk 
  without taking any Scars.
  When your cat fails a particularly dangerous 
  Risk, check your dice. Th e lowest odd you 
  rolled is the number of scars your cat gets for 
  failing his Risk.
  When you get Scars, you choose where they 
  go. You can apply all your Scars to a single Trait 
  or divide them up as you see fi t. You have to 
  explain to the Narrator why you got a Scar in 
  a particular Trait. If you can’t come up with a 
  compelling reason, he’ll tell you where to put 
  the Scar (usually in the Trait you tried to use).
  If you get three Scars in one Trait, that Trait 
  drops down to the next Rank.
  If you get three Scars in a Good Trait, it 
  drops to a Hurt Trait. Hurt Traits have a bonus 
  of 2. 
  If you earn three Scars in a Hurt Trait, it 
  drops to Crippled. You may not take Risks with 
  a Crippled Trait.
  Healing
  A cat heals one Scar at the beginning of each 
  game session. Cats also heal one Scar per week 
  (if time passes quickly in a game session).
  
  11
  Fighting
  Cats fi ght. Th ey fi ght each other, they fi ght 
  Boggins, they fi ght lots of things. Th ere are 
  two circumstances under which cats fi ght: they 
  fi ght other cats or they fi ght non-cats. Th e rules 
  for each are as follows.
  Fighting Other Cats
  Cats do not fi ght to kill each other: just 
  to prove who the better fi ghter is. Cats only 
  fi ght for one round; one quick scuffl  e to prove 
  dominance.
  Both players roll either their Fangs or Claws 
  (cat’s choice). Compare the number of evens. 
  Both cats take a number of Scars equal to the 
  other cat’s evens. Whoever got the most evens 
  (took the least number of Scars) wins the fi ght.
  You may use Lives or Fighting Magic (see 
  below) to dodge Scars as usual, which means 
  cats may get into a fi ght and lose but take no 
  Scars. However, the winner of the fi ght is 
  always the cat who rolled the most evens.
  Fighting Non-Cats
  When fi ghting dogs, rats, or Boggins, the 
  system is a little diff erent. Cats only fi ght each 
  other to prove dominance; when fi ghting a 
  Boggin, your cat is fi ghting for his life.
  Use the same system as above with each 
  throw of the dice representing one round 
  of fi ghting. At the end of each round, each 
  combatant takes a number of Scars equal to the 
  number of evens his opponent rolled.
  At the end of each round, check your Scars. 
  If you have to adjust Traits because of Scars 
  you’ve earned at the fi ght, do it now.
  Dodging
  During a fi ght, you cat may try to dodge 
  instead of scoring a hit on his opponent. 
  Note that if you dodge in a fi ght with another 
  cat, you infl ict no Scars at all and you are 
  automatically considered the loser of the fi ght.
  To dodge, roll your Legs instead of rolling 
  your Claws or Fangs dice. Th is way, your cat 
  tries to dodge the hits rather than deliver one 
  of his own.
  You may also dodge a Boggin’s hits in the 
  same way. Remember, you deliver no hits at all 
  when dodging.
  Death
  A cat can only take so much damage before 
  he loses his grip on life. When three of a cat’s 
  Traits are crippled, he’s in real danger. When 
  four of his Traits become Crippled, or if he uses 
  his last Life, he dies.
  Reputation
  Your cat can have up to fi ve Reputations, 
  and each Reputation has both a Trait and 
  a Rank. A Reputation’s maximum Rank is 
  5. As an example, Roland has the following 
  Reputations:
  • 
  Boggin Killer 3
  • 
  Rat Catcher 2
  • 
  Good Kisser 2
  Using Reputation
  Whenever your cat takes a Risk, look at 
  your Reputations. If the Narrator agrees that 
  one of your Reputations is appropriate to the 
  Risk, you can add your Reputation in dice to 
  your roll. Th is gives you more dice for a better 
  chance at more evens.
  Losing Reputation
  If your cat ever takes an action that goes 
  against his Reputation, he stands a chance of 
  losing it. If he doesn’t fi x the problem in the 
  very same session, taking an action that would 
  restore his Reputation, he loses a point of that 
  Reputation. 
  
  12
  Th e Narrator is the fi nal judge of when a cat may lose or restore his Reputation.
  Getting a New Reputation
  Cats can earn new Reputations by doing things other cats hold in high esteem. If 
  another cat sees your act he can declare that you deserve a new Reputation. Th e cat 
  “spends” one of his own Reputations to give you a new Reputation at half the value 
  of his own. He must spend a Reputation that’s appropriate to your new Reputation. 
  Here’s how it works.
  Roland saves another cat from a nasty dog (using some good ol’ fashioned cat 
  magic). Th e other cat — Sylvia — decided Roland needs a reward, so she decides to 
  give him a new Reputation.
  Sylvia has a Reputation for outsmarting dogs: Hound Huckster 3. She “spends” her 
  Reputation to give Roland the same Reputation at half her Rank (rounded up). Th is 
  means she can’t rely on her Reputation for the rest of the game.
  So, Roland now has a new Reputation: Hound Huckster 2.
  Lives
  A cat has nine Lives and may use them in two ways.
  First, you may spend a cat’s Life to succeed in any Risk, regardless of your Trait or 
  the diffi  culty.
  Second, you can use a Life to dodge any Scars gained from a single round.
  Once your cat runs out of Lives, he’s out for good. Although, there are rumors of 
  cats who fi nd a way to refresh a Life… although nobody’s actually met a cat who has.
  Style
  Finally, cats have Style. 
  A cat’s Style comes from his confi dence (some say his cockiness) and assuredness in 
  his manner and physical prowess.
  In other words, dogs just get the job done and cats do things with panache.
  Whenever you make a roll and have more evens than you need, the evens become 
  Style Points; write them down on your cat sheet. You can use Style in one of two 
  ways.
  First, you can keep them to use later. Each even kept in this way counts as an 
  automatic even you can use later in the game. You may use your Style Point whenever 
  you like and you may use as many Style Points on any roll you like — you are a cat, 
  aft er all.
  Second, you can use extra evens you just rolled to creatively edit the that particular 
  moment of the scene. In other words, you can use your Style to put yourself in a 
  better position, becoming the Narrator for a moment to add some zest to the scene. 
  
  13
  While you cannot subtract anything that 
  already exists from the scene, you can alter 
  established facts. 
  For example, while running away from a 
  dog, Roland makes his way across a busy street. 
  Th e Narrator tells me I have to make a Hard 
  Legs roll to not get hit by the cars. I roll and 
  get:
  Four evens! Because I only needed three, 
  I have one additional even to use for Style. 
  I tell the Narrator that one of the cars spins 
  out of the way, cutting me off  from the dog; 
  he’s gonna have to wait a few moments while 
  I continue darting down a dark alley, clear out 
  of sight.
  
  14
  Three: Cat Magic
  A cat’s Tail is his soul, his source of power and magic. And while it is called “cat 
  magic,” cats don’t cast spells... they play Tricks.
  Th e stronger a cat’s Tail, the mightier his magic and the more clever his Tricks. 
  We’ll learn more about Tricks in a moment. First, let’s talk a little bit about the limits 
  of cat magic.
  Magic Points
  Tricks don’t happen all by themselves; a cat has to make a Trick work. He does 
  this by using Magic Points and rolling dice. Th e harder the Trick, the more magic it 
  requires, the more evens you have to roll to make it work.
  Each cat has fi ve Magic Points, plus one Magic Point per Tail Rank. In order to 
  use any magic at all, a cat has to spend at least one Magic Point which gives him a 
  number of dice to roll equal to his Tail. Each additional Magic Point gives you an 
  Advantage Die to roll.
  Regaining Magic Points
  Cats regain Magic Points at a rate of 1 per hour of sleep. If a cat can’t sleep, he can’t 
  regain his Magic Points.
  The Bauble Curse
  Long, long ago, a sorcerer dog tricked the King of the Cats, putting a curse on 
  him and all his kind. Known by cats as “the Bauble Curse,” it is one of the more 
  humiliating aspects of cat nature. If you’ve ever seen a cat chase a ball of twine or a 
  feather on a long piece of string, you’re familiar with the Curse.
  As long as the object is in his sight (and active), a cat is under the thrall of the 
  curse. He remains under the thrall of the Curse until he makes three Hard Risks 
  with his Tail. Until he does that, the Curse holds him tight, making him completely 
  helpless and under the thrall of the Curse. If he fails all three Risks, he is suddenly 
  free from the Curse. A cat cannot take any Risk while under the eff ects of the Bauble 
  Curse.
  Getting Wet
  If a cat gets wet — and we’re not talking about drops, we’re talking about the 
  drowned rat kind of wet — he can’t use his magic for the rest of the day, even if he 
  gets himself dry again.
  No Tail
  Some species of cat have no Tail. While they may have no physical tail, they still 
  have a Tail Trait, just like other cats.
  
  15
  Using Magic
  Listed below are the many Tricks cats use to 
  befuddle their enemies. Each Trick has a Tail 
  Rank indicating how strong your cat’s Tail 
  needs to be to use the Trick. If your cat’s Tail 
  is equal to or greater than the listed Rank, you 
  may use the Trick. If the Trick’s Rank is greater 
  than your Tail Rank, you cannot use the Trick.
  Some Tricks have a “Variable” Tail Rank; this 
  means the Trick has a number of eff ects based 
  on your cat’s Tail Rank. You can pull off  the 
  eff ects equal to or lesser than your Tail Rank 
  but not those greater than your Tail Rank.
  For example, Roland wants to use a Trick. 
  His Tail is Strong, so he can use any Trick in 
  the book that requires a Poor, Good, or Strong 
  Tail. He cannot use any Trick that requires a 
  Best Tail.
  Fall on All Fours (Variable)
  Whenever scientists study how cats fall, they 
  always get very strange results. Th at’s because 
  cats are using magic to keep themselves safe 
  during the fall and some cats are just better at 
  magic than others.
  Good: A cat with a Good Tail can fall twenty 
  feet and take no Scars. 
  Strong: A cat with a Strong Tail can fall forty 
  feet and suff er no Scars. 
  Best: A cat with a Best Tail can fall seventy 
  feet and suff er no scars.
  Hide in Plain Sight (Variable)
  Cats have an amazing ability to disappear 
  almost before your very eyes. Once a cat 
  disappears, he remains hidden as long as he 
  remains still.
  Good: A cat with a Good Tail can disappear 
  if everyone in the room has their back turned 
  to him.
  Strong: A cat with a Strong Tail can 
  disappear if no one is looking directly at him 
  (i.e. he’s in the corner of your eye).
  Best: A cat with a Best Tail can disappear, 
  quite literally, “in the blink of an eye,” even if 
  you’re looking straight at him.
  Sneak (Variable)
  Cats are sneaky; they move very quietly 
  without drawing any attention to themselves.
  Good: A cat with a Good Tail can move 
  through a darkened area (room, alleyway, etc.) 
  without being seen by anyone.
  Strong: A cat with a Strong Tail can move 
  through a room full of people without being 
  seen.
  Best: A cat with a Best Tail can pass over 
  sleeping people (and other creatures) without 
  disturbing them from their rest.
  Doorslip (Good)
  A cat must have a Strong Tail to perform 
  the Doorslip Trick. It allows a cat to slip by a 
  locked door. It requires a small sacrifi ce (a rat, 
  mouse or rabbit) to be placed before the door. 
  Once the Ritual is complete, the cat slips by the 
  door as if it were open.
  The Dinner Dance Ritual 
  (Good)
  Th e Dinner Dance Ritual (some precocious 
  cats call this the “DDR”) is a favorite of toms 
  and requires little preparation. All you need do 
  is walk around a human three times and he’ll 
  grant a single request (bring me food, give me 
  shelter, etc.). Th e request must have something 
  to do with fulfi lling a basic need.
  Dream Bite (Good)
  It’s hard to fi nd humans in the Dream, 
  especially the ones who don’t pay attention. 
  A few bites (just two or three) mark a human 
  with your scent (clawing works as well), 
  
  16
  making the human easy to fi nd in the Dream. 
  Dream Bite also works on Boggins, making 
  them easy to fi nd (and kill).
  The Chase Your Tail Whammy 
  (Best)
  A not-very-nice Ritual that befuddles dogs. 
  If you can jump over a dog — head to tail — he 
  gets confused and starts chasing his tail. Th is 
  lasts for 1, 2 or 3 minutes (roll a 6-sided die and 
  divide the result).
  Fighting Frenzy (Good)
  When a cat needs it, he can enter a kind of 
  wild frenzy of claws and teeth. Th e price is 
  high, but sometimes, a cat needs it to survive. 
  By spending one Life, a cat may gain a number 
  of actions in a fi ght equal to his Tail bonus. 
  Th is means a cat with a Good Tail (3) can take 
  three actions during a round. He can attack 
  three opponents, attack an opponent three 
  times, or whatever else he needs to do. Th is 
  particular trick has a high price, however: it 
  costs the cat one of his Lives.
  
  17
  Four: Narrator
  Th is is the Narrator’s part of the book. It contains Advanced Rules to help the 
  Narrator tailor the game to his liking, advice on making and telling stories, running 
  the game, storytelling in the Kingdom of Dreams, a whole bunch of Enemies and a 
  few other helpful hints.
  Advanced Rules
  Below are a few extra rules you can put in your game. You don’t have to use all of 
  them, you can pick and choose. If you feel more rules get in the way of enjoying the 
  game, leave them alone.
  Increasing Your Traits
  At the end of the game, each cat gains a Trait Point to allocate to one of his Traits 
  (plus one or two for good roleplaying).
  You can increase a Trait with Trait Points. You must invest three Trait Points in a 
  Trait to increase it one Rank.
  Experienced Cats
  You may want to play a more experienced cat at the beginning of the game. Before 
  you even begin the story, you can spend one Life to increase a Good Trait to Strong 
  or two Lives to increase a Strong Trait to Best. You can spend up to three Lives this 
  way.
  Legendary Traits
  Some cats have “Legendary Traits” (6). To increase a Trait from Best to Legendary, 
  you must spend 6 Trait Points. Remember, a Trait cannot increase if it has any Scars.
  Narrator Advice
  Storytelling is not an easy job, but it’s a very rewarding one. Th is chapter 
  is dedicated to making his job easy and fun. In order to do that, I’ve divided 
  storytelling up into three simple steps: #1 Writing Stories, #2 Telling Stories, and #3 
  Running the Game.
  Step #1: Writing Stories
  Before we get too far into how you write stories for Cat, we should stop a moment 
  to consider a question: what kind of stories do you want to tell? Problem is, that’s 
  a trick question. As Narrator, you don’t tell the players stories, you help them tell 
  stories to each other.
  Storytelling is a lot like being a tour guide for a group of people going to an 
  amusement park. Th ey’re all eager to play your brand new storytelling game, but the 
  problem is, they all like diff erent kinds of stories. Some folks like horror stories, some 
  like romance, and others like action. 
  
  18
  Some people like to be scared. Th ey enjoy 
  stories of ghosts, bogeymen and other things 
  that bump your bed in the night. Others can’t 
  stand scary stories, and want to stay as far 
  away from them as possible. Some folks like 
  stories with a lot of action, suspense and drama. 
  Others like soft er, quieter stories, where there’s 
  no doubt the hero wins in the end. Your job as 
  a Narrator is to make sure everybody has fun, 
  so you have to fi gure out what kind of stories 
  they like. Now that may sound hard, but a 
  couple of tricks make it easier than it sounds.
  Ask Your Players
  It’s so simple, you’d never think of it, but 
  actually sitting down and asking your players 
  what kind of story they’d like to tell is a really 
  good way of making sure everybody in your 
  game is happy.
  Look at their Catsheets
  Another good trick is taking a peek at their 
  Catsheets. Players looking for an action-fi lled 
  fi ght fest make their Claws and Fangs their 
  Best and Strong Traits. Folks who want a little 
  romance make their Coat their Best Trait. 
  Players looking to use Magic and wander 
  through the Dream have a thick, bushy Best 
  Tail. Take a peek at those Catsheets, fi gure out 
  what your players want and give it to them.
  It’s All About Drama
  When writing a story, it’s important to 
  include an element of drama. Now, this little 
  word gets tossed around a lot (like its cousin 
  “irony”) but what exactly does it mean? Well, 
  drama is confl ict. Without confl ict, cats 
  sit around all day and get very little done. 
  However, when you give a protagonist a goal, 
  then put something between him and that goal, 
  you have drama.
  For example, let’s say there’s a little boy 
  haunted by a very exotic Boggin nobody’s ever 
  seen before. It’s mean and ruthless and sends all 
  the neighborhood cats away licking scars. Th e 
  boy is dying and the Boggin is laughing. Th e 
  cats have to do something before its too late.
  Here you have goal (“protect the boy”) and 
  obstacle (“Boggin is too tough to beat up 
  alone”). Th e heroes of the story have to fi nd 
  a way to save the boy, but in order to do that, 
  they must defeat the Boggin. Now that you 
  know the goal, you set up complications and 
  smaller obstacles the players must overcome on 
  their way to the big goal. Th ey hear a rumor of 
  an old cat who lives across town who knows all 
  sorts of things about Boggins. Maybe if they 
  get to him, he can tell them how to defeat the 
  Boggin?
  Th is sets up all sorts of obstacles for the 
  heroes. First, they have to discover where the 
  old ratter lives. Second, they have to get out 
  of the neighborhood and across town. Th at 
  means a whole city of dogs, mean people, stray 
  Boggins and animal control people to dodge. 
  Th at city’s worth three nights of adventures 
  all by itself. Th en, once they’ve found the 
  old cat, they have to convince him to pass on 
  his knowledge. Finally, once they know the 
  method for dealing with the Big Bad Boggin, 
  they have to get back across town and deal with 
  it.
  Another example: Your child goes off  to 
  summer camp with a fat Boggin sitting on 
  his back. You have to fi nd a way to smuggle 
  yourself on that bus and make sure that thing 
  doesn’t spread Boggin eggs all over the camp. 
  You know, most summer camps have dogs...
  But even simple circumstances can inspire 
  epic adventures. Fleas, disease, ticks, even a 
  messy house can inspire cats to incredible 
  methods to get their people to pay attention 
  to their actions. As the opening story suggests, 
  just getting them to clean out the litter box can 
  be a challenge.
  
  19
  Step #2: Telling Stories
  Some people say the oldest rule in 
  storytelling is: “Show, don’t tell.” Th ey’re 
  probably right, but in my head, it isn’t the most 
  important. It’s more important to keep your 
  audience entertained at all times. 
  How do you do this? Well, the Japanese 
  swordsman-scholar Miyamoto Musashi once 
  suggested that sword fi ghting had a lot to 
  do with carpentry. I think its safe to say that 
  storytelling does, too. Aft er all, both of them 
  employ toolboxes...
  The Two Toolboxes
  A Narrator has two toolboxes: his Voice 
  Toolbox and his Body Toolbox. Let’s look at 
  each in turn.
  Using Your Voice
  Th e human voice is a powerful tool. Like a 
  musical instrument, it’s capable of all kinds 
  of sounds. However, no instrument in the 
  world is as versatile as your voice. With it, you 
  can create lightning, thunder, dogs barking 
  or howling at the moon. You can create 
  characters, each with their own unique voice 
  and mannerisms. Use funny voices, scary voices, 
  guttural voices, high pitched voices, ticks, 
  stutters, slurs and anything else you can think 
  of.
  Spend one day, just one day, listening to the 
  world around you and pay close attention to 
  how things sound. Th en, try mimicking those 
  sounds. You may be amazed at how close you 
  get. Or, just sit in your kitchen for ten minutes. 
  Turn the TV and music off , and just sit and 
  listen. Listen to the hum of the refrigerator, the 
  sound of neighbors outside, cars starting and 
  driving by, water fl owing through the walls as 
  someone turns on the shower, a distant phone 
  ringing, and pets running around downstairs. 
  Th e world is seldom, if ever, silent. Cats know 
  this. So should your players.
  Using Your Body
  Th e Body Toolbox is just as powerful, 
  although not as subtle as the Voice Toolbox. 
  Th e easiest example of using your body to help 
  communicate information to your players 
  is through the body language of non-player 
  characters. Each character should hold himself 
  diff erently. Like the exercise I mentioned 
  above, go the mall or some other place were 
  people congregate, and watch them. Just over 
  lunch, sit for an hour with a sandwich and 
  watch as people walk by. Note where they hold 
  their hands, how they hold their heads, how 
  they dodge the glances of strangers, how they 
  get out of the way, how they drop eye contact 
  to the fl oor, how they recover from a stumble, 
  how they hold themselves in a large group of 
  friends, how they hold themselves in lines and 
  how their entire body language changes when 
  they need to apologize. It’s amazing to watch, it 
  really is. 
  And you can learn so much from just an 
  hour of paying attention. And don’t spend 
  all your time watching people; spend some 
  time watching cats, too. Th e more you know 
  about our feline friends, the more you can 
  communicate their actions and voices to your 
  players.
  Step #3: Running the Game
  Finally, a quick discussion on how to run 
  the game. First, a look at the rules. Second, 
  a discussion of one of the oldest storytelling 
  tricks in the world. Finally, a chat on how to 
  reward your players.
  The Rules
  As was stated at the beginning of this book, 
  the only rule you really have to follow is HAVE 
  FUN! Now, that’s easy for me to say: I wrote 
  the rules, I know how they work and I know 
  which rules to ditch when I need to, right?
  
  20
  Well, frankly, so do you. I have a lot of 
  faith in you. I designed the rules to be simple 
  and easy to fudge with so you could do just 
  that. Everybody’s got their own house rules 
  for MONOPOLY, and there’s no reason 
  why everyone who owns a copy of this game 
  shouldn’t have their own set of house rules for 
  it as well.
  Yes, dropping and changing rules changes 
  how the game works, but that’s the point of 
  dropping and changing rules: to make the game 
  work diff erently. I don’t expect everyone to like 
  every rule I’ve written in the book. I expect 
  people to change them, tweak them or just 
  ditch them all together and create an entirely 
  new rule set. Th at’s half the fun of a roleplaying 
  game: watching how other people play the 
  same game with diff erent sets of rules.
  In fact, while running Cat, I found myself 
  changing the rules every session or so. One 
  player had to make a jump and failed it by one 
  even (he needed 3 and rolled 2), but he said, 
  “My cat just landed on the other side, just a 
  paw short, right?” I nodded. “So, he could 
  use his Claws to climb the rest of the way?” I 
  nodded again. “You can make a test with your 
  Claws to try climbing up the rest of the way.”
  Nowhere in the rules does it say a player can 
  do that, but his solution to the failure was so 
  cool (it made everybody’s eyes shine — he 
  really needed to make that jump), I let him 
  get away with it. And just like that BANG! A 
  new rule. If I played the rules hard and fast, he 
  wouldn’t have made the roll and fell for some 
  Scars. Instead, because I was willing to bend the 
  rules for a creative player, the game proceeded 
  and he managed to save a mommy from a nasty 
  Boggin.
  So, if you don’t like how Lives work and 
  think they should have a more important role 
  in the game, make them more important. Don’t 
  worry about “game balance” or any of that 
  nonsense. Th e only “game balance” to worry 
  about is when one player takes advantage of the 
  rules and exploits them at the expense of other 
  players. It doesn’t matter what rule set you put 
  in front of him, he’ll ruin any game he can get 
  his hands on. Th at’s his brand of fun: enjoying 
  himself at the expense of others. Th at’s why 
  other games have “game balance”: to ensure the 
  rules monkey doesn’t “abuse” the game system.
  I want you to abuse the game system. Make 
  it work the way you want it to work. But if one 
  player spoils everybody else’s good time, don’t 
  blame the game system, blame the player.
  And don’t invite him back next time.
  Let Them Do All the Work
  Th is is a trick the best Narrators know: 
  there’s a lot more of “them” (the players) than 
  there are of “us” Fortunately, they haven’t 
  fi gured that out just yet, and you can use it to 
  your advantage.
  In a movie or a book, the author has 
  complete control over every aspect of the story. 
  He controls the thoughts, actions and dialogue 
  of all the characters, but more importantly, he 
  also controls the setting, scenery and props. 
  Most roleplaying games use the premise “the 
  Narrator is the author and the players are 
  the main characters.” We’re not gonna go in 
  that direction. I suggest to you the players are 
  authors as well. Your chief role as Narrator (a 
  purposefully misguiding title) is to help the 
  players tell their own stories. 
  When their cats enter a room, tell them to 
  describe it. Let them fi ll it with props. Fill in 
  the blanks as you see fi t, but otherwise, let 
  them do all the work. Let them describe the 
  family they live with, the house they live in and 
  the surrounding neighborhood. Let them name 
  the dog next door. Let them name and describe 
  the hawk that lives just up the way in the forest 
  off  the main road. Let them come up with the 
  
  21
  back story of how they found that hawk with 
  a broken wing and brought mice and rats to 
  it and nursed it back to heath, thus making 
  an ally for life. Let them detail their own past 
  adventures, but when you do, listen closely and 
  keep notes. You’ll fi nd all sorts of adventure 
  seeds in their descriptions, as well as possible 
  future allies and enemies.
  Th e more control you give your players over 
  their own characters’ destinies, the more they’ll 
  invest into not only their own characters, but 
  the world surrounding them. If you introduce 
  a secondary character, they decide whether or 
  not they want to invest any time with him. If 
  they create the character, they’ve already got a 
  say in his look, his mannerisms, his habits and 
  fl aws. In other words, they’ll create characters 
  they want to interact with.
  In other words, they’re doing all the work.
  Storytelling in the 
  Kingdom of Dreams
  When your characters enter the Kingdom 
  of Dreams, you have many challenges before 
  you. Dreams aren’t like the real world; they 
  have qualities that make them distinct. In this 
  section of the book, we’ll talk about dreams 
  and how to invoke their unique atmosphere.
  The Quality of Dreams
  Th e most important thing to remember 
  about telling stories in the Kingdom of Dreams 
  is atmosphere. Dreams feel a certain way, and if 
  you can invoke that sensation, you can make it 
  really feel like your players are walking through 
  a dreamscape.
  The Dreamer
  Th e fi rst thing to consider when describing 
  Dream is the environment of the dreamer. If a 
  dreamer is snuggled up in a cozy blanket with 
  his favorite pillow, the Dream is a friendly, 
  warm place.
  Th e sun is high in the sky, sending delicate 
  drops of warmth down on your head. It’s 
  not too hot because a cool breeze keeps you 
  company. Th e tall grasses wave, the trees sway 
  and the air is fresh and cool. And you’re pretty 
  sure if you jump hard enough, you can fl y off  
  into that beautiful sky…
  On the other hand, if the dreamer falls asleep 
  in a cardboard box with rain pelting through 
  his makeshift  home while sirens blare and 
  the growl of a dog can be heard somewhere 
  in the darkness, a dreamer’s experience is very 
  diff erent.
  It is dark. And wet. Lightning fl ashes, but 
  gives no illumination. Th e drooping limbs 
  claw the earth below them, hoping to dig up 
  something buried long ago. You think you hear 
  screaming, perhaps below those trees. And now 
  a sucking sound, perhaps at the roots. You are 
  cold, alone and in the dark. You’re pretty sure 
  if you don’t keep walking, the mud will suck 
  you down. Maybe that’s where the screams are 
  coming from. Someone who couldn’t keep 
  walking. And your feet are so heavy…
  Details are important. Use colors to 
  communicate mood. Use sounds, use smells. 
  Use everything at your disposal to invoke the 
  atmosphere of dream.
  Symbols and Absurdity
  Yes, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but 
  that means other times, it isn’t. Symbols are 
  an important element of Dream, although the 
  symbolic world doesn’t always make sense. 
  Th at’s probably because it isn’t supposed to 
  make sense.
  Symbols communicate information to us, 
  but sometimes that information isn’t supposed 
  to be interpreted in a logical way (the surreal 
  fi lms of David Lynch are called “dream-like” for 
  a reason). Sometimes, dreams present images 
  
  22
  that don’t “mean” anything, but communicate a 
  sensation or an emotion.
  A strange man approaches you. His eyes are 
  black, his hair is blond and his fi ngernails are 
  made of alabaster. “Th ere is something I need 
  to do,” he says, and he reaches forward and 
  kisses you with his corpse-cold lips. His breath 
  smells like burned rubber. When he’s done, he 
  whispers, “Th ank you,” and walks away. Roses 
  drop from his trousers as he leaves, fi lling the 
  room with their scent.
  Th e above paragraph could very well be a 
  dream, and there are a dozen diff erent ways 
  to interpret the experience. However, what is 
  more important is the emotion you get from 
  the experience. When describing dreams, use 
  surreal experiences to elicit response from 
  the dreamers, rather than fi ll their heads with 
  “What did that mean?”
  We almost never understand our dreams, but 
  we always remember the way they made us feel.
  Exaggeration
  In the Kingdom of Dreams, everything 
  is bigger than it should be. Or, if you like, 
  everything is much, much smaller. Either way, 
  exaggeration is a great tool for invoking the 
  atmosphere of dream.
  You approach Charlie’s house. You remember 
  you owe him that ten bucks you borrowed 
  for lunch the other day. Th e windows open 
  wide, staring down at you. Th e drapes curl into 
  smiles. Th e wooden fence twists into an iron 
  gate as you pass through, slamming shut when 
  it is behind you. Th e grass murmurs. Th e trees 
  chortle. Th e door swings open by itself as you 
  approach. You want to stop, turn back and run, 
  but your feet keep carrying you forward…
  So much of the geography and architecture 
  of Dream is exaggeration, refl ecting the mood 
  of the dreamer, or the subject of his dream. If 
  he’s facing his fears, everything is dark, gloomy 
  and sharp. If he’s comfortable, everything is 
  soft , warm and inviting.
  Time
  In the Kingdom of Dreams, time only exists 
  as a variable, an elastic element. Th ere is no 
  consistency to its passing. A journey that 
  should take weeks lasts mere moments, with 
  no recollection at all of the events between 
  Point A and Point B. A second can take hours 
  to pass, especially when running away from a 
  nightmare. Th ings speed up and slow down 
  when they feel like it.
  Jumping, Flying and Other 
  Amazing Acts of Physical 
  Impossibility
  Anything is possible in dream, but most of 
  it is unintentional. Some dreamers can control 
  their actions, fl ying when they feel like it. 
  Others stumble on minor miracles and enjoy 
  them while they last.
  Cats can control the landscape of dream (see 
  Dreaming Rules, below), but humans make 
  everything diffi  cult. Because they can’t control 
  their dreams — only a few, very talented 
  humans can — their psyches manipulate and 
  warp the dreamscape beyond any hope of 
  repair. In other words, cats have to make do 
  with the world humans make.
  Nightmares
  As if Boggins weren’t enough.
  In the Kingdom of Dreams, cats have to look 
  out for nightmares. Like Boggins, nightmares 
  can do little to danger cats… unless they’re 
  powered by the fears of dreamers, that is.
  Nightmares feed on human fear, and 
  seek out dreaming humans to quench their 
  hunger. Many nightmares even collect human 
  dreamers, keeping them trapped within cages 
  made from their own phobias and insecurities.
  
  23
  Dreaming Rules
  Cats have great power in the Kingdom of 
  Dreams. Because they won the Contest, they 
  have the ability to alter and manipulate the 
  Dreamscape. However, because mankind’s 
  control over the Dreamscape is random at best, 
  they have a lot to do when looking out for their 
  people while they dream.
  A cat uses his Tail to manipulate dream. 
  Unlike Tricks, however, he can only alter the 
  dreamscape by taking Risks. Listed below are 
  the ways cats can change the Dreamscape along 
  with the Diffi  culties.
  Change Yourself (1 Even)
  With a Good Tail you can jump a mile into 
  the sky, grow wings and fl y, grow gills and 
  swim, and anything else that aff ects you, only 
  you, and nothing else.
  Change Something Else (2 
  Evens)
  Your cat can make an alarm clock ring, a 
  computer shut down, a wound stop bleeding 
  and a mean lady fart in a public place. You 
  can change any object as long as it is not 
  permanently destroyed by the change and it is 
  something it can do.
  Alter Something Else (3 
  Evens)
  If your cat’s Tail is his Best Trait, your cat can 
  make something (not a person) do something 
  it can’t do. You can make a clock face laugh or a 
  pig fl y or a candy bar turn into a fl ower.
  Create or Destroy Something 
  (4 Evens)
  If your cat’s Tail is Legendary, he can 
  completely destroy one thing. It can’t be 
  something made out of more than one part like 
  a gun or a clock, but you can destroy a part of 
  that clock, so it doesn’t work anymore.
  Completely Change One Place 
  (5 Evens)
  Finally, a cat can completely change his 
  surroundings into something else. He can’t 
  predict what it will be, but the entire situation 
  changes. Th is is an act of incredible will, 
  demanding every bit of magic a cat’s got. It is 
  no ordinary feat, but it can be accomplished.
  
  24
  Cat Adventures
  Listed below are a few story hooks for you to incorporate into full-blown stories. 
  Make sure each fi ts your own group’s style of play and use the tricks you learned in 
  the previous section.
  A New Secret Name
  If Boggins ever discover a cat’s secret name, they become invisible to him, just as 
  they’re invisible to humans. It also means Boggins can haunt the poor cat and steal 
  his magic from him.
  If a cat ever “loses” his secret name this way, he must fi nd another one. Th e only 
  way to do that is in Dream. Th e Well of Names is hidden (to keep Boggins and 
  Nightmares from discovering it) and only the most knowledgeable creatures in the 
  world know where it is. But getting that knowledge isn’t easy and probably requires a 
  quest. 
  Once the knowledge is gained, the journey is only half done. Journeying through 
  Dream to the Well of Names requires cunning, courage and stealth (to make sure no 
  Boggins or Nightmares follow you). It rests in a hidden valley just off  the shores of 
  the Sea of Flame. Once there, the cat whispers into the Well and the echo tells him 
  his new name — depending on what he whispered into the Well. What should he 
  whisper? Th at’s up to the cat.
  Rescuing the King of the Cats
  A witch (typically a mean old lady, but there’s nothing wrong with fl ying in the 
  face of cliché) has captured the King of the Cats and plans on skinning him for his 
  magic and knowledge. Of course, its up to you to organize and direct a rescue plan.
  Th e witch has all kinds of tricks and traps set up for cats who hope to rescue their 
  King (just think of what the traps in Home Alone would really do to a cat and you’ve 
  got the right idea). She also has twin Dobermans (named “Tooth” and “Claw”) and a 
  pit bull (“Esau”) who have free run of the house. She also has a fl ock of crows who sit 
  on the roof looking for cats. Th ey’re not really crows, but nightmares she pulled out 
  of Dream. Th e other birds in the area don’t like them and would be willing to help 
  out a group of cats to get rid of them.
  Finally, she has a little black cat she calls Circe. Th is cat has been possessed by a 
  Boggin and has Boggin Points (see Boggins, below). It has a Best Tail and the rest of 
  her Traits are Strong. She’s always on the lookout for other cats and will kill them for 
  their magic. She can use cat magic and has set up a ritual to warn her when cats enter 
  the house. Circe is clever and knows she probably can’t take on a group of cats by 
  herself, but she can warn the dogs and isolate less clever cats with her magic, taking 
  them out one-by-one.
  
  25
  Th e player cats may be armed with an army of 
  neighbors (what cat in his right mind wouldn’t 
  want to have “saved the King of the Cats” on 
  his name?) but they have very little time to get 
  help and even less time to plan. Th ey discover 
  he’s been captured one morning and they have 
  until midnight to save him (that’s when she 
  plans doing the sacrifi ce).
  Give the witch the same traits as a Mean 
  Person, but also give her some Boggin Points 
  (depending on how many cats you have and 
  how tough you think they are). She can do 
  everything a witch should be able to with her 
  Magic Points:
  Flight: She can fl y for 3 BP — no matter the 
  distance — but she needs her broom to do it.
  Curses: For 2 BP she can cause a cat to 
  fail at a specifi c action (climbing, sneaking, 
  fi ghting). Th e curse only lasts until the cat 
  tries that action, then he fails and the curse is 
  off  his coat. She must point at the cat with her 
  magic chicken leg (taken from a black feathered 
  chicken) to cast a curse.
  Potions: She has potions that stink (causing 
  —1 die to all actions) and stick (3 dice of 
  Advantage to keep a cat held). She also has 
  a potion that makes her invisible (until she 
  stands in sunlight). She also needs a potion to 
  see and talk to Boggins. Th is potion lasts for 
  ten minutes.
  By the way, the witch is trying to become a 
  Boggin. She wins their faith and trust until one 
  of them possesses her, giving her exactly what 
  she thought she wanted. Saving the witch from 
  herself may be a secondary task here, but it is 
  still a noble one.
  Good Dogs and Bad Cats
  As suggested above, there are “bad cats,” but 
  it have to take a Boggin to make a cat go bad. 
  Like people, some cats are just born bad. Also 
  like people, ambition, heartbreak, trauma, 
  and other emotional landmines can turn a cat 
  against its people.
  Imagine a cardboard box full of abandoned 
  kittens sitting in the August heat, left  to die of 
  exposure. Imagine a kitten with a rope and rock 
  tied to its neck, thrown into a river. People are 
  notorious for their treatment of cats, and there 
  are those out there who feel people just don’t 
  deserve protection. What they do deserve is the 
  same pain they give cats.
  “Bad cats” go out of their way to bring misery 
  to humans, including one trick that no honest 
  cat ever uses: stealing breath. It’s an old ritual 
  that’s forbidden by the King of the Cats, but 
  that doesn’t mean his subjects never use it. If 
  a cat sits on a sleeping person, he can steal the 
  breath right out of them. Th e ritual takes 1 
  hour per Magic Point the person has, and at 
  the end of the night, the person is one Magic 
  Point less and the cat has three more. When a 
  cat steals a person’s last Magic Point, the person 
  dies. An adult has only 3 Magic Points, teens 
  have 4, adolescents have 5, toddlers have 6 and 
  infants have 7.
  For example, a bad cat named Klytemnestra 
  is stealing a little boy’s breath. Th e boy has 5 
  Magic Points, so the ritual takes 5 hours a night 
  to complete. In the morning, Klytemnestra 
  has 3 extra Magic Points and the boy has 1 less. 
  Th at means the next night, the ritual only takes 
  4 hours to complete.
  On the other hand, there is such a thing as 
  a “good dog.” Many canines resent cats for 
  winning the Contest, but not all of them. A 
  few — just a few — recognize a cat’s duty to 
  protect people and actually assist them in their 
  duties. Aft er all, nothing on Earth knows duty 
  better than a dog; it’s just that duty sometimes 
  turns into jealousy...
  Oft en times, a puppy gets raised in a 
  household of cats, learns how to see Boggins 
  (not all dogs can see them) and helps out his 
  
  26
  feline fellows. He uses his own magic (see 
  Dogs, below) to hunt down and kill Boggins, 
  thus earning friendship and trust.
  Now, with all that in mind, consider an 
  adventure with a good dog and a bad cat. Th e 
  cat is trying to get revenge on a family for 
  giving away her kittens while the dog — a 
  puppy named “Hijinx” — tries to get the help 
  of his cat neighbors. Th e cats have never heard 
  of a dog trying to talk with cats, so they have no 
  need to trust him. Hijinx does his best to win 
  them over, trying to show evidence of the bad 
  cat’s treachery. However, this bad cat is clever 
  and uses tricks of his own to sabotage any trust 
  Hijinx earns. Nobody listens to poor Hijinx 
  and every night, the little baby in his care wakes 
  with less breath...
  Cross-Genre Cat
  Nearly every roleplaying game in existence 
  has rules for cats. If you’d like to play a cat from 
  this game in another roleplaying game, it’s 
  pretty easy.
  All you do is use the traits from the other 
  game for your physical actions. Th en, assume 
  your cat’s tail is his Best Trait (you need all 
  the advantages you can get) and use the magic 
  system in this book as is. If you use a Magic 
  Point to disappear between the blink of an eye, 
  that’s exactly what you do. Assume cat magic 
  always works and it’s stronger than any magic 
  (or technology) humans have. Aft er all, we’re 
  protecting them — whether they know it or 
  not — and their little attempts at magic won’t 
  get in our way of doing our job.
  Don’t feel you have to stop at transplanting 
  cat magic, however. Move over the Boggins as 
  well. Humans can’t see Boggins (most humans, 
  anyway), and even if they do have a magic 
  sword, magic armor and holy hand grenades, 
  they still need protection from things they 
  can’t see. Nearly every hero of fantastic fi ction 
  and mythology has gone through long periods 
  of melancholy. Ever stop to consider that may 
  be a big, fat Heavy sitting on them, sucking 
  their dreams dry?
  People need cats, no matter the time or 
  the place. And just because your Strength or 
  Dexterity isn’t 18 don’t mean you can’t be a 
  hero.
  (A quick aside: I remember watching 
  Alien with friends during the writing of this 
  book, thinking how little Jones the Cat using 
  every last Magic Point he had trying to lead 
  everyone away from the monster. Just imagine 
  his consternation at the end: locked in a box, 
  completely unable to help out his human 
  friends. Now that’s drama.)
  
  27
  Kittens: Telling Stories for 
  Children
  One of the reasons I designed Cat was for grown-ups to tell stories with kids. Cat 
  is perfect for that. Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of people tell me they used Cat to 
  introduce younger folks to roleplaying games. Th at always makes me happy. In order 
  for this hobby to survive, we have to make new gamers. Th e best way to do that is not 
  to introduce them with a game system that’s dedicated to creating authentic tactical 
  combat situations but a game system that encourages and teaches storytelling.
  Let’s take a look at how to use Cat for that very purpose.
  Forget What You Know
  If you’ve played a roleplaying game before, the fi rst and best advice I can give is 
  “Forget everything you know about roleplaying games.” Most roleplaying games 
  focus on things like “simulating reality” and “tactical choices.” Kids don’t care about 
  initiative, strike bids or falling damage. Th ey want to have fun. Th ey’re going to 
  make stuff  up that doesn’t make any sense because kids don’t understand the kind of 
  sophisticated subtleties of storytelling that adults do. Th ey focus on what’s fun. So, 
  don’t worry about rules or being fair. Don’t worry about continuity. Don’t worry 
  about consistency. Kids don’t care about these things.
  How Do I Tell a Story?
  Be loud. Use lots of voices. Jump up and act like a fool. Acting foolish will make 
  your kid laugh and that’s what we want here. We want to encourage play. Your child 
  wants to play with you. Be playful. Be excited. And don’t worry if the plot fl ies off  
  into strange tangents; when kids get excited about a plot twist, they’ll quickly forget 
  everything that came before it.
  What Kind of Story Do I Tell?
  Honestly, all that matters is the ending. When cats leave the house, the only 
  questions kids care about is, “Did the kitty get home safe?” Th e answer should 
  always be, “Yes.” Otherwise, he can have all kinds of adventures. He can even go to 
  the Moon! Kids love nonsense stories, so use lots of nonsense. Th ink of Wallace 
  and Grommit, think of Alice in Wonderland, think of old Mickey Mouse and Bugs 
  Bunny cartoons. Th ey really didn’t make any sense, but they didn’t have to! Th ey are 
  still stories.
  Establish a goal at the beginning of the story, then if the kitty accomplishes the 
  goal by the end of the story, what happens in the middle doesn’t matter. Th e more 
  wild and bizarre and outlandish it is, the better. Th e goal here is to have your child 
  exercise their imagination. Everything else is a secondary goal.
  
  28
  Use Your House
  Be sure to use your own house as a place for 
  stories. Your house is full of opportunities for 
  Monster stories. Cats can have adventures in 
  the basement or attic, they can get trapped 
  outside, trapped inside or have to deal with the 
  dog. 
  Also, use your neighborhood and other 
  places your child knows. Th e park, the mall, or 
  grandma’s house or any other place you usually 
  go. Because your child knows these places well, 
  they make great places for stories.
  When Do I Roll Dice?
  Th ere’s really only one rule in this game: the 
  dice tell you who gets to say what happens next 
  in the story. But when should you tell your 
  child to roll dice?
  Any time the kitty wants to do something 
  risky, tricky or dangerous, roll dice. Th is will 
  provide a moment of suspense. If you fi nd 
  yourself asking, “What will happen next?” roll 
  the dice.
  “Yes, and...”
  Th is “story game” is really just an 
  improvisation game for you and your child to 
  play. Th ere’s an important rule in improvisation 
  games: Say Yes. Like the example above, when 
  it is your turn to say what happens, say yes to 
  whatever the Monster wants to do… and add a 
  complication. 
  Th e kitty wants to unlock the window? Say 
  yes… and there’s a dog outside. Th e kitty wants 
  to go to the Moon? Say yes… and there’s dogs 
  on the Moon (why do you think they’re always 
  baying at the Moon, anyway?) Th e kitty wants 
  to scare the family dog? Say yes… and when 
  Boggins come that are too big for the cat to 
  handle alone, the dog won’t help the kitty at all.
  Say “Yes, and…” Or “Yes, but…” Don’t say 
  “No.” Th at usually ends the story.
  Morality
  I got this question from a parent: “What 
  happens if my child wants the kitty to burn 
  down the house?”
  Fans of the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon 
  should know the answer to this question. Kids 
  want to be mischievous. A kitty can provide 
  balance to that. Cat is a great way to tell 
  “morality tales” for children. Aft er all, that’s 
  what faerie tales originally were: morality 
  myths for kids. Th e cat won’t burn down the 
  house because only a boggin would do that. 
  A cat won’t fl ush the car keys down the toilet 
  because only a boggin would do that. If your 
  kid asks “Why?”, you’ve just been given a great 
  opportunity to have a serious discussion with 
  your child through the lens of a faerie tale. If 
  you want to explore that further, feel free to 
  try. Of course, every kid is diff erent; you know 
  better than I do how to answer questions like 
  those.
  
  29
  Enemies
  Cats have a lot of enemies. Some of them are visible to us and some of them are 
  not. Listed below are the Natural and Supernatural Enemies cats face on a daily basis.
  Natural Enemies
  Not all Enemies have the same Traits as cats, and cats don’t always have the same 
  Traits as their Enemies. In a nutshell, this is how it works.
  If a cat has a Trait an enemy doesn’t have, there’s no competition; the cat wins any 
  contest involving that Trait. Th e same is true for the reverse: if an enemy has a Trait a 
  cat doesn’t have, the cat loses the contest. In other words, if a human tries to pick up a 
  cat with his Th umbs, and a cat doesn’t have any Th umbs to counter the action, there’s 
  very little he can do. On the other hand, people don’t have Claws...
  Also, as a last ditch resort, cats can always try to run away with their Legs.
  Some enemies have “Extra Scars” and “Less Scars.”  Extra Scars are deducted from 
  a fi ght before any Scars go to Traits. Enemies with Less Scars can only take the listed 
  number of Scars before they can’t fi ght anymore.
  Dogs
  Traits
  Jaws (for carrying and fi ghting)
  Legs (for running and jumping)
  Eyes (seeing)
  Ears (hearing)
  Nose (smelling)
  Coat (for impressing other dogs and taking Scars)
  Paws (for digging)
  Dogs are very similar to cats, but with little diff erences in Traits. Th ey usually rush 
  headfi rst into an attack, and they don’t use their Claws, they use Jaws. 
  A dog’s Jaws are just like a cat’s Fangs, only they do a lot more damage. In a fi ght, 
  if a dog wins a test with his Jaws, he’s grabbed hold of the cat and can crush him. A 
  dog’s Jaws infl ict a number of Scars equal to his Jaws Bonus each round. He doesn’t 
  need to roll any dice to do so. A cat’s only hope is to spend Lives every round to 
  avoid gaining Scars.
  Every round, the cat gains one chance to escape the dog’s Jaws. He cannot spend a 
  Life to automatically succeed, he must Test Fate, and he may only use his Claws to do 
  so. 
  Dogs also have their own kind of magic. It’s less powerful because they didn’t win 
  Th e Contest, but it is still there. A dog’s magic is based on loyalty to one person and 
  
  30
  he earns Loyalty Points as long as his bond with 
  that person remains intact. Assume a dog has 3 
  Loyalty Points per year he’s spent with a single 
  owner (or family). A dog’s magic can be spent 
  in the following ways:
  Find (1 Point): Th e dog can fi nd his owner 
  — no matter where he is.
  Speak (3 Points): Th e dog can communicate 
  a single word to his owner using non-verbal 
  communication.
  Defend (any Points): A dog can spend a 
  Loyalty Point when defending his owner, 
  adding 3 to any roll.
  Smell Boggin (1 Point): Dogs can’t see 
  Boggins, but some of them can smell them. 
  Just smelling a Boggin isn’t enough; the dog 
  has to pinpoint it before he can attack. A dog 
  can spend a Loyalty Point to smell a Boggin 
  haunting his owner. He can attack the Boggin 
  aft er he’s spent a Loyalty to fi nd him.
  Track (2 Points): A dog can spend 2 Loyalty 
  to remember any creature’s scent. Once he’s 
  spent the Loyalty, he can always follow that 
  creature’s trail.
  Banish Boggin (3 Points): Dogs know a 
  ritual that gets rid of Boggins. Th e ritual is 
  complicated, but allows the dog to get rid of a 
  Boggin forever. It requires an item and some 
  (unknowing) participation by the owner. First, 
  the dog chews on the item, spending 1 Loyalty. 
  Second, the dog must get the owner to throw 
  the item at the Boggin. (Th is usually requires 
  several throwing attempts.) Once the item 
  hits the Boggin in question, the dog spends 2 
  Loyalty, takes the item away from the owner 
  and buries it. If it remains in the ground until 
  the next dawn, the Boggin is banished.
  Rats
  Traits
  Face (whiskers, eyes, ears, nose)
  Legs (for running and jumping)
  Teeth (for biting and carrying)
  Tail (not an advantage; see below)
  Swarm (a big advantage; see below)
  Nails (for clawing, digging)
  While one rat isn’t much of a threat to a cat, 
  many of them all at once can be a problem, 
  even for the best ratter. Rats work well 
  together, and when they do, they use their 
  Swarm Trait. If a swarm of rats attacks a cat, 
  they add their Swarm Traits together for any 
  Risks against the cat.
  Individually, if a cat wants to do anything to a 
  rat, he always makes a test against the rat’s Tail: 
  a rat’s Tail is always Poor (Bonus 1) and cannot 
  be improved. 
  Mean People
  Traits
  Face (eyes, ears, nose)
  Legs (for running and jumping)
  Th umbs (for picking things up)
  Tools (see below)
  Mean People do mean things to cats. Th is is 
  usually predicated by use of Th umbs. In order 
  for a mean person to get hold of a cat, make a 
  test between the mean person’s Th umbs and 
  the cat’s Legs. Once he’s in the Mean Person’s 
  grip, there’s little he can do to get away — 
  other than claw the Mean Person’s eyes out. 
  A successful use of Claws against the Mean 
  Person’s Face means the cat has scratched hard 
  enough to escape the Mean Person’s grip.
  Tools give Mean People additional 
  advantages. Small tools like hammers and 
  knives give a Mean Person 2 Advantage Dice 
  on all rolls. Larger tools like shovels, brooms 
  and other two-handed implements give them 4 
  Advantage Dice. Guns, cars and other large and 
  
  31
  deadly weapons give Mean People 10 AD on 
  all rolls.
  Boggins
  Th ere are many diff erent kinds of Boggins, 
  but they all want one thing: physical form. 
  Boggins don’t cause fear and anger and other 
  negative emotions for the fun of it. Th ey have 
  goals; notably to possess a mortal shell. Boggins 
  can possess any living creature — including 
  cats — but the process requires specifi c steps. 
  Once the process is completed, the Boggin is 
  in control of the body, with the thoughts and 
  memories of the host shunted aside.
  How do Boggins gain control of a host? 
  Th ere are many methods, but the most popular 
  are listed below.
  Note that all Boggins begin the same: 
  formless, skittering shadow-like creatures. Th e 
  fi rst step in the process of possessing a host is 
  fi nding that host’s potential weaknesses and 
  exploiting them. Th e shape of the Boggin 
  is dependent on those weaknesses. In other 
  words, it is the host who gives a Boggin its 
  shape and power.
  For game purposes, we call that power 
  “Boggin Points.” Th e more Points a Boggin 
  has, the more potent a foe it is, and the more 
  diffi  cult it is to defeat. Each Boggin has 
  diff erent abilities, all requiring the use of 
  Boggin Points.
  Defeating a Boggin before it possesses a host 
  is pretty straightforward. If a Boggin runs 
  out of Boggin Points, it reverts back to its 
  natural shape — a formless blob — and skitters 
  back to wherever it came. But once it gets its 
  hooks into a host, driving it away is next to 
  impossible. Each is diff erent, requiring a ritual 
  known only to the oldest most experienced 
  Boggin hunters. You’ll learn all those tricks 
  below.
  The Green-Eyed Monster
  “Th e Green-Eyed Monster, as you may guess, 
  sits on your shoulder, whispering all sorts of 
  things into your ear. Most of them involve 
  things that other people have and you don’t.”
  Traits
  Claws, Hide (Coat), Face, Fangs, Legs, Nose, 
  Wings
  Green-Eyed Monsters — otherwise known 
  as “Greenies” — aren’t very tough Boggins, nor 
  are they as dangerous as Men Under the Bed 
  or Heavies, but they are industrious and about 
  as assiduous as Boggins come. Not content to 
  work alone, Greenies work in groups, ensuring 
  the host hears nothing but their own little 
  wicked whispers.
  When they fi rst take shape, Greenies appear 
  as tiny devils, complete with horns and tails. 
  Th ey have talons and teeth and tiny wings they 
  use to fl y about. Th eir skin is like hardened 
  leather (thus, the “Hide” Trait), making them 
  highly resistant to injury. Th ey latch on to 
  the host’s shoulder, whispering into the host’s 
  ear all sorts of nonsense about everything 
  he doesn’t have. Soon, the host becomes 
  completely distracted from his own life, losing 
  his own identity in an obsessive lust for other 
  people’s belongings.
  Greenies work together in small groups. 
  Every day a host is infected with Greenies, the 
  little beasts all gain a Boggin Point. Like other 
  Boggins, when Greenies fi rst take shape, all 
  their Traits begin at Poor, but they can spend 
  Boggin Points (one-per-one) to increase their 
  Traits.
  The Man under the Bed
  “He’s a nasty one. We called him ‘Th e One 
  Who Lurks.’ I had to fi nd my Tommy in 
  Dreaming and have a long chat with him about 
  it. Th en, I had to do some fi ghting of my own. 
  When my Tommy saw me standing up to it, 
  
  32
  he knew he could, too. And when he did, Th e 
  One Who Lurks became Th e One Who Runs 
  Away.”
  Traits
  Claws, Face, Fangs, Legs, Nose, Th umbs
  He’s also known as Th e Man in the Closet, 
  and Th e Man at the Window, but his purpose 
  is always the same: to scare the wits out 
  of children everywhere. Th e Boggin gains 
  strength from children’s fears, especially 
  hopeless fear. Th ey know parents don’t believe 
  in the Man under the Bed (despite their own 
  childhood memories), and when a parent gives 
  the “Th ere’s no such thing as monsters” speech, 
  that’s when the Boggin starts acting in full 
  force.
  Th e Man under the Bed gains one Boggin 
  Point every night it spends under a child’s 
  bed (in his closet, behind the drapes, etc.). It 
  gains two Boggin Points every night aft er the 
  “Th ere’s no such thing as monsters” speech.
  Th e Man Under the Bed has the same Traits 
  as Mean People, but when it fi rst takes shape, 
  all Traits are Crippled. Th e Man can take form, 
  but it can only frighten the child by moving 
  between shadows, giving the child a hint at 
  danger. As it gains Boggin Points, it increases 
  each Trait on a Point-per-Point basis. When 
  all its Traits reach Good, it begins physically 
  terrorizing the child. When all its Traits reach 
  Strong, it possesses the child.
  Th e best way to battle the Man is to help 
  the child beat his own fear. If he isn’t afraid 
  of the Man under the Bed, the Boggin gains 
  no power (Boggin Points). Encouraging the 
  child in his dreams (children remember dreams 
  much better than adults do) and fi ghting the 
  Boggin while the child watches are both ways 
  of showing him how to overcome his fears.
  Ghosts
  “Th ey think they’re especially ‘sensitive’ 
  because they can see these things. Truth 
  is, what they are is vulnerable. Th e Boggin 
  wouldn’t be there if they weren’t.”
  Traits
  Claws, Face, Fangs, Legs, Th umbs
  Ghosts are actually Boggins feeding on the 
  regret of not saying or doing things before it’s 
  too late.
  Ghosts feed on regret, taking the shape of lost 
  loved ones to invoke feelings of helplessness 
  and ennui (which are equally tasty). Th ey 
  want the future host to feel helpless, hopeless 
  and pointless. Every day a ghost successfully 
  haunt a host, it gains one Boggin Point. As 
  soon as the host begins talking to the ghost (or 
  acknowledges it in some other way), it gains 
  two Boggin Points per day. Like the Man under 
  the Bed, Ghosts have the same Traits as a Mean 
  Person. When it fi rst takes form, a Ghost’s 
  Traits are all Crippled, and it is incapable of 
  interacting with the physical world. However, 
  it increases its Traits by spending Boggin Points 
  on a one-per-one basis. When its Traits reach 
  Good, it can lift  small, hand-held objects — 
  including cats. When its Traits reach Strong, 
  it can possess a human’s body, thus making it 
  nearly impossible to remove.
  Heavies
  “It’s a sick sight. Watching that thing sit on 
  your man, keeping him all wrapped up in a web 
  that he can’t see, but he can sure feel….”
  Traits
  Coat, Eyes, Fangs, Hairs (Ears), Legs, Web
  Sitting on the couch, eating potato chips, 
  sipping soda and watching a TV show that 
  you just hate is the perfect way to spend the 
  aft ernoon. But if you knew why you were 
  sitting there, you’d get off  your… backside and 
  go for a walk. Your cat can see why you’re there, 
  
  33
  and the longer you sit, the harder it is for him 
  to get you up.
  Heavies are Boggins who feed on sloth. Ever 
  try to get up from the couch and feel a heavy, 
  warm weight just keeping you down? Th at’s a 
  Heavy. It takes the shape of a giant, furry spider, 
  and it spends its day spinning a web, sticking 
  you right where you are so it can dine on all 
  that lovely apathy you’re making.
  When a Heavy fi rst takes form, it’s a tiny 
  spider crawling over the host’s body, feeding 
  on little idleness. Th en, as the Heavy’s poison 
  fi lls his veins, the host spends more time sitting 
  down, doing as little as possible. Th at’s when 
  the webs begin. Th e spider gets larger, using 
  the webs and its weight to hold the host down. 
  Finally, when the host is nearly covered in webs, 
  the Heavy lays eggs. Th ose eggs eventually 
  hatch and the host has even more Heavies 
  keeping him idle, feeding off  his laziness.
  When it fi rst takes its shape, a Heavy’s Traits 
  are all Crippled. Every day it feeds off  the host, 
  it gains one Boggin Point. As soon as the host 
  spends a night on the couch in front of the 
  TV, it gains two Boggin Points a day. When 
  its other Traits reach Good, it begins weaving 
  its web. Th e web itself is like a Trait; it begins 
  at Crippled and gains strength with each day. 
  A Heavy must either spend Boggin Points 
  on its own Traits or on its Web, not both. As 
  soon as all the Heavy’s Traits (including Web) 
  reach Strong, the Heavy lays its eggs. Once that 
  happens, it’s only a matter of days (usually two) 
  before the eggs hatch and the host is covered 
  with tiny Heavies, all eager to keep the host on 
  that couch.
  The Shoulda Brothers
  “Th ese guys... what I wouldn’t give to 
  see them get a taste of their own medicine. 
  Sitting around, wondering who to infect next, 
  worrying about the person they infected last 
  time, afraid to take even a single step just in 
  case it’s the wrong thing to do.”
  Traits
  Claws, Hide (Coat), Face, Fangs, Legs, Nose, 
  Wings
  Tree brother Boggins — the Shoulda, 
  the Coulda and the Woulda — are very 
  industrious. Similar to the Green-Eyed 
  Monster, they sit on a host’s shoulder and 
  whisper in his ears all the things he should have 
  done, could have done and would have done... 
  if only he knew better.
  Th e Shoulda Brothers create self-doubt in 
  their victims until all his confi dence is lost 
  to hesitation. Th ey sit and whisper, sit and 
  whisper, sit and whisper until the host begins 
  saying the words himself. Like other Boggins, 
  the Shoulda Brothers gain a Boggin Point 
  every day they infect the host. As soon as the 
  host says, “I should have,” “I would have,” or “I 
  could have” three times in one day, they gain 
  two Boggin Points per day. And, like other 
  Boggins, their Traits begin at Crippled, but can 
  be increased with Boggin Points.
  (A strange cousin of the Shoulda Brothers is 
  “the Gotta” which appears as a big bundle of 
  threads and hairs; a twitching, nervous thing 
  full of static electricity. As its name suggests, 
  the Gotta keeps its host on its toes, running 
  back and forth, making sure everything gets 
  done on time...)
  
  34
  Five: Other Worlds
  Now let’s spend a moment or two talking about diff erent ways to play Cat. Most of 
  the time, playing a cat means you’re playing in your own house or neighborhood. But 
  these settings provide a completely diff erent way of playing Cat. In places you would 
  never imagine…
  Gods Go Purr
  Th e Egyptian word for cat is “mau” and it’s no secret that the Egyptians loved their 
  cats. So much so, they revered cats as gods. A good time in human history to be a cat. 
  Cats were so important in Egypt, some of them got the honor of mummifi cation so 
  they could travel to the other world with their owners.
  Cats were valuable because they got rid of pests (bugs, rats, etc.). Th ey were also 
  capable of getting rid of asps who snuck into the house. Yes, cats hunting snakes. 
  Awesome.
  Th e cat goddess of Egypt was Bast (or Bastet). (Another cat goddess, Mafdet, 
  provided protection from snakes, but Bast eventually edged Mafdet out as the chief 
  cat goddess.) In her temple, cats were treated with dignity and care. Th ey were given 
  jewelry to wear and kept in the utmost luxury.
  Bast was also the Goddess of Fertility, and thus, cats were linked with pregnancy 
  and childbirth. It was said cats protected a pregnant mother from evil spirits hoping 
  to sabotage or injure the child. Sound likes a boggin to me.
  Th e cult of Bast was offi  cially banned by imperial decree in 390AD. Th e end of cat 
  divinity in Egypt.
  As a cat in ancient Egypt, your kitty can have all kinds of adventures. Protecting 
  humans from boggins isn’t a secret in Egypt; it’s something humans know cats do and 
  they thank them for it. 
  Meanwhile, dogs are still around causing trouble. Dogs were also important in 
  Egypt, although there is little to no evidence to suggest they were as revered as cats. 
  But the Egyptians did domesticate dogs, although they did not necessarily see them 
  as pets in the modern sense, and this ancient feline rival may still cause problems for 
  your little god. 
  For more information, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_in_ancient_
  Egypt.
  Cat o’ Nine Tales
  TO THE MEMORY OF TRIM 
  Th e best and most illustrious of his race 
  Th e most aff ectionate of friends, 
  faithful of servants, 
  
  35
  and best of creatures 
  He made the tour of the globe, and a voyage to 
  Australia, 
  which he circumnavigated, and was ever the 
  delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers........
  —Matthew Flinders
  Only baseball players are more superstitious 
  than sailors. 
  Sailors carried cats on ships to maintain 
  the rat population but they also believed cats 
  had supernatural powers and were totems for 
  good luck. To a small degree, they were right. 
  Because cats kept the rat population down, it 
  meant fewer fl eas and that meant less disease. 
  Also, a pet on board a ship increases morale, 
  giving the sailors a kind of charge to look 
  out for. A happier crew is more productive, 
  less likely to make mistakes and revolt when 
  times get bad. Finally, a cat really can sense 
  when a storm approaches (due to its inner ear, 
  whiskers, nose and other keen senses) which 
  makes it seem as if the cat could predict foul 
  weather.
  Sailors wives’ turned out to be just as 
  superstitious as their husbands. When her 
  man was away, a sailor’s wife kept a cat around 
  believing the kitty would bring her good luck 
  while her husband was away. (It certainly 
  protected her from boggins.)
  A cat on a pirate ship provides all kinds of 
  adventures. Pirates get cursed all the time and 
  who better to remove a curse than a wise cat?
  Got a ghost on the ship? Kitties can solve 
  that, too.
  Th e worst part of being a kitty on a ship, 
  however, is that you are constantly surrounded 
  by water. Salt water, no less. Get wet and all 
  your magic goes away. So best be careful.
  Or, perhaps some wise old woman from the 
  Indies could give you a charm that protects you 
  from water? Hm…
  For a great list of famous ship’s cats, go check 
  out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship’s_cat.
  Cats in Spaaaaaaaaace!
  Seen Alien?
  Ever wonder why the kitty is so important? 
  Well, now you know.
  For the same reason that sailors brought cats 
  with them to sea, a spaceship crew needs a kitty 
  on board as well. A ship’s pet increases morale, 
  gives the bored spacemen something to do and 
  (unbeknownst to them) takes care of boggins 
  in space.
  Future technology may even provide kitties 
  the ability to fi nally communicate with us. 
  Wouldn’t that be grand?
  The Cats of Ulthar
  Th e author H.P. Lovecraft  adored cats. Much 
  of this game, in fact, comes from concepts 
  Lovecraft  used in his Dreamlands Cycle stories.
  In his story, Th e Cats of Ulthar, he discusses 
  why no man ever kicks a cat in the eponymous 
  city. In Th e Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath, 
  the narrator is accompanied by a dreaming 
  kitty throughout his adventures.
  Of course, Chaosium publishes a wonderful 
  roleplaying game called Call of Cthulhu that 
  focuses on Lovecraft ’s dark and fantastic 
  visions. I highly suggest checking that out. I 
  also highly suggest ditching the investigator 
  creation rules and playing cats. Forget playing 
  rustic librarians or rugged private eyes or creepy 
  occultists. Th e real action is playing a cat in the 
  Dreamlands.
  You can read Lovecraft ’s story here: http://
  www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft /
  thecatsofulthar.htm.
  And, you can check out Chaosium’s website 
  here:
  http://chaosium.com/
  
  36
  Your Favorite Fantasy 
  Novel
  I’ve heard reports of Cat games at 
  conventions using Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles 
  of Amber as a setting. Th e players take the roles 
  of cats in Castle Amber. Awesome.
  I’ve also heard reports of players taking the 
  roles of cats in a magical school for children. 
  Something called “Hogwimps” or something 
  like that.
  Th ere was also the time I heard about cats 
  romping around Middle Earth. And cats 
  having adventures with some magic private 
  investigator named “Harry.”
  Go get your favorite fantasy novel off  the 
  shelf. Drop in cats. Mix until thickened. Serve 
  hot.
  
  37
  Six: Fictional Facts and 
  Factual Folklores
  Because of Th e Contest, a cat’s reputation has greatly fl uctuated through history. 
  Sometimes worshiped as gods, sometimes reviled as devils, cats have always been 
  associated with magic, the diabolical, and the divine. In this section is just some the 
  knowledge men have on cats. Some of it may be true, but only cats know for certain, 
  and like their names, they just ain’t tellin’.
  “You’ve got that right.”
  “Roland?”
  “Yeah. Did you think I was going to let this be a one-sided discussion? I can’t say 
  much, but I’ll add what I can.”
  With as much knowledge we do have on cats, there is still so much we don’t know. 
  “You said that already”.
  (Let me fi nish the thought, okay?)
  Even the things we do know, we don’t always understand. For example, we know 
  that cats purr, but exactly how they do it is still a mystery. However, we do know 
  people have been keeping cats for a very long time. Th e earliest evidence of “domestic 
  cats” comes from ruins in Jericho from approximately 6,700 B.C. Yes, we know cats 
  have been protecting us from Boggins for the almost nine thousand years.
  “Th is is because claw marks don’t show up very well on stone sofas. Also, it took 
  you humans a few hundred years to develop art that could withstand the test of time. 
  It has been more than nine thousand.”
  Let’s take a look at what man knew, knows and thinks he knows about cats.
  “And what cat thinks about what man thinks he knows.”
  Facts
  What we know about cats can be found in thousands of books, most of which can 
  be picked up in the bargain bin section of your local bookstore (trust me, I know this 
  fi rst hand).
  “And did you get me out of a bargain bin, too?”
  (No, I got you from a little girl giving away kittens in front of the grocery store.)
  As far as his biology goes, a cat really is an amazing creature. To begin with, he 
  smells with over 200 million olfactory mucosa cells; twice as many as humans (but 
  not as many as dogs). However, a cat doesn’t just smell with his nose. His “Jacobson’s 
  Organ,” located in the upper surface of the mouth, provides additional olfactory 
  information. His hearing is also pretty amazing. His ears have 40,000 nerve fi bers 
  (the human ear has 30,000) and can distinguish between sound sources 3 inches 
  
  38
  apart from up to 7 feet away or those from 1 
  inch apart from up to 70 feet away. 
  One study showed three-week-old kittens 
  hear twice as well as adult cats.
  “What?”
  (Nothing.)
  “But can kittens read?”
  (Ugh.)
  A cat’s night vision — thanks to his famous 
  pupil and a refl ective layer in the back of his 
  eyes — is fi ft y percent better than a human’s. 
  However, he has one-sixth the number of 
  cones (the color sensitive cells in the eye) and 
  can only see some blue and green, but are not 
  sensitive at all to the red spectrum. 
  “I have a cousin who lives with a bullfi ghter. 
  She can’t understand what the fuss is about.”
  A cat’s eyes are also especially sensitive to 
  movement, activating a “predator behavior” 
  especially keen in the cat’s brain. Th e parts of 
  a cat’s brain that control hunger are separate 
  from the parts of the brain that control the 
  hunting instinct. Th erefore, a cat’s desire 
  to hunt can be triggered independent of its 
  desire for food. Th e hunting instinct also has 
  a connection to the pleasure centers in a cat’s 
  brain. In other words, kitty hunts because it 
  makes him feel good, not because he’s hungry.
  “If you don’t believe this, remember those 
  gift s we leave you don’t usually have bite marks 
  beyond the mortal wounds.”
  Incidentally, a typical meal of dry or wet cat 
  food is the approximate equivalent of fi ve mice.
  “Less fur in the canned food, unless the can 
  opener is shedding. Or balding.”
  A cat’s whiskers are more important than his 
  eyes or ears, sensing changes in air movement, 
  helping him navigate through the dark. Even 
  blind cats can make their way around obstacles, 
  thanks to the sensitivity of their whiskers. 
  Also, when he’s trying to get through a small 
  opening, he uses his whiskers to judge the size. 
  Because your cat lacks a true collarbone, he can 
  generally squeeze his body through any space 
  he can get his head into.
  “Your cat lacks a true collarbone, too.”
  (True, but he really has a huge head.)
  “Touché.”
  A cat’s cerebellum, the part of the brain 
  controlling physical coordination, is 
  proportionally larger than in most other 
  mammals. Cats jump far enough above their 
  target to gain a hold with their back claws, then 
  fall forward and balance on their front legs. 
  Your average housecat can jump seven times his 
  own height. 
  “Th at would be like you jumping up a fi ve 
  story building.”
  (But if I was on all fours like a cat, my height 
  would be less than three feet. Pole-vaulters 
  jump almost 21 feet.)
  “I could jump 21 feet with rocket shoes.”
  Th e tail, an organ with more bones than the 
  human spine, also helps for balance. And while 
  cats may be fast, they aren’t built for speed. A 
  cat’s anatomy is built for quick jumps and short 
  runs. Aft er a few moments, they burn out their 
  batteries and have to stop to recharge.
  “And most cats will have put their batteries to 
  good use so they have a snack while waiting to 
  recharge.”
  (Food helps to speed up the recovery process, 
  anyways.)
  Speaking of agility… 
  “We were?”
  (Hush.)
  Why does a cat always land on his feet? Well, 
  he doesn’t always, but he’s got a pretty good 
  chance of making it nearly every time. Within 
  
  39
  70 milliseconds of the beginning of a fall, a cat’s 
  biology is in action. An automatic sequence 
  of responses begins with the eyes sending 
  information to the brain and the vestibular 
  system takes over. Th e cat fi rst turns its head 
  so it is upright. Th en, the front half of its body 
  fl ips 180 degrees. Nerves in the spine turn the 
  rest of the body. A fact most people miss: it 
  isn’t really amazing the cat turns so quickly 
  to put its feet under its body. What’s really 
  amazing is that it never turns too far, but always 
  turns precisely the necessary distance to get its 
  feet under it.
  “‘Th e whole process is as natural as 
  breathing.’ I don’t think I could land wrong if 
  I wanted to. But why would I want to?”
  A cat’s skin is thinner than most mammals, 
  but it is also more fl exible. It also contains 
  sebaceous glands which secret sebum, an oily 
  substance that waterproofs the cat’s fur and 
  makes it shine. Apocrine sweat glands secrete a 
  fl uid that lets other cats know when he’s “in the 
  mood for love.” 
  “Before you say anything, John, I’ll have 
  you know that my sweat glands do not hyper 
  function. Th e ladies love me for my charm.”
  (Of course they do.)
  A cat’s skin contains 130,000 hairs per square 
  inch. Th ey actually have two kinds of hairs: 
  over fur and under fur. Over fur is coarse and 
  protects the underfoot which is fi ner and grows 
  in clusters, providing a cat with insulation. 
  Th ere are even diff erent kinds of under fur, all 
  of which have their own functions. But not 
  all cats have the same kind of fur. Th ere are 
  dozens of diff erent hair types, making each cat 
  breed unique. Finally, a cat’s hairs are part of a 
  complicated sensory system including its paws, 
  whiskers, eyes and ears. Hairs, penetrating three 
  times deeper into the skin than human hairs, 
  can sense particle changes in air density.
  “And we more than feel it when your pet a 
  cat from back to front.”
  (Is it really that bad?)
  “Sometimes it feels like a splinter being bent 
  the wrong way when it is pulled out. Or an ear 
  being tugged in the wrong direction.”
  Like dogs, cats mark their territory with 
  scent, but do so in a very social way. When a 
  cat rubs against you, he’s not only passing his 
  scent on to you, but he’s also getting your scent 
  on him. Cats create a complicated “family 
  scent” that includes all members of his family 
  (including the dog). Th us, when he goes out on 
  the town, he carries your scent along with him, 
  to show others he belongs to a family. When a 
  stranger comes into the house, a cat smells him 
  out to determine if he wants the stranger’s scent 
  to become part of the family scent. It may take 
  a while for the cat to accept a new scent into 
  the family, but when he does, expect him to get 
  snuggly. It’s also the reason cats claw furniture: 
  a cat’s claws carry a lot of his scent. So, when 
  kitty claws the furniture, he’s marking it as 
  part of the family. Self-cleaning is also a way of 
  spreading his scent. Your cat’s saliva is rich with 
  scent, and by constantly cleaning himself, he’s 
  spreading that scent over his fur. 
  Also, when a cat picks a fi ght, he scratches 
  in front of another cat, kind of drawing a line 
  in the sand saying, “Th is ground right here 
  belongs to me. Cross it if you dare.” Finally, a 
  cat’s scent communicates how old the cat is, his 
  sexual status and what mood he was in when he 
  made the mark.
  “I personally feel this is a mark of a highly 
  evolved species. Noses don’t lie. Neither do 
  cats, really. We’re an open book. If you know 
  how to read, what the language is, and how to 
  open the book.”
  (Yeah. You and women.)
  “What’s that...”
  
  40
  (Never mind. I’d better stop while I’m 
  behind.)
  When cats communicate with each other, 
  they do so with a silent body language that 
  involves dozens of diff erent signals. Th e 
  position of the body, ears, tail and whiskers all 
  go into this elaborate communication process.
  “I dance with my face and my feet. But when 
  a cat is clumsy with it, do you say he has eight 
  left  whiskers? Or two left  ears?”
  Cats seldom, if ever, communicate verbally to 
  other cats and only in times of great emotion. 
  It is believed (but not proven) that cats 
  communicate verbally to humans because they 
  perceive us as parents, or caregivers. 
  “Th at’s mostly untrue. Humans never seemed 
  to catch on to the nonverbal cues. So we’re left  
  with the blunt and ineffi  cient ‘meow’ noises. 
  And dreams, of course.”
  (I’m getting to that.)
  Kittens communicate verbally to their 
  mother, and thus, if cats do indeed perceive 
  us as caregivers, they may feel the need to 
  communicate to us verbally. Some scientists 
  believe that cats save verbally because we’re too 
  dumb to understand the non-verbal talk they’re 
  trying to tell us. But that’s just a theory…
  “And for those of you who cling to the belief 
  that cats think they are little people: you’ve got 
  it backwards. People are big cats.”
  A cat’s paws are also versatile tools. Th ey are 
  padded for silent movement, have hooks for 
  climbing, and talons for clawing and fi ghting. 
  Th ey even act as sponges for cleaning. 
  “And you say that thumbs are versatile. I’d 
  like to see your thumb kill dinner and wash it 
  in the same movement.”
  (Touché to you.)
  A cat’s paws are also part of their sensory 
  system, capable of detecting the smallest 
  vibrations in the Earth. A cat can feel the 
  vibrations from a mouse moving its tiny feet 
  across the fl oor from up to sixty feet away. 
  “Keep this in mind, kids, when your kitten 
  is up a tree. Shaking it will scare her out of her 
  wits. Th en I’ll have to come console her.”
  Also, cats walk on tippy-toe. Th e back legs are 
  used for jumping and power pushes, the front 
  legs for catching prey. When stalking mice, 
  a cat catches its prey nearly 75% of the time. 
  When stalking birds, only 10%. 
  “Hey, John, did you know that 90% of 
  statistics are made up on the spot?”
  (Including that one? Why would I make up a 
  number to make you guys look bad? If I made 
  it up, I’d say you catch birds 60% of the time. 
  But this is the ‘Facts’ part, not ‘Folklore’.)
  “What do you expect? We don’t have wings. 
  Oft en.”
  While hunting the cat is nearly silent; the 
  tuff s of hair between its paws muffl  e most of its 
  sound. Because cats are long-sighted, they rely 
  on their whiskers rather than their eyes to sense 
  prey close-up.
  Cats are also true carnivores; one of the few 
  species on Earth that can survive solely on 
  meat. Unfortunately, this specialized digestive 
  system means they can’t detoxify certain 
  chemicals, making creosote, paracetamol, and 
  organophosphates deadly poisons in their 
  bodies. 
  “What?”
  (Don’t eat anything in the medicine cabinet 
  or chew on wood, and be careful what kind of 
  fl ea medicine you let someone use on you.)
  A cat’s must have fat in his diet because 
  he can’t produce it on his own and he’ll die 
  without it. Cats can taste salt, sour and bitter, 
  but not sweet. It is possible that certain amino 
  acids give a cat the same pleasurable sensation 
  
  41
  we associate with sweet, but when you consider 
  the fact that chocolate is poisonous to kitty 
  (as well as Tylenol, English ivy, iris, mistletoe, 
  philodendrons, and yew), it’s not as sad as it 
  initially sounds. 
  “Chocolate is poisonous to mistletoe?”
  (... Yes.)
  “Too bad. At least I can get my sweets from a 
  lady friend.”
  If all this information on a cat’s senses isn’t 
  enough to impress you, consider this. A cat’s 
  senses are “always on,” even when he’s asleep. 
  Snoozing on your lap, with his consciousness 
  buried deep in the Land of Dreams, he can 
  hear the rats scampering in the walls, smell the 
  food you’re cooking in the kitchen, and sense 
  the vibrations in the air from the dog walking 
  by. Oh, and by the way, kittens begin dreaming 
  before they are old enough to open their eyes.
  “Hey, I’ve got one for you.”
  (Go ahead.)
  “We cats have a homing ability that uses a 
  biological clock, the angle of the sun and the 
  Earth’s magnetic fi eld. I can almost always fi nd 
  somewhere I’ve been before. Try throwing 
  yourself in the middle of nowhere and fi nd 
  your way home by instinct some day.”
  (Show off .)
  Folklores
  Let’s start at the beginning. Well, what a lot 
  of people consider the beginning. Th e word 
  “cat” never appears once in the Bible. Not once. 
  Cats are native to the region where the Bible 
  stories take place, but there’s no mention of 
  them at all. (However, if you take a look in the 
  Book of Kells, you’ll see illustrations of cats on 
  many of its beautiful pages.) Keep that in mind 
  as we begin our journey into the long, tangled 
  and dark history of cats in the folklore of man.
  “To be fair, the Bible doesn’t mention pets in 
  general. But a few lions do show up.”
  While the cat is never mentioned in the 
  Bible, she’s a powerful symbol in nearly every 
  other religion. Freya, the Norse goddess, 
  owned a chariot pulled by cats (sometimes grey, 
  sometimes black and varying in number). Aft er 
  serving the goddess for seven years, the cats 
  were rewarded by being turned into witches, 
  disguised as black cats. 
  “Sounds more like a curse to me, losing this 
  fantastic form.”
  Cats were also sacred to Bast, the Egyptian 
  goddess, daughter of Isis and Osiris. Th e cats 
  in her temple in the city of Bubastis wore 
  heavily jeweled collars and regarded as gods. 
  Anyone who killed a cat in that city was put to 
  death. (“I like that rule.”) Cats were believed 
  to control the moon’s movement, protect the 
  dead and had total authority over the royal 
  houses at night because of their ability to see 
  things in the dark that humans could not. Cats 
  were so loved by the Egyptians they sometimes 
  mummifi ed a mouse to accompany the cat 
  into the aft erworld. During excavations in the 
  ruins of Tell-Basta (the former Bubastis), the 
  archaeologists discovered a graveyard with 
  300,000 mummifi ed cats.
  “I’ve met some of those cats in Dream. 
  Th ey’re pretty boring.”
  Egyptians also believed in a creature called 
  “Th e Great Cat...” 
  “Huh. And I’ve never even been to Egypt.”
  (ahem) ... who accompanied Ra on his 
  nightly voyage around the world, protecting 
  him in Apep — the World of the Dead — 
  while he was weak. Every night, an evil serpent 
  named Seth tried to devour the boat, and every 
  night, the Great Cat sliced off  the serpent’s 
  head, allowing Ra’s magic boat to continue on 
  its way around the world. Egyptians kept cats 
  
  42
  in their houses as protectors as well, keeping 
  them safe as they slept just as the Great Cat 
  protected Ra.
  Both Buddha and Mohammed have cats 
  associated with them. It is said at the Buddha’s 
  funeral, the cat was one of two creatures in the 
  entire world who did not weep at the Master’s 
  funeral (the other was the snake). A little 
  further West, Mohammed cut the sleeve off  his 
  robe rather than disturb the cat sleeping there.
  “My grandfather told me that story. He said 
  that the cat took the piece of cloth to her nest 
  and kept it there. She lived to be one hundred.”
  (Really?)
  “Th at’s what he said.”
  In the West, cats have almost always been 
  associated with magic, witches, and natural 
  phenomenon. “When kitty washes behind her 
  ears, we’ll soon be tasting Heaven’s tears” is a 
  common English schoolyard rhyme. 
  “Puff ah! Th e saying would be meaningful if 
  it came out of Egypt. Cats wash like it rains in 
  England. All the time!”
  According to British folklore, if a cat sat with 
  her back to the fi replace, you should expect 
  a cold night. In France, dropping a cat at a 
  crossroads and following her would lead you 
  to treasure, while in Germany, tortoiseshell 
  cats were believed to see into the future and 
  give the gift  to a lucky child in the household 
  through a scratch or a kiss. Also, if a cat washes 
  your face and turns to the East, you can expect 
  company from that direction by the end of the 
  week. Also, if you carry a cat bone in your right 
  pocket, you’ll have good luck all day long.
  “Th at ‘turn and face East’ one was especially 
  popular in northern Europe where the 
  coastline faced East. Wives and mothers 
  blessed the cats with large gift s of meat and 
  milk when they believed their husbands and 
  fathers would be home soon.”
  And, despite his lack of mention in the Bible, 
  Christian folklore tells us the cat is the only 
  creature who remembered the passage from 
  Eden when Adam and Eve got themselves 
  kicked out. Th erefore, a cat is the only creature 
  who knows how to get back.
  “Yes, another secret we’re not telling. Yet.”
  Cats and dogs have oft en been called 
  “guardians of the hearth,” chiefl y because 
  ancient peoples believes spirits — both good 
  and evil — came into the house through the 
  fi replace (remember old St. Nick?). Th us, if you 
  bring a cat into the house, you must place it 
  by the hearth. If you do, she’ll never leave, and 
  ensure only good spirits enter the house.
  “If you no longer have a hearth, try placing 
  the cat near an open can of tuna.”
  A cat’s “household magic” was very 
  important to medieval Europe. But before 
  you can keep a cat in your house, you have 
  to make sure he doesn’t leave. In order to do 
  that, carry him in through a window, not the 
  front door. Th is ensures the cat will never leave 
  the house (at least, he’ll always come back). If 
  you place a cat in the crib of a newborn child, 
  she’ll protect that child ‘till the day she dies (a 
  common belief among the Pennsylvania Dutch 
  tells placing a cat in the baby’s crib will make 
  his dreams come true). Masons (guys who 
  worked with mortar and built houses; not the 
  conspiracy theory guys) put living cats in the 
  foundation of a building to ensure good luck to 
  the inhabitants. Driving away a cat who comes 
  into your house voluntarily is bad luck, and 
  fi nally, a visitor to the household should always 
  kiss the cat to ensure good luck on his journey 
  home.
  Sailors also put a lot of faith in the magical 
  power of cats. Cats were oft en kept on board to 
  bring good fortune. If a sailor was approached 
  by the ship’s cat, it meant good luck, but if the 
  cat only came halfway, it meant he would never 
  
  43
  see home again. A loudly mewing cat means 
  a diffi  cult voyage while a playful cat foretells 
  a voyage with gusty winds. If a cat runs to the 
  pier ahead of a sailor on his way to the voyage, 
  it brings him good luck. But if the cat crosses 
  his path, it means bad luck.
  “Sometimes they guess fortunes by a cat 
  wandering aimlessly about the deck. Th e more 
  wrong the sailors were, the more confused 
  the cat was, and stranger their ‘fortunetelling’ 
  became.”
  In America, schoolgirls have been known 
  to use cat hairs to determine whether or not 
  to accept a marriage proposal. Take three 
  hairs from a cat’s tail and fold them in a paper. 
  Place the paper under your doorstep (pillow, 
  windowsill, etc.). Next morning, carefully 
  unfold the paper to see if the three hairs 
  formed themselves into a Y or N and reply to 
  the suitor accordingly.
  “I did a couple of these. Th ey always involve 
  nasty Boggins fi ghts. It’s a sad day when a girl 
  wise enough to invoke the practice is not wise 
  enough to follow the advice of her protectors.” 
  While sneezing has always been a sign of 
  witchcraft  (if you sneeze three times, it’s 
  because you’re trying to “sneeze the witch 
  out”), a cat’s sneeze is also indicative of good or 
  bad luck. Also, if a cat sneezes three times in a 
  row, it means you’ll catch a cold.
  Some Greek alchemists believed cats held 
  the secret to the Philosopher’s Stone. Th e cat’s 
  whiskers make an “X,” the fi rst letter in the 
  Greek words for “crucible,” “gold” and “time.” 
  Th ese words are also known as Th e Th ree 
  Secrets. A cat has nine lives (3 x 3) and these 
  Th ree Secrets multiplied create the Grand 
  Design, also known as the Philosopher’s Stone 
  (the material that changes base metals into 
  gold).
  “A few recent humans have been deemed 
  worthy of the secret, but the King of Cats 
  decided that lumps of gold appearing would 
  create more problems for those men than it 
  could solve.” 
  Of course, in addition to storms and 
  witchcraft , cats have also been associated 
  with death. As mentioned above, in ancient 
  Egypt, cats were considered the guardians of 
  the dead, but that reputation was not isolated 
  to Egypt. Early Christians believed if a cat sat 
  on a grave, the buried person’s soul was in the 
  devil’s power. In sixteenth century Italy, the 
  same incident caused the corpse to rise again 
  as a vampire. In America, Scottish immigrants 
  brought with them the notion that if a cat 
  entered a room where a dead body was lying in 
  state, the next person to touch the cat would be 
  blinded.
  Meanwhile, over in Japan, cats are believed 
  to be some of the most advanced souls in 
  Creation. Th e Buddhists believe cats turn into 
  super souls when they die, for the body of a cat 
  is only a resting place of a highly spiritual soul.
  “Children in Buddhist families have been 
  known to say, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a 
  cat!’”
  Of course, as long as people have been 
  looking to cats for wisdom, they’ve been 
  treating them with abject cruelty. In Europe it 
  was believed a cat’s tail contains a worm, and if 
  you don’t cut off  the tail, the cat will die in fi ts. 
  Also, if you tie paper around all four paws, the 
  cat will dance herself to death, and it has been 
  said you don’t speak secrets in front of a cat 
  because she’ll carry them down to the devil. 
  It was Pope Gregory XI (born around 1145 
  and died August 22, 1241) who fi rst declared 
  cats in league with the Devil in the Vox in 
  Rama Papal Bull, causing a vast massacre of 
  feline life in Europe. 
  “Obviously, he was a dog person. And some 
  bad cat sipped some of his breath while he was 
  a baby. Spoiled things for the rest of us.”
  
  44
  Ambrose Paré was a sixteenth century 
  physician oft en regarded as “the father of 
  modern surgery.” He made the revolutionary 
  observation that the physician’s role was: “to 
  cure, to relieve, to comfort, and always to 
  prevent.” He also said the cat was “a venomous 
  animal which infects through its hair, its breath 
  and its brains” and encouraged mass killings 
  of the creature. All of which shows even the 
  most enlightened men in history could still be 
  superstitious twits.
  On the other hand, Charles I, king of 
  England, owned a lucky black cat he was 
  terrifi ed of losing. He even assigned guards to 
  watch over it. As it happened, the day aft er the 
  cat died, he was arrested and ended his reign six 
  inches shorter than when he began it. 
  “Did he bleed to death when they chopped 
  off  his legs?”
  (No, the six inches were from the top. He was 
  beheaded.)
  “How rude.”
  And, one last thought on historical fi gures 
  and their associations with cats. Abraham 
  Lincoln owned four cats. Napoleon had a near 
  pathological fear of them and never let one 
  near his person or in his sight. Take from that 
  what you will.
  “Paranoia ain’t the only the inner demon 
  humans need to be protected from.”
  * * *
  (Well, little guy, I’m all done.)
  “About time.”
  (Sorry it took so long.)
  “‘Sorry’ don’t clean the box, pal.”
  
  45
  Afterward
  I started this game two years ago. I was married then. I was living with two cats and a 
  dog. I was working for a company that had nothing to do with what I loved to do: write 
  and play games.
  Well, much has changed…
  Th at’s what I wrote in 1999 when I fi nished the fi rst edition of this game. Wow. It’s 
  been a long time.
  Since I fi rst started on this game, my fi rst wife and I separated, I went through 
  two years of willful celibacy (my most productive years, I might add), started a game 
  company with a friend, broke up the game company and kept the friend, then started 
  a new company called John Wick Presents.
  You can fi nd us at
  www.johnwickpresents.com.
  Now, almost ten years aft er the fi rst edition, I’m married again to a wonder(ful) 
  woman. I co-own a cat (or is it that she owns us?) and I’ve got a couple of Monsters 
  who hunt down invisible robots. My life has become much more complicated than 
  it’s ever been.
  Jared Sorensen was the fi rst person to suggest I should write this game. I owe a lot 
  to Jared and I would not have done this game without his encouragement.
  Annie Rush helped put the original edition of this book together. She did the 
  cover and helped with the layout. She also ran a ton of edits over it and made it a 
  better game.
  Jessica Kauspedas did all the art and layout you see in this edition. She also 
  understands cat magic. She has the unfortunate job (she volunteered!) of working 
  with me to make my books look pretty. And, she’s one of my best friends.
  Finally, I’d like to fi nish this book the way I fi nished it the fi rst time. Not a single 
  word changed…
  A little tip of the hat to the fellow who made this game possible. He died of feline 
  leukemia when he was just a year and a half old. Hours aft er he was gone, the ideas started 
  rushing into my head. It was like I was haunted by his ghost, telling me secrets. Th ese are the 
  secrets he told me. I share them now with you.
  Good night, little Roland. I’ll see you aft er sunset.
  “Heh. Not if I see you fi rst.”
  
  Cat
  Name: 
  Name: 
  Name: 
  Coat
  Traits
  Scars
  Rank
  Legs
  Claws
  Style: 
  Reputations
  Lives: 
  Face
  Fangs
  Tail
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Kid Friendly/7. RPGs/Ages 6-8 (Attention Span of 1-2 hours, Can count over 20, Understands basic addition & subtraction, Beginning readers)/Cat/Cat - 2011.pdf