Cats of the Park

> "*There was an order to everything for the Cats of the Park. From kithood, they knew when and how to wake, to wash, and to perform every one of the small acts that made up their lives. It was peaceful. It was good.*"
> ― Narrator[source]
>
>

The **Cats of the Park** is a group of cats who live in a park upriver to the old forest territories. They appear in the bonus scene of *Thunder Rising*.

## Description

The Cats of the Park are a peaceful group of cats fed by Twolegs, and with their own customs of waking up, washing, eating, and meditating sessions, all learned from kithood. They have a similar ranking system to the Clans, with ranks including kits, elders, and mentors. They are very spiritual, acknowledging how life is easy for them and giving thanks for everything they have.
Each Morning, the group would perform a Call of Awakening, to
welcome the new day. They face the light of the rising sun and raise
their voices in caterwaul
 until the sun has cleared the Horizon. They then turn away and begin to
 wash. In order, they wash their paws, face, ears, chest, belly, back
and tail. After they finish washing, they line up in an orderly line
across the park for their Morning Meal.

They have their Morning Meal at the far side of the Park, where a
 row of bowls is set and Twolegs fill it with food every morning and
evening. They do not push and shove as they know there is enough for
everyone. They do not gulp or gobble down the food, and each cat that is
 eating makes sure there is enough space for the cat beside them.
 Afterwards, they would perform Morning Meditations on one boundary
walls of the Park. They curl into a pose, paws tucked underneath and
tail curled around them. They focus on something such as a river or a
tree. The Cats of the Park also have hunting sessions, catching mice they find in the grass.

## Territory

The Park is a soft, grassy area broken by clumps of bushes and
bright flowers that Twolegs planted, with trees that sometimes blossom,
scattering the ground with tiny white petals shaped like stars. Their
sleeping places are under the bushes, filled with moss.

At the edge of the park, is a row of bowls which Twolegs fill with food for the cats to eat. Across the Park is one of the gray stone boundary walls where on the other side is a hill that falls away steeply to a river that ran between banks edged with thick vegetation. It is unsafe for cats to go there as the drop is too long. There is also a Thunderpath that passes the Park.
## History

### In the *Dawn of the Clans* arc

#### *Thunder Rising*

Ripple, one of the early settlers,
resides in this group prior to moving. He is woken up by the Call of

Awakening, a custom of the cats in which signals it is time to wake up.
His friends and elders appear from their nests. They all yowl to welcome
 the day. All the cats then wash in a particular order. It is noted that
 they have an order for everything. All the cats then go for their
Morning Meal. The cats always give thanks to the sun and earth for
caring for them. After their Morning Meal, consisting of food from
Twolegs, they have Morning Meditation. For Morning Meditation, they tuck
 their paws underneath them, and then wrap their tails around their
paws. They focus on some object, such as a river or a tree.

It is mentioned that they have hunting sessions, while Ripple catches a mouse with his mentor Arc. Later that day, large monsters,
 more than the group is used to, appear in the park and start to tear
the park apart. The Twolegs use the monsters to tear down a tree, and
they rampage around the park. Some Twolegs head across the park,
carrying cages with some members of the Cats of the Park. The cats claw
and yowl to be let out.

Arc and Ripple flee to the furthest part of the Park where there
 are no Twolegs, but Ripple is startled by a monster and jumps
backwards, slipping and falling into the river.Arc calls to Ripple, and
Ripple tries to swim back but is unsuccessful, and finds safety of a
floating log. Ripple gazes back at Arc and the Park until they vanish
from sight. Ripple floats downriver until he reaches the Forest
Territories, where he meets Night

and learns that he must fend for himself now. He realizes he is not a

young cat of the Park anymore, and changes his name to River Ripple, in
honor of the river that saved him from the Twolegs that destroyed the
park.

### In the *Field Guides*

#### *The Ultimate Guide*

Although unnamed, on River Ripple's page it mentions that the
tom grew up as a member of a different group of cats located very far
away.

## Known Residents

* Ripple
* Arc
* Dart
* Shine
* Flutter

## See also

* River Ripple
* River Chell
* Known Residents