Cat

*This article is about the animal. For character, see Cat (person).*

* 5e
* 3e
* 2e
* 1e

**Cats** were a variety of feline animals of various sizes.

## Varieties

**Housecat**
The domestic cat, often called a housecat, was a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal. Cats were valued by humans for companionship and ability to hunt small vermin and household pests. For that reason they were most often found in inhabited regions as pets, or sometimes as wild cats (domestic cats without any owners). Housecats weighed about 8–10 pounds but could weigh up to 25 pounds. They lived around 15 years.
Water cat
Water cats were cats that were once familiars to wizards but had been corrupted by polluted sewer water.
## Felines

Felines were animals that were related to cats.

Jaguar
A large, jungle-dwelling cat. Jaguars were similar in size and appearance to leopards, but were somewhat bulkier and had spotted rosettes. They had golden fur and black spots, but a rare few had black fur and black spots, and were called black jaguars.
Leopard
A large cat smaller than a lion or tiger. Leopards had golden black and black rosette spots.
Lion
A large golden cat; males had manes. Lions typically lived in groups called prides that hunted and fought together.
Lynx
A large forest cat only slightly larger than a housecat.
Panther
A large, usually black, cat similar to a leopard or lion.
**Astral panther** : A panther that dwelt in the Astral Plane.
**Fey panther** : A panther touched by the Feywild.
**Spectral panther** : A panther than can move between the Shadowfell and the Prime Material Plane at sunset and sunrise.
**Fey panther** : A large panther touched by the Feywild.
Tiger
A large orange cat with black stripes. Tigers were the largest of the natural cats, even larger than lions. They were dangerous, solitary predators. Some tigers were white instead of orange, these rare tigers were called white tigers.
## Catlike creatures

There were a number of non-feline creatures that resembled cats in various ways.

Displacer beast
A beast appearing as a black panther with six legs and two tentacle sprouting from its shoulders.
Krenshar
A hyena-like predator described as "catlike."
Lammasu
A magical beast appearing as a cross between a lion and an eagle.
Rakshasa
An magical creature with the head of a feline, usually a tiger.
Sabu lord
A mighty Zakharan great cat with extraordinary abilites.
Sphinx
A magical beast said to have the body of a lion.
Tressym
A winged cat.
Werelion
A lycanthrope with the form of a lion.
Weretiger
A lycanthrope with the form of a tiger.
Jaguar lord
An intelligent, jaguar-like creature native to Maztica.
## Reputation

Many deities favored cats. The Mulhorandi god Anhur and the god Malar were associated with hunting cats. The elven god Solonor Thelandira also favored the great cats. Both Azuth and Savras favored gray-colored cats in particular, while Bane and Vhaeraun favored black ones. Mask favored either of those colors. Brown cats were sacred to the halfling goddess Cyrrollalee, and calico cats to Deneir, Milil, and Savras. Striped tabbies were considered holy to Eilistraee's worshipers, but white cats were special to followers of Mystra. Rare gold-furred cats were considered a blessing from the dwarven god Vergadain. Sharess was considered a cat deity, and she had a particular association with tressym. Hellcats often served the god Set.

## Appendix

### Notes

1. ↑ Unless otherwise specified, the word "cat" by itself usually referred to a domestic cat (housecat). Statistics in this article refer to the domestic cat.

### Appearances

#### Novels

* *Homeland* (panther)
* *Ironhelm* (jaguar)
* *Sandstorm*
* *Silverfall*
* *Sword of the Gods: Spinner of Lies*
* *Stone of Tymora*
* *Sword of the Gods*
* *Viperhand* (jaguar)

#### Video games

* *Baldur's Gate*
* *Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn*
* *Icewind Dale II*
* *Neverwinter Nights*
* *Neverwinter Nights 2*
* *Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate*

#### Sourcebooks

* *Monstrous Manual*
* *Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide*

### References

1. ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). *Monster Manual 5th edition*. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 320. ISBN 978-0786965614.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). *Monster Manual 3.5*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 270. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Doug Stewart (June 1993). *Monstrous Manual*. (TSR, Inc), p. 38. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
4. ↑ Gary Gygax (August 1983). *Monster Manual II 1st edition*. (TSR, Inc), p. 22. ISBN 0-88038-031-4.
5. ↑ John Baichtal (August 1997). “The Dragon's Bestiary: Spawn of the Sewers”. In Dave Gross ed. *Dragon* #238 (TSR, Inc.), p. 72.
6. ↑ Douglas Niles (1990). *Ironhelm*. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0-8803-8903-6.
7. ↑ Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). *Monster Manual 3.5*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 275. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gary Gygax (December 1977). *Monster Manual, 1st edition*. (TSR, Inc), p. 64. ISBN 0-9356-9600-8.
9. ↑ Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). *Monster Manual 3.5*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 274. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). *Monster Manual 4th edition*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 213. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
11. ↑ **Warning:** edition not specified for Vengeance of the Iron Dwarf
12. ↑ Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). *Monster Manual 3.5*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 66. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). *Monster Manual 3.5*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 165. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Wolfgang Baur, Steve Kurtz (1992). *Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix*. (TSR, Inc). ISBN l-56076-370-1.
15. ↑ Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). *Monster Manual 3.5*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 232. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
16. ↑ Greenwood, Martin, Grubb (1993). *Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), Monstrous Compendium*. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
17. ↑ Jeff Grubb and Tim Beach (September 1991). *Fires of Zatal*. (TSR, Inc), p. 62. ISBN 1-5607-6139-3.
18. ↑ Sean K. Reynolds (2002-05-04). Deity Do's and Don'ts (Zipped PDF). Wizards of the Coast. pp. {{#regex:10–15|%(,)(\S)%|$1 $2}}. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2018-09-08.