Things All Cats Know

Nip:

There is catnip in some People's houses. Somewhere... If it's found outside, it disappears quickly.

Stitching:

Sometimes the unthinkable can happen to any cat -- certain non-vital, but very important, organs can be... removed. This can be very humiliating, and doesn't fix anything. The process renders cats infertile.

The Red Dot:

All cats know of the Red Dot -- an insect-like thing that appears at times, usually around People -- although word is that it has recently started showing up without any people around at all. Like an insect, or any small animal, it demands that you catch it, but unlike those, it's unnatural, disappearing just as you are about to catch it, only to soon reappear somewhere else. No cat has ever, to feline knowledge, caught the Red Dot -- but every cat wants the honor of being the first.

Queen Princess Fluffykins:

In addition to being Queen, Princess Fluffykins had the place of honor in the Robinsons household -- the back of the couch. Now that she is gone, whichever of them wins the honor of the couch controls access to the household.

How a Cat Gets and Changes Its True Name:

Cats shouldn't lie about their names; it's un-catlike.

A kitten cannot get a name from its own mother. A kitten gets its name from the first other cat or human that gives it a name. And usually, that name is the kitten's true name forevermore, no matter where he or she goes afterwards and no matter how much the cat doesn't like it or wants to pretend it's something else.

Although a reigning Queen can't change her own name, she can change the True Name of any of her subjects at their request, with their consent.

How a New Queen is Chosen:

The Queen is chosen by an open election. Any cat may stand for election. At game end, cats will stand in the support of the local cats. Any cat wishing to be Queen, as sunrise approaches, must take a position in the Garden. Any cats supporting them should then take a position around them, showing their support by position and body language. Naturally, the election does not end until a Queen has a clear majority or cats stop moving between the candidates; all cats, including the candidates, can change position and thus allegiance at any time until the contest ends.

The Queen gives a speech upon becoming the new Queen (and then may give an internal monologue).

The Robinson Couch:

By agreement, the head cat of the Robinson household, and the one that gets the prime place -- on the top of the couch, is the one that holds the yarn ball. But in order to possess the couch, a cat has to live in the house, and the Queen bequeathed the yarn ball to a cat not living in the house, Bob Khatt, her consort. In order for the fight to be resolved, one of the household cats would have to get it, or they'd all have to agree to decide primacy another way. Possessing the couch gives the cat control of the door, with all it entails.

Dueling:

There are two kinds of cat dueling (mostly, this is handled by a cat initiating one or the other form of dueling, rather than anything more formal; these -are- cats, after all. But they can agree to resolve something with a duel of one sort or another).

The first kind is the stare dueling -- the cats lock eyes, and the first to break off contest (for style points, by pretending there was never a duel in the first place and they'd always intended to stalk off) loses; typically, cats in a staring contest will stalk around one another until one yields.

The second kind is tussling -- the cats engage in a bout of play fighting [compare Tooth and Claw values; the higher number wins]; the loser takes no consequences except for having obviously lost.

True fighting is like tussling, except that the consequences are real and deadly--and that other cats can help out (adding 1 for each helper to the leader's Tooth and Claw). However, no cat would engage in a real fight against another cat while in mourning for the Queen of Cats -- nor at the Queen's Court -- so this won't be an issue.

Hunting:

Hunting works somewhat like fighting, except that when working together one must have a plausible plan, and that it (naturally) involves hunting non-cats, not fighting fellow cats. Points may be added or subtracted for how plausible and clever the plan is.

All cats know this basic idea, but Outdoor cats are often master hunters, and know much more.