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1CLAN CULTURE IDEAS
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31. Determine what level of anthropomorphism you like. Do you prefer the cats being able to ‘weave’ nests and the link? Do you prefers cats functioning with highly realistic instincts? Do you prefer them to know healing herbs, or just rely on trying to keep the wound clean and soothing injured/sick clanmates? Do you want them to be able to compose epic ballads or songs? 
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5I would say weaving and singing are on the higher end of anthropomorphism, healing herbs is in the middle, and strict realism is of course on the low end. None of these are a bad place to be, it is all what you yourself prefer, and once you decide that, then just be sure to stick with it, across all the clans you make. It can help to write down what traits you feel your cats should and should not do.
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7What I did, was I decided I wasn’t interested in writing weaving/singing level cats, at least not for this world, but I was interested in them having some healing. At the same time, I was enamored with developing more instincts, especially those of queens. So I would say I am between the low end and healing herbs.
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9- My queens are highly protective and even aggressive; they give birth in a special birthing den and spend two moons in there to calm down, and get past the danger zone of them perhaps getting overstressed and harming their kits.
10- Toms stay away from the queens, because they do have instincts to kill kits that aren’t their own– however, being in clans for so long has made them have greater control over these instincts.
11- Outside the clans, rogues are clowders of mollies (related or not) who stake out a small territory and raise their kits together and share some duties. Loners are lone toms who wander expansive areas seeking rogues to mate with. Barn cats are toms and mollies who live together in small family groups in barns. Ferals are somewhat between loners and barn cats in their behavior and composition, but they live right by human habitation, like cities and suburbs and such.
12- My cats can’t weave. They don’t sing (though they do have long oral myths and historical tales).
13- Healing is very basic– clean wound, stop bleeding, keep cat hydrated, and the like.
14Just a few things.
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162. Decide if there is a specific place you’re really drawn to setting a clan in. Have you always wanted a desert clan? Felt a Caribbean Island clan would be just awesome? Want a clan in a Middle Eastern city? Australia? Once you’ve decided the location, do some research about the specific place. Then you can decide whether you want to plonk your clan in the real place, or maybe take the habitat of the real place and set it in an alternate world (i.e., you really like that desert, but you don’t want it to edge a city, so you can put the general lay of things in your own world and erase the city). Also, maybe create a visual map of the clan’s territory and camp. This post has some great suggestions for making your camp truly unique to your clan!
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18For the purposes of this example, my clan is Marshclan, because for some reason I am enamored with the idea of a marsh/wetlands clan. I really love water-based clans, and I also seem to have connotations of ‘Marshclan/Bogclan/Swampclan’ being this rugged, ragged, big, tough cats. Probably erroneous, but still, it draws me in.
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20The key things to note are 1, what’s the weather/climate like? 
212. What sort of animals and plants are there? (this will give you some prefixes to use!) 
223. What sort of dangers might be there? and so on.
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24I also noted specific places– ‘The Lightning-Struck Tree’, the ‘Burial Grounds’, the ‘Frog Pond’, sites of any battles or significant incidents. And I mapped out the camp; it’s on a solid island in the center of the marshes, well sheltered by plants, rocks,and  reeds. The leader sleeps in the center of the Senior Warriors den alongside the deputy; the new warriors, young warriors, and seasoned warriors all have dens spread across the camp to ensure maximum defenses. The queens sleep in a bush in the center of camp– that’s the nursery, but there’s a series of rocky crevices and very dense bushes that serve as the medicine den with some birthing dens nearby. The apprentices sleep in a den on one side of the nursery, the elders sleep on the other, and prey is stowed under another bush in the camp, near the large dead tree leaning against another dead stump is– this serves as the Speech Stump.
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263. Why does this clan exist? There’s a why behind everything, and definitely a why behind a clan even existing. Did it grow from a pre-existing family group? Did it move to this location from somewhere else? Did a bunch of cats escape a cat hoarder? Did random wandering cats band together under a charismatic leader? Did a deity create the clan? And how has this affected the clan?
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28With Marshclan, three things came together:
291. The founder, Duckflower, left Mountainclan after having serious disagreements over religion, and also feeling the desire to strike out and explore ‘uncharted territory’. A few other Mountainclan cats followed her, mostly close kin. Therefore she established her own clowder in the marshes, primarly because Mountainclan never went there, and she saw it as a place filled with possible prey and swampy enough that Mountainclan wouldn’t want to try and claim it. 
302. A bunch of hoarded cats (most of Maine coon/Norwegian forest cat type ancestry) had recently escaped a remote human house that had caught fire. They wandered and ended up crashing into Duckflower’s clowder. Seeing this as an ample opprotunity, she let them join and started configuring her own real clan.
313. Marshclan absorbed some more nearby clowders and a few loners and over time all these cats developed into the standard, big, longhaired, fierce and tough Marshclan cat that exists today.
32Because of their strongly self-made development, Marshclan has come to be a very independent group, placing great value on adaptability, strength, and wits. They don’t see themselves as guided by ancestors, but rather guiding themselves through right actions, and the remembrance of history and learning from that.
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344. Does your clan follow a particular naming style? 
35I will say absolutely it will make your world-building more consistent if you follow a naming style. prefixes, they should always describe pelt color. But, there’s more you can do with that. Perhaps your clan uses ‘wet’ names (mud, duck, frog, rain, cloud, etc.). Perhaps they use ‘dry’ names. (dust, oak, fire, sand, deer). Perhaps only plants (willow, birch, holly, cedar, mistletoe, juniper, daisy). Perhaps only animals (mosquito, fox, toad, snake, trout, eagle). Their choices of styles will be influenced by their beliefs and attitudes.
36For Marshclan, they believe in strength. They see animals as being the strongest things because they adapt and grow and visibly eat and fight and all that. So they use only animal names for prefixes– insects, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and birds.
37For suffixes, they follow what I like to call the ‘body-part style’. It has traditional meanings, but every suffix is a body part.
38These specific details they use for two reasons: 1, to distance themselves from Mountainclan culturally. 2, they feel that a body-part based system is stronger and simpler than the -er based system of Mountainclan.
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405. Decide what ranks your clan will have. Will they follow the leader/deputy/medicine cat/warriors/apprentices/queens+kits/elders pattern? Or will they have new ranks like seer or codekeeper? How will each rank function?
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42For Marshclan, I have:
43The leader: makes most of the decisions and has final say of everything but takes input and advice from the deputy, medicine cat, senior warriors and elders. Stays in camp predominantly and runs things and deals with laws and the like.
44The deputy: Is the physically active leader, organizing and leading patrols, leading the clan into battle, advising the leader, getting advice from the elders and medicine cat, scouting things out and reporting to the leader, and at gatherings is in charge of signing what the leader says to the clan.
45The medicine cat: does basic healing, serves as an adviser, keeps an eye on the clan and intervenes in any skeezy stuff. Serves as a confidant/sympathetic shoulder for cats and will council them freely. All medicine cats have to have completed full warrior training before training as a medicine cat. The medicine cat also serves as a ‘codekeeper’, remembering rules/laws, interpreting them, advising about them, etc. They also keep record of clan history along with the elders, leader, and deputy. They are allowed to have kits so long as they have a fully-trained apprentice who can take over for them temporarily.
46The warriors: hunt, fight, train apprentices, guard the camp, advise the leader, clean the dens, help out the medicine cat at times, patrol, entertain the oldest kits, have kits themselves, etc.
47The apprentices: are trained by the warriors.
48The queens: are fierce and highly respected, have their kits in birthing dens which they stay in for two moons before moving to the nursery proper; are the teachers and guards of the kits and sought by the leader for advice on mentor-apprentice pairings.
49The elders: teach clan history and culture, entertain the kits, give the leader/deputy/medicine cat advice, help to vote on some things, present deputy candidates to the leader who has the final say in picking, guard the camp, etc. Are highly esteemed and only when a cat reaches a certain age and experience do they have the chance of deciding they want to rank up to an elder.
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516. Decide how many cats, and therefore calculate how large their territory potentially is.
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537. Decide what their Starclan/higher powers are like. 
54Do they believe in a diety? Ancestors? Ancient spirits? Both? All three? What powers do the Powers that Be actually have? How does this compare/contrast to what clans think they have? Be very, very sure to keep things consistent here, because one of the biggest messes in canon was StarClan and their inconsistent wishy-washy, whatever-the-current-plot-requires-ness. That doesn’t fly in consistent world-building. Searching ‘starclan’ on the Feline Helix should turn up plenty of posts with examples of what others have done.
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56For Marshclan, I decided they don’t believe in Starclan. They believe in Moonclan. They believe the One, a great cat deity, created cats, and then placed them on the sun. But an evil force set the sun on fire out of jealousy. The deity quickly moved the cats to the Living World, where they would be safe, and put a barrier of fierce Star Warriors around the Living World to protect the cats. During the Day, the One watches over the clans in the sky, using the flaming sun to frighten away the evil force, the Void. During the night, the Star Warriors guard. 
57Dead cats go to live in a rich forest on the Moon, and are called Moonclan. Marshclan and Mountainclan leaders take the suffix -moon to indicate their status.
58Now, because of the dangers of the Void, ancestors on the Moon can’t came down to talk to the clans. The deity also remains distant, letting the clans work out their own problems and be self-sufficient.
59So Marshclan doesn’t believe in signs or prophecies.
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619. Consider some traditions. Just start out thinking of things– naming ceremonies, picking mates, talking to the Powers that Be, etc. Think of something and work it out. There doesn’t have to be a special order
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65When it comes to religious beliefs among clans, the only ‘wrong’ way to do it is to make things implausible to contradictory. You can have a giant beaver with dragonfly wings be your clan’s guardian deity if you keep its powers and interactions consistent and can build up some believable myths and reasons for why the clans worship a giant beaver with dragonfly wings.
66A good basis is to track how the beliefs have evolved over time. Clans come from /somewhere/, be it clowders, tribes, housecats, etc. Those prior groups are going to carry beliefs with them that will absolutely shape the evolution of the clan’s religious beliefs. And it’s also quite possible that, over time, the clan adopts in the beliefs of other clans or clowders and the like that they encounter and twist those beliefs to fit their worldview.
67I see StarClan as having two potential basis: ancestral and deity. 
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69If you want to go the ancestral route, then I imagine StarClan would have less power (maybe not even ‘really’ exist at all!) and is entirely comprised of the ancestors of the current living cats. They may watch over the living, they might be able to walk among them at certain times of the year (like the Celtic festival of Samhain), they may be able to send ‘signs’ through manipulating environmental things but can’t actually meet living cats, or perhaps they do meet with living cats through dreams and the like but give straightforward advice rather than prophecies. Perhaps there are no ‘nine lives’ but rather ‘nine wisdoms’ or ‘nine chosen advisors’ or nine may merely hold a sort of imagined significance, indicating that the leader is an especially blessed and politically powerful cat.
70The key here is to always, always establish set parameters and stick with them. Determine what you do not want your StarClan to be able to do, or what you do not feel is plausible, and stick with avoiding that. Set rules and follow them. Consistency is key, because it helps uphold suspension of disbelief.
71If you want to go the deity route, perhaps ‘StarClan’ is a pantheon of deities who contributed to the making of the clans and they advise them. Or it could be a heap of ancestors ruled over by the founders of the clans who are considered deities. And they, again, could have similar powers to the ones I suggested for the ancestral route.
72Again, there is a huge swathe of ways you could take this and run with it; the key is consistency, and figuring out what is most believable for your world. In a setting with many other groups of cats besides clans, it would make sense that the clans would absorb some outside beliefs and tailor them. In a very isolated setting, they may have very rigid and unchanging religious beliefs. The more religious a clan is, the more complex their beliefs may grow. Or your clans, like mine, may go through a ‘timeline’ of deities and important figures, with older ones ‘dying’ to make way for the latest group’s beliefs. (I do plan to post on this on my other blog because I feel it’s a good example of evolution over time and tying into to really building different cultures for each successive group).
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74 If a clan were to have a system of gods, is there any trait/set of traits they'd value over the others, or does it depend on the culture? I can see a common theme being survival, strategy (supernaturally, future-vision?), redemption (or something like resurrection/coming back from the brink of death), and luck just because they're predators and live in a dangerous world that they're Small in. ((also, should the worldbuilding questions be strictly Clan-related or is cats in general fine??)
75Pantheons of gods are so much fun. I love them. I have such a weakness for them.
76I would say that this is definitely a subjective decision and the religious world-building is totally dependent on what the writer wants to write (and can validate within the setting). What kinds of gods exist, what they represent, how the belief system formed, and how the clans feel about them is in your hands, Ruddles. 
77Pantheons of gods are birthed from the culture they belong to. They’re like monsters like that. They typically reflect the anxieties and needs of the people they belong to. So my advice, if anyone else is thinking of god things, is that maybe the best way to decide on a pantheon of gods is to look at the world and culture around the cats you’re focusing on, and ask yourself, “What is valuable to them? What are they afraid of? Who would they pray to?” and I think that will provide you with the core components of who, or what, the gods would be.
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811. So How Big is a Clan?
82I’m going to start by saying that the ‘average’ size of a clan is probably around 30 cats. Consider how the allegiances typically run: (this is a rough ‘average’)
831 leader.
841 deputy.
852 medicine cats.
8610-12 warriors.
874-6 apprentices.
881-3 queens + kits.
893-5 elders.
90So around 25-35 cats is probably a fair range, with 25 being on the ‘small’ side, and 35 reaching large. Because cats are dying and breeding at a steady rate, the average population of a clan will probably jiggle up and down but hover around the same area, barring some event that allows for a population explosion or decimation.
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92The thing is, things get sticky when climates and settings change. Some rules I would go by however are:
931. The fewer resources, the bigger the territories and the smaller and fewer the clans. Competition is going to be fierce and weakness isn’t going to last.
942. The more resources, the smaller the territories and the larger and more numerous the clans. Greater abundance means less area needed for hunting. Do note that as clan size increases, territory will need to increase as well. But because prey is denser per area for each cat, the ratio of territory to clan size will be closer.
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962. Mathematics. 
97If you’re looking for square mileage, I can try to give you some ideas. This site gives a bit of info you might find useful (1 hectare = 0.00386102 sq. miles). It also says the average female farm cat has a range of about 6 hectares. Males purportedly have a territory range about 10 times that, so 60 hectares.
98For the purposes of this, let’s say 6 hectares is standard for a molly and 60 hectares is standard for a tom.
99Disregarding the terrain and climate, let’s say you have an ‘average-sized’ clan of 30 cats, excluding kits. 15 are male, 15 are female. If we take the number of males and multiply it by the suggested hectares (15 x 60) and the number of females and multiply it by the suggested hectares (15 x 6) and add the resulting areas together you’re going to get a little under 4 miles. 
100Now, this is not at all an exact science, but I feel it does help give some idea how much area  cat might need. I would suggest as a starting point for figuring this out, always try to calculate an area, and then you can tweak it larger or smaller based on other factors.
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1023. Contributing Factors to Territory and Clan Size:
103These are just a few major points that can help you tweak your territory calculation, and your clan population.
1041. Some ranks are going to need more or less prey than others. Lactating and pregnant queens are going to need a higher calorie intake (more food), so more prey is needed. Elders will be eating less, and so will require less prey. So if your clan has a lot of elders, the food consumption will be lower. If they have a lot of kits or young, growing apprentices and warriors, they’re going to be hunting a lot.
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1062. How far can cats walk in a day? They’re going to be patrolling this territory every day, several times a day (or night, depending on whether your clans are more diurnal or nocturnal). They’re going to need to walk around their sector and return with time left over for other things as well. Think of ancient Roman; if the territory gets too big, guarding it all will be very hard. So for very large areas, it might be better to go with more clans with a variety of territory sizes than a couple clans with very big territories; or go with a few clans and a great deal of ‘no-cat land’ where loners and rogues live.
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1083.  The scale of the full ‘world’. The larger the area you’re working with, the more clans or larger territories you can have. The smaller the area, the more restricted you are. I will say that small urban areas can support a lot of cats.
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1104. How much prey is there? If it’s a city, there will be a lot more food and shelter available as compared to a desert. The more prey-rich an area is, the less territory a clan will need to survive, and the less competition there will be. The more prey-poor an area is, the more likely there will be fewer, smaller clans with larger territories– because they’re going to have to have more areas for hunting.
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1125. How’s the climate? If it’s a desert or very cold, clans are probably going to be smaller, fewer, and have larger territories because of the reduced resources. The fewer the resources, the less cats the land can support and therefore the more land needed.
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1146.  Are there frequent natural disasters? If so, the clans might have very large territories so they can move camps and hunting grounds should one area be damaged.
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1167. Are there other predators to compete with? Foxes, badgers, coyotes, wolves, bears, etc… These are all going to make life harder for the clans either because they share prey, or because they will/might prey on clan cats. The more of these creatures in an area, the fewer clans there will be. Everything is going to be a mess of overlapping territories and places to avoid larger predators.
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121 I’ve always been behind the idea that every clan needs a location in their territory that the cats can come “home” to so to say. This encourages unity, and provides protection for all members, particularly the young, the old and the sick. Camp is where you go to sleep among friends and family, knowing that somebody is watching the entrance and is ready and willing to sound the alarm at any threat, you don’t need to worry about finding a safe -and preferably comfortable- place to sleep. Camp is where you stay whenever you’re injured or feel unwell, knowing that you’ll be cared for in your time of vulnerability and visited by concerned clanmates, you don’t need to worry about feeding or protecting yourself when you aren’t at you’re best. Camp is where the days (Or nights) catch is deposited, you’ll still get fed even if you didn’t have much luck hunting today, or are simply a poor hunter. Camp is where the clan socializes with one another- kits play together or with their mothers, the apprentices, the warriors and perhaps even the leaders and deputies, apprentices play-fight and get into mischief, warriors discuss the day to day happenings, elders gossip and impart wisdom, leaders and deputies plan for the clans future and make announcements, and the medicine cat/s keep watch over the clans physical, emotional and spiritual health. 
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123 And so on and so forth, a clans camp is the heart of the clan. But yet, in many stories, the camp is just there, it’s just a place to be confined to if you break the rules (Or a leg). It’s not treated with any real sort of importance unless the plot calls for it, and in my experience, the “plot” usually calls for it to be attacked for the sake of drama. This shows a blatant lack of respect for what camp should mean to a clan, and an overall lack of world-building too. I mean come on, this is a sacred spot in your clans territory! Everyone lives there, everyone spends a fair amount of time there daily, this is a great location to build personal relationships at, it’s a convenient place to show off your clans specific culture and traditions at. 
124It’s just so much more then a place where you can keep your character confined to for drama, or a place where you can “store” characters that you don’t know what to do with, it’s just a massive missed opportunity in general. I feel this mostly stems from Canon always being eager to get the current protagonist or set of protagonist out of camp and into the territory… and other clans territories, and even farther abroad because I swear every single arc includes some sort of journey.
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126It really is a shame how underused clan camps are. I think it reflects the common trend of how the protagonist’s ‘hometown’ is just a backdrop filler until they go somewhere more ‘interesting’. The thing is, the reason those hometowns aren’t interesting is no one bothers to make them so! Possibly, it’s just because they don’t know where to start. And indeed, canon isn’t very inspiring or a good example here (isn’t is always? So sad.).
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128Anyway, the point I’m trying to get across in my ramble-y way is that camps are rarely developed beyond what the plot “needs” them to be, and that’s usually a copy and paste of what Canon does with them. Yet their are ways to make ones camp/s unique. Lets start with the dens. Canon follows the exact same layout- Nursery, Apprentice den, Warriors den, Elders den, Medicine cat den, and a Leader’s den. This is all well and good, it gets the job done. Everyone sleeps in a den according to their current rank. But, just thinking off of the top of my head I can come up with ways to make these dens a bit more unique.
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130Perhaps instead of a nursery where all kits and their mothers live together, theirs a traditional nursery and a den where the mothers give birth in and live with their kits until their eyes and ears have opened and they’re relatively mobile. It’s always struck me as a bit… risky to have newborns and essentially kitty pre-teens and every developmental milestone in between them in the same den together. Having a sort of newborn den would allow the most vulnerable kittens and their mothers some peace away from the chaos of the traditional nursery until the littlest ones are more able to deal with rambunctious playmates.
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132Oh this is a very good idea! I had often though, looking at comparisons of kitten sizes and activity levels, and how rough and careless kits are usually shown to be, that it might be dangerous for newborns. Especially, another thing to consider, for those who are inclined to a more realistic approach to queen behavior, is any stress on queens can prove dangerous for their kits and others. So having a very sheltered, safe, and probably ‘quarantined’ area for them to give birth and get past the initial danger stage in would be an excellent idea. This would also help prevent overcrowding in the nursery.
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134The same idea could apply to the apprentice den. A bit for different reasons, I’ve heard people voice concerns about the often large age gap and maturity gap between new apprentices and their oldest counterparts before. And maybe fanclans could also be concerned about it! So splitting the apprentice den in half almost could be a way of countering it. So one den would be for the younger apprentices and the other den could be for the older apprentices. Presumably it would be left up to the apprentices mentor to assess whether or not their apprentice is ready move up to the older apprentice den, taking into account not just age, but maturity both physical and emotional too. 
135I have seen many people concerned over the age-gap with apprentices, especially when it comes to romantic things, and I do agree with that, because maturity varies hugely among that ageset. I imagine some clans could indeed find this a problem, or simply might have every rank in life broken into multiple stages of ‘new’, ‘average’, and ‘senior’ and so divide ‘large’ ranks like apprentices and warriors up likewise. It’s also possible that if there were two apprentices’ dens they could be on either side of the warriors’ den, to prevent sneaking back and forth, and also so if apprentices’ had a problem, they could quickly get to their mentors for advice or protection.
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137I’d also advocate splitting up the Warriors Den, but not for the same reason. More so due to space requirements. Everyone knows that cats like to have their own personal space, I personally can only see mates, siblings and very close friends wanting to share nests together. So I’ve always had trouble believing that well over a dozen or more adult cats can manage to fit under one bush and have enough space between dens for everyone to be happy. Plus in larger clans, this idea only gets sillier. So maybe their can could be several Warrior dens instead of one! This not only allows everyone more nest-space, but also have the added benefit of spreading the Warriors out around the camp, meaning that if the camp does get attacked, not every experienced fighter is stuck in one part of the camp.
138There could be a ‘senior’ warrior den and a ‘younger’ warrior den, and that you’d ‘earn’ your way to the second den once you’d proved your maturity and experience. Or indeed there could be three or four ‘pockets’ of warriors scattered around the camp, at strategic places (by the nursery, by the apprentices, by the camp entrance, etc.) for better coverage of protection. Or maybe if there’s some sort of bush barrier around the camp, warriors sleep in dens all along it, while other dens are grouped in the center. For one of my own clans, Tunnelclan, the camp is in a ravine/hollow with small caves for the elders, apprentices, queens, and medicine cats, and the warriors sleep all around the hollow in nests they remake daily. 
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140I know the Deputy doesn’t have a den of their own traditionally, but maybe they should! After all, this is an important position, perhaps it could come with the added perk of a private den. Or maybe the Deputy could share the Leader’s den with them, they are also preparing to take the leaders place one day. Perhaps the deputy could share with the Elder’s instead, in the hopes that their wisdom helps prepare them for assuming leadership one day. I feel this would depend highly on how the clan viewed their deputies. Perhaps they could be in a special ‘add-on’ to the warriors den, or they might share the leader’s den. I think it could be less likely they’d bunk with the elders, because I personally see elders as being revered above all, and even the deputy not having earned the right to be considered their denmate, but it is an interesting notion.
141I do like this idea; a lot of the time it seems deputies are treated as a ‘special’ warrior than a leader-apprentice-in-training and an entirely separate thing.
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143I will admit that the Elder’s den is pretty solid in Canon, older cats more then anybody else will want and need a place to themselves. But as I mentioned above, maybe the Deputy bunking with them could be interesting to explore. Or perhaps the Elder’s in some fanclans don’t want their own den, preferring to stay in the Warriors den/s due to familiarity. Or their is a traditional Elder’s Den, but it’s left up to the individual Elder whether or not they desire to move into it or stay in the Warriors den/s. 
144I absolutely agree the elders would have their own den, no matter what, but I do think that when a cat who is eligible to be an elder retires to that den is entirely up to the individual. It may be some cats who are technically elders still serve as warriors, because though they have earned the rank, they want to stay active for their clan rather than moving on to more supervising/advising/in-camp duties.
145Definitely a thing to consider from a realistic standpoint is that elderly cats are very attached to the familiar, and changes of routine can really upset them, especially if they are dealing with physical and mental conditions due to advancing age. So it could be that elders sleep in the very center of a ‘senior’ warriors’ den, because they would have been there for a time before becoming elders, and would still be honored (and more sheltered) by scooching into the center more.
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147The Leader’s den is another one that’s use is pretty solid Canonically, the leader needs their own private place where they can retreat to in order to get some peace and quiet. Being leader is a huge responsibility and a tough job regardless of how good you are at it, so being able to get away from the pressures of their job for just a short while is probably necessary for the maintenance of sanity. But it also must get quite lonely and perhaps even isolating, so maybe could share with the Deputy as I suggested earlier, after all, the Deputy of all cats would understand the pressures of the job. Or maybe the leader could prefer to sleep with the Warriors, but could have their own private place within the camp itself to get away to on occasions when they need it. 
148It is possible the deputy and leader could bunk together. I certainly feel if the leader had a mate, they would share the leader’s den. It might indeed be that the leader’s den is more of a formal place to meet with others and retreat there for contemplation (an inner sanctum if you will) as opposed to a sleeping place. It might even be sacred.
149I do find the idea of the leader sleeping with the warriors to be interesting. I feel that might be more likely in a clan where the leader is considered very close to the warriors; my own clan Tunnelclan has the leader sleeping on a large, flat rock in the center of camp, and all the warriors sleeping spread around.
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151The Medicine cat pretty much undebatedly needs their own den. Their work is unusually sensitive, and they and their patients need the privacy. Maybe the herb store could be moved out of the den to prevent kits from getting into it? Or maybe in times of sickness (or after a large battle) their could be a separate area for the patients, some ways away from the other dens in camp in order to prevent things from spreading from the sick cats to the healthy ones.
152I do think that the medicine cat den would need to be a little bigger than it’s usually represented as. I almost see it as a mini camp, with a main area for speaking with others, a place for the medicine cat(s) to sleep, a place for sick patients, a place for non-contagious patients, a place for herbs, maybe a place to talk to Starclan…
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154Other ways to spice up the Canon dens could be to combine them instead of split them up. The Nursery would probably remain much the same as it is in Canon, but maybe the Apprentices and their Mentors could share dens instead of having separate ones. (Ignoring how creepy most people would probably find that idea.) Or the Warriors, Deputy and Leader could all share one massive den if theirs a big enough bush or cave or whatever to put one. Maybe mates could have their own dens, maybe some Queens would prefer to raise their kits in this den instead of in a traditional nursery…
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156Non-Canonically you could also add dens to the camp. Perhaps in times of war a den for prisioners could be set up, this is rather risky, but if this den was set in an isolated area of camp and under constant guard, then maybe the benefits could out-weight the risks. After all, enough bargaining chips on the table could allow the war to go in one clans favor.
157Depending on how ones fanclan treats outsiders, maybe a guest den could be set up. It would probably follow the same basic principal as the prisioner den- set up in an isolated spot in camp, under surviliance, etc. But if ones fanclan is usually hostile to outsiders and suddenly theirs one or more trying to join them… then until these guests have proven their worth and trustworthyness beyond doubt, then maintaining a separate den for them is probably worthwhile.
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159Or maybe a fanclan doesn’t believe in having dens except for the young, old or vulnerable. (Or in case of bad weather.) And that’s just the dens, theirs other things in the camp too! Vantage points/announcement areas, the fresh-kill pile, water sources, dirtplaces, burial grounds and even just areas to sun and socialize…
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161Definitely there are so many, many ways to add to camps. I think it’s a great way to diversify clans, because everyone will have a different amount of space, terrain, etc., and their culture will be heavily influential as well.
162Dirtplace: I’ve never liked the idea of the dirtplace, at least how it exists in canon. It seems to be just some ‘secret passage’ to sneak out of. I think it might be better to have a place a short distance from camp that cats use, while kits and those who are infirm just do their thing and those who tend them keep everything clean (I mean, for a while kits can only eliminate when the mother stimulates them!).
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164Speaking place: I’ve seen High Rocks, High Ledges, High Branches, Speaking Stones, Speech Stones, etc. I think it’s great to have different names and objects used for when leaders and others address the clans. I think the important thing is it’s placed well so that the speaker has a view of all the camp and the listeners don’t have to break their necks looking at it. It might even be just a circle that everyone sits in, and the speaker stands in the center! It certainly doesn’t have to be tied to the leader’s den, like it always seems to be in canon.
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166Burial grounds: I love the idea of a clan burial ground. It’s another opportunity for a sacred place and possible superstitions with the afterlife. Apparently in canon they just randomly bury dead cats wherever, but I imagine some clans might have heavily ritualized scenarios for that, and a special place to lay their dead clanmate to rest.
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168Fresh-kill pile: I feel, like with a speaking place, different clans are going to have different names for this.
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170Sunning and socializing places: are going to be highly individual to the clan and so a great way to diversify. Maybe that speaking place is also where everyone gathers to share tongues because it’s sunny and elevated. Maybe the area around the elders’ den is full of soft moss and everyone flocks there to rest and listen to the stories and wisdom of the elders.
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175in response to blue-eyed anon: I like your idea and this isn't to replaced it, but you gave me an idea too! for a different culture, maybe, than the luckiness one. Kits are born with blue eyes and they change colour as they get older. this isn't so much superstition as just stereotype but maybe cats with blue eyes are seen as, like, more childish?
176Popular words for describing certain cat eye-colours are “amber” (a yellow-gold), “hazel” (a green-brown), and “copper” (an orange-brown). How many specific words do the cats have in regard to eye-colour and eye-shape, and why these words in particular? Are there any beliefs about what kind of eyes are “the best” or “most attractive”; or any superstitions about certain types of eyes? 
177Although the word “horoscope” refers to the time of birth, the combination of the eyes changing from blue to another colour, unpredictable eye-colouration in each litter, and the season (or other time-frame) might make for an interesting basis for clan ‘personality divination’, in the same vein as the Chinese zodiac or Western sun sign astrology. 
178Around the world, colours are given symbolic meanings and are associated with particular concepts. These meanings can vary hugely between cultures, as the meanings that colours are given often interweave with the specific environment and history of the people. After you’ve decided how your cats perceive colour, you may want to consider how the clans’ cultures interpret and assign symbolism to colours. Do your cats have favourite colours or would the concept of a “favourite colour” make no sense to them? 
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182All around the world, human cultures have developed customs around the loss of deciduous teeth. In some countries, children are encouraged to believe that a fantastical being of some description–the tooth fairy in English-speaking countries; or a mouse in Italy, France, and Belgium, for example–will take the lost away and replace it with a coin. In other countries, the popular custom involves throwing the tooth (at the sun, from a roof, into a tree, or other places besides, depending on the country in question) and using it to make a wish or ask for the blessing of a new, better tooth to replace it. Given that the loss of milk teeth highlights the start of adolescence for clan cats, are there any beliefs, customs, and/or superstitions the clans have about the event? 
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186At six months of age, a cat is approximately the equivalent of an 8-to-13 year old human child, depending on how you make the comparison. You may want to consider how you will portray cats at this age–are apprentices the teenagers of the clan? Physically speaking, six months is a decent time for a kitten to begin to train to become a warrior, as they are approaching adult size and will likely be craving the freedom and excitement of warrior life. How does the leader judge when young cats are ready to begin their apprenticeships? Is it as simple as being older than six moons, or are there other expectations that have to be met as well? Do apprenticeship ceremonies take place at a certain time each month, or are they scheduled whenever the leader decides to announce a kitten’s change in rank?
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190A lot of play for real kittens involves play-fighting and tussling, pouncing on things that move (including other kittens and the tails of older cats), batting items around (such as leaves or spiders), running around, and chasing each other. However, since the cats are anthropomorphised, you may want to consider also adding in cat-versions of other kinds of games, such as word games, memory games, and guessing games, as well as organised active games. For example, games such as “I spy”, “I packed my bag”, “What’s the time, Mr Wolf”, “Duck, duck, goose”, “Button, button, who’s got the button?”, “Hide-and-seek”, “Capture the flag”, and “Treasure hunt” might be popular among kittens (and maybe among adolescent and adult cats as well).
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194If kittens are typically self-sufficient from three months of age, do nursery cats need to remain in the nursery until the kittens become apprentices or do they take up their warrior duties before then? How long are nursery cats actually considered “nursery cats” for, once the kittens are weaned and able to eat meat? In colonies, there is often one or two dominant female cats who are essentially matriarchs over the whole clowder: is it possible that your clan (or clans) have one or two experienced, senior cats who fulfill a similar role by being permanent nursery cats and act as guardian–or perhaps grand-guardian, if older–to all kittens? Are apprentices ever shifted to work as helpers or babysitters around the nursery, so that the adults can resume or partially resume their warrior duties?
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198In reality, kittens are shown how to hunt by their mother, sometimes from as early as two-and-a-half months of age. In the clans, however, all training appears to be handled by a kitten’s assigned mentor, after the kitten in question has turned six months old and has become an apprentice. How will you approach this divergence in your canon? Do kittens start killing prey before they are six months old or must they wait until they are officially recognised as apprentices before training of any kind can begin? Kittens are very curious and eager to explore their surroundings. Are kittens ever allowed to leave the campsite–and what happens if they do? 
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203Is there simple ways to make an evil leader that no one knows is evil?
204I think the best thing to keep in mind here is that you really shouldn’t have a self-awarely evil leader. Very few people actually think they’re evil in real life – everyone’s the hero of their own story. An evil leader does evil things because they think what they’re doing is best – for their clan or for themselves. So there are several ways to keep people in the dark about how evil a leader is. One is to make them agree with the evil leader’s goals (say, making the clan great again or something like that) and ignore any qualms with their methods. Another is for the evil leader to conceal the evil things they do in pursuit of their goals. I’m sure there are others, but this is all I can think up atm
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206Would  have still turned out “evil,” even if - trains her herself to prevent Thistleclaw from having a bad influence on him? Perhaps Bluefur’s arrogance and selfishness is what Tigerpaw learns from her. Or perhaps Bluefur’s competitive clashing with Thistleclaw absorbs so much of her attention that she’s negligent and Tigerpaw needed a decent role model, and she wasn’t there to guide him away from the dark path he was travelling down. Maybe Bluestar, a version of her who is flawed but truly has good intentions, doesn’t neglect Tigerpaw, and trains him to be a noble and kind warrior–but she never had enough time to give to Whitepaw, and instead he was influenced by his father, Thistleclaw. So much possibility here!
207One of the most concerned things to me about Bluestar is that she gives Ravenpaw, who is a notably timid and self-conscious young cat, to Tigerclaw, a stern and often cruel warrior. That combination of personalities was not healthy for Ravenpaw at all, but Bluestar did nothing. I’ve always wondered: did she not notice? Or did she notice and decide not to interfere? Did she think Ravenpaw needed to get tougher, the hard way? Or maybe did she not want to risk angering and humiliating Tigerclaw by taking his apprentice away from him? Sometimes when I think of this, it frightens me a little that she was Thunderclan’s leader. 
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209Bluestar’s story could have been a fascinating Tragic Hero-descends-to-villainy sort of spiral, getting a (self-fulfilling) prophecy from Goosefeather and plunging into this almost obsessive hatred of Thistleclaw, overcome by her own ambition but unable to see it in herself because she validates all her actions as “stopping Thistleclaw’s dreadful ambition” - and all of her faults acknowledged and laid out for the reader, rather than brushed aside because she’s a “good leader” or some such toss.
210It could be deliciously ironic and sad and morally complex and really, really badass. I live for that kind of thing, I don’t mind telling you.
211As for Yellowfang, I have a huge soft spot for hardcore old ladies who Get Things Done and Don’t Give A Fuck, so there’s always this wistful twinge in my heart when I look at how badly canon treated Yellowfang. She was made for better things than that. She could have been the Granny Weatherwax of cats. 
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215In a situation where, for some reason, a queen with kits were to die but her kits survive, what do you think the Clan would do with the kits given there were no other queens and the kits are still too young to eat solid food? Since it's part of the Warrior Code to protect kits, do you think another Clan would be willing to take in kits who had no mother to nurse?
216I think this would be a very difficult situation for everyone. It’s possible–maybe even likely, depending on the situation and the cats involved–that another clan would take in the kits, but that’s just the start of the problems, really. 
217The original clan wouldn’t want to give the kittens to the other clan, because that requires them to trust the other clan, and it opens up all kinds of troubles–which clan do the kittens belong to? Which clan will the kittens feel loyalty to? What’s going to happen when the clans go to war with each other? When will the kittens’ original clan get to see them? What kind of discrimination will the kittens face in the new clan? What threat will the kittens be to each clan’s cultural boundaries? 
218The original clan might even see the giving of kittens as similar to a hostage situation, since the other clan now has power over them through those kittens. The original clan might have to entirely sever their emotional ties to the kittens when they send them away, just to be able to bear it. Like I said, a real dilemma in every direction. 
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222I just imagine some poor cat named Darkheart or Blackheart being the world's nicest guy but all the kittypets think they're evil because they keep misinterpreting the name
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226do you think an apprentice would aim for a specific suffix? like maybe little flypaw is like "wow i hope one day i earn the claw suffix" and just work at it, or would that not really happen due to how not one suffix is favored over another in a clan setting, and that they all have value, so aiming for a name isnt really something fostered in the culture? i hope this makes sense
227I understand what you mean, Ruddles, and I’d say it’s up to you and how you want to create the clan culture. Either way is valid, I think, because it’s really dependent on your individual style of writing, both in terms of world-building and characterisation. I think you should do what feels right to you in the context of your story. 
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231Etymologically, “holiday” comes from “holy day”, and typically has a religious and/or commemorative origin. For the clans, that would mean the concept of a “holiday” would likely stem from their religious beliefs and customs or from significant events in their history. 
232I’d say there’s two main forms of holiday as well: celebratory and solemn. Celebratory holidays tend to be the ones that involve a lot of feasting and partying and spending time with people you care about. Solemn holidays have a more sacred element to them, because they are observed as an act of serious faith or because they are a memorial for some kind of tragedy. Both types of holidays can be “rest days” (days where work is stopped, or else, a leisure day of some kind).
233For the clans, I imagine holidays will have to take into account the realities of surviving: they can’t just take a day off, and expect to have something to eat anyway. Likewise, because the cats have to catch their own prey, preparing for a feast day will require a lot of work on behalf of the clan. That said, I don’t think it’s unlikely for the clans to have occasions like like–although I doubt they would appreciate us calling them “holidays”, given the English connotation of leisure. 
234I think one of the possible clan events (one that would exist in any clan) might be a feast day after apprentices become warriors. During and after a night vigil (or whatever the clan’s solemn period for new warriors is), the new warriors might be expected to fast for a while and/or partake in certain customs around the campsite–perhaps getting blessed by the elders, or spending a day with the medicine cat or leader. In the meantime, the rest of the clan hunts intensely to get enough prey, and once the waiting time is up, the clan shares a feast together to complete the welcome of the new warriors into their new role. This tradition would combine solemn elements (the new warriors’ waiting time and rituals) with celebratory elements (the naming ceremony chanting and a feast), and I imagine it’s something that would be considered very important and special for new warriors. Their whole clan working together to honour them specifically would be an amazing experience, I would think.
235Quite possibly, similar events would take place around every naming ceremony. The announcing of newborn kittens’ names could be cause for celebration, or the awarding of a name-change name. 
236Another popular holiday cause is the changing of the seasons, especially for communities that experience harsh weather or hardship. I would be very surprised if the clans didn’t have some sort of yearly festival when winter ended, or perhaps when any season starts and ends. Of course, because they don’t use calendar dates, I would imagine the festivals would be set in accordance with their natural landscape–for example, when the last snow disappears, when a certain type of flower blooms, so on.
237I would think that there’d be some holidays that all the clans participate in but separately (such as the feast for new warriors), some holidays that each clan has that’s specifically theirs (maybe about famous battles they’d won or lost, or famous cats), and maybe even some holidays that the clans might participate in simultaneously–it might be a day or two of clan-wide peace, or a day in honour of medicine cats in a gathering-type setting. 
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241there are multiple Clans with different cultures, would apprentices be taught the basics about other Clans cultures so they don't offend them at Gatherings? Would their mentor teach them this, or would one cat simply "lecture" a group of apprentices?
242It’s actually not a case of ‘if’. Every clan would have its own culture, because the clans are separate social groups nearly all of the time. 
243I don’t think there’s harm in educating apprentices about respecting other clans’ cultures, but of course there’s a few hurdles with this. How many details would each clan actually share with the other clans about their culture? I doubt clans would have a thorough knowledge of all the ins-and-outs of other clans’ customs and beliefs, so the best they can do is point out The Big Mistakes to Avoid, I think. The basics of diplomacy, as you said.
244As for who does the teaching, every apprentice is going to learn from their mentor simply by being around them so much and discussing other clans, but I think it could be worthwhile for the deputy to also address the apprentices now and then and give a talk about how not to disgrace yourself at gatherings. 
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248If a clan were to have a system of gods, is there any trait/set of traits they'd value over the others, or does it depend on the culture? I can see a common theme being survival, strategy (supernaturally, future-vision?), redemption (or something like resurrection/coming back from the brink of death), and luck just because they're predators and live in a dangerous world that they're Small in. ((also, should the worldbuilding questions be strictly Clan-related or is cats in general fine??)
249I would say that this is definitely a subjective decision and the religious world-building is totally dependent on what the writer wants to write (and can validate within the setting). What kinds of gods exist, what they represent, how the belief system formed, and how the clans feel about them is in your hands, Ruddles. 
250Pantheons of gods are birthed from the culture they belong to. They’re like monsters like that. They typically reflect the anxieties and needs of the people they belong to. So my advice, if anyone else is thinking of god things, is that maybe the best way to decide on a pantheon of gods is to look at the world and culture around the cats you’re focusing on, and ask yourself, “What is valuable to them? What are they afraid of? Who would they pray to?” and I think that will provide you with the core components of who, or what, the gods would be.
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254You’ve said (further down) that these clans aren’t “different enough”, but these clans are hugely different already. Just having a monogamy/polyamory cultural split between clans is a big thing, and something that’s going to have sprawling repercussions for both clans, their interclan relations, and the structure of their systems of belief. 
255I think you’ve gotten stuck in the thought of culture as a sort of tick-a-box thing, where you cross off what clans do or don’t do, and that’s not a bad way to create a broad overview of differences and similarities, but there’s so much more to a culture than that. Things like events and ceremonies are important, but try thinking on more grassroots level of everyday interactions and activities as well.  I’ll use what you’ve mentioned as examples of what I mean. You’ve listed “very human things”, but let’s say I disagree with that, and I argue they can just as easily be “very clan cat things”.
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257The way people dress becomes the way cats use adornment/body art, and let’s say BClan with their monogamous views holds an official ceremony to celebrate when cats commit to one another, and part of that is after committing to someone, cats go out of their way to ‘wear’ the scent of a certain plant and perhaps that has connections to an event in clan-history or special symbolism in clan-lore.
258The way people dress can also become the way cats use body language, and let’s say in TClan it is a sign of deep disrespect to talk to a superior and look them in the eyes, whereas in BClan it is considered disrespectful not to meet the eyes of your superiors when they’re talking to you; or perhaps in BClan part of an apprentice’s training is passing their war posturing exam, wherein they must use physical but no-contact intimidation to make a rival back off, but TClan has no similar exam and instead views ‘war posturing’ as a form of interpretive dance and has developed their own culture of, for lack of a better term, performance art as entertainment.
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260Government becomes the way the clan is run, and that’s got endless possibilities for difference once you stop taking things for granted and start questioning why things are the way the way, or how they could be different. For example, TClan might consider it acceptable for leader, deputies, and medicine cats to have kittens, but BClan might consider that forbidden. BClan might lean towards a democratic choice of deputy, wherein the leader must consult and take a vote with the clan elders, whereas TClan might believe it’s the leader’s holy duty to make the choice outright. Pretty much every element of how the clan is run is open to new interpretations. 
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262The cuisine becomes the way cats eat, and what if TClan considers it bad luck to eat a creature you share a prefix with, but BClan considers that ‘suspicious nonsense’. What if BClan believes all food must be blessed before it’s eaten, and TClan doesn’t. Perhaps TClan and BClan each have respective taboos about the right and wrong way to eat things–if you’re eating a bird you can’t eat both eyes, someone else has to eat the other eye; if you’re eating a small mammal, it’s expected that you offer to share with whoever you’re next to and they’re obliged to decline; if you’re eating fish, you have to take the tail fin and throw it back into the water when you’re done; so on and so forth. 
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264All I can think of is to add rituals that only that Clan does, different views on mates (either poly or mono), and who they find attractive. For example:
265BClan thinks gingers are hot; TClan thinks brown cats are.
266The thing about this is societal expectations of beauty don’t come from nowhere; they tend to have a history and an agenda, and a lot of the time they’re unknowingly internalized and perpetuated by people. So pelt colour is one aspect of what’s considered conventionally attractive in the clan, but where did this belief originate? Consider how stereotypes about blonde hair (especially for ladies) have developed throughout Western pop culture. 
267There are other aspects targeted by beauty standards too: body shape, paws, ears, teeth, eye colour, eye shape, tail type, voice, etc. Any part of a cat is a potential site for expectations. 
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269BClan believes in monogamy; TClan are polygamous. 
270The path of least intra- and inter-clan drama would be polyamory is considered normal for all clan cats. Not necessarily “the norm”, but not something that indicates a lapse in morals or anything like that. Some cats might decide to have monogamous (or relatively monogamous) relationships, and some cats might decide to have polyamorous relationships, and no-one would be bothered by it unless it starts causing clan disharmony–unhealthy levels of jealousy or aggressive behaviour, for example. Whether the majority of cats prefer monogamy or polyamory is up to you. 
271The path of more intra-clan drama would be polyamory considered the norm for all clan cats. For the most part, it would be as above, but monogamous relationships would be considered strange and somewhat unacceptable. That would be potentially discriminatory against cats who do prefer monogamous relationships, and because these cats are anthropomorphised, there would definitely be some of those cats in every clan. I can’t recommend this approach to world-building.
272The path of a lot of inter-clan drama would be polyamory is considered normal for some clans, and not for others. It’s an interesting clash, but I can’t really recommend this one either, because at its heart, it means one (or more) of the clans has developed some very unnatural and harmful expectations of its clan members and that concerns me and strikes me as relatively unlikely. But I suppose it has potential as as a plot basis? I can’t say it sits well with me, though.
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274BClan have a ceremony which welcomes newleaf; TClan have a very specific death ritual. 
275Big rituals like these are definitely an important part of a clan’s culture, but there’s lots of smaller, less obvious rituals people undertake. The ways they greet each other, the ways they share with one another, the ways they celebrate with each other, even the ways they talk to each other have a ritualistic aspect to them, and every clan is going to be unique with these things. 
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279I am very much a fan of the one-on-one mentoring approach, and I think it’s a valuable practice for the clan. 
280I think it’s much more manageable for each apprentice to be the responsibility of a specific adult warrior, rather than expecting one or two cats to be responsible for every apprentice in the clan. 
281I also feel that a mentor-apprentice buddy system would increase clan-bonding, rather than detract from it. Apprentices mingle with each other anyway because they share a den, and warriors are the same with other warriors, and there’s a camaraderie that comes from both situations. Apprentices can compare their mentors with each other (I’m not saying it’s always like I Bet My Mentor Could Beat Your Mentor In A Fight, but I’m not saying that wouldn’t be a favourite conversation topic–especially at gathering with apprentices from other clans), and warriors can commiserate and seek guidance from one another about how best to teach their apprentices and Be The Best Mentor There Ever Was.
282By splitting up the training into pairs, I feel that there’d be a lot of diversity in the teaching methods, and that would be good for any cats who learn in particular ways. For example, Acornpaw might learn best by listening to explanations, and Frostpaw might learn best by physically doing things. By giving each cat a mentor of their own, they aren’t expected to be learning their skills the same way at the same time and there’d be less, “Wow, Acornpaw, you’re shit at this kind of hunting,” and less, “Seriously, Frostpaw, you can’t even remember that?” taunting among the apprentices (I’d hope, anyway). Shoving all apprentices into the same ‘class’ will mean each apprentice gets less one-on-one time and attention with their teacher, which could be detrimental. 
283I’m certain that mentor and apprentice teams would often train and practice together, for fun and for experience, but having the option of training alone is important. Some apprentices are going to be shy, or self-conscious, or easily distracted by others, and will greatly benefit from being able to practice their skills with their mentor only. 
284An apprentice should be able to trust their mentor. It’s a relationship based around being comfortable with each other and being able to communicate with each other. I feel like it would be a lot harder to attain that in a group situation, because apprentices may feel they can’t ask questions or be themselves without being picked on by other apprentices–after all, they’re all still maturing and figuring themselves out, and it’s a rough time. It’s hard growing up.  
285I have to say I’m strongly One-On-One Mentoring, but that doesn’t mean I’m not open to other ideas! It’s just that I haven’t heard of any other mentoring models I’ve liked as much as this one I’ve just spoken of.
286As for whether I’d write differently from canon, I think I would. I like the one-on-one approach in canon, but like most canon things, I feel a lot of aspects of it get glossed over and that makes me sad. I’d like to read about baffled mentors trying to understand the new apprentice in-joke and occasionally trying to be Hip and With It to the utter embarrassment of their apprentices, I’d like to read about apprentices growing up to become mentors and realizing how interconnected they are with the whole web of the clan, I’d like to read about the different facets of mentor-apprentice relationships in general, really. I enjoy that sort of thing).
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290Assuming that you don’t want Starclan to be real in that way, you can’t explain the nine lives thing. You can, however, reinterpret the nine lives thing: for example, maybe it doesn’t mean coming back from the dead - could it be that a leader is gifted with the ‘life-experience’ of nine past cats? It’s a lot harder to prove one way or the other than coming back to life, and that ambiguity is going to be necessary to tell a good story, I suspect. Especially since the leader doesn’t even know if it’s true or not, and so will start taking their intuitive feelings very seriously. There’s potential there to have some fun, I think.
291Alternatively, you could just throw the nine lives thing out entirely. In fact, you can throw nearly everything about canon Starclan out and start from the ground up, which is what I personally think is the wisest choice. Canon Starclan is a hot mess, at best, and it’s clear Erin Hunter didn’t really think any of it through at all, and that is a terrible shame.
292If you’re going to do that, my advice is:
293- set boundaries (what can Starclan actually do).
294- set cultural expectations (what do the cats believe Starclan can do, and why do they believe that).
295- set moral spectrum (what cats get to go to Starclan, what cats don’t, how does Starclan decide, where do the bad cats go, how do the clans feel about this, how does it affect the choices cats make).
296- invent cultural customs (what do the cats do to venerate Starclan, what are the beliefs, what are the different religious groups, how do the clans differ in their spiritual beliefs and habits, how does superstition impact the clans, so on, basically: the fun stuff).
297Personally, I think they’re best done in that order, since they tend to feed into each other a lot and it’s nice for consistency’s sake. Besides that, though, I don’t think I can offer much guidance. I wish you luck with your writing!
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301do you think it's plausible that a clan might have an unofficial (or perhaps even official) burying squad? cats that go with the close relatives and aid with the burying? i imagine they'd be quiet hardworking cats who were able to hide their feelings well
302If you wanted the clan to, then sure. I don’t think that would be an issue, and could definitely be an interesting aspect to the clan’s culture. 
303I personally find it perplexing to think of cats digging to bury their dead (with the exception of kittens), so my personal headcanons for the clans’ funerary rites and rituals don’t involve any digging whatsoever.
304My belief is that every clan would have their own unique approach to this sort of thing, so you can definitely get creative and make a burying squad if you want
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308do you think a Clan that has never been in contact with the main five (SkyClan counts as an important Clan, I think?) would have different naming traditions due to the differing culture that'd probably go along with it? I don't think that's technically traditionalism, but I've been RPing in multiple fan-made Clans for a good while now and I just can't see a cat hundreds of miles away from TC getting what the "heart" suffix means without ever talking to TC.
309Oh, absolutely. This particular branch of traditionalism is to do with the canon clans, so it uses a lot of canon suffixes, but for clans that have nothing to do with canon, you’re completely free from that shadow and can do whatever you like (although, I do recommend being reasonable about that). 
310I’m certain that other clans would have developed their own naming systems and customs and culture over time, and there’s nothing at all wrong with that. In fact, I think it’s really interesting and fun, and one of the best things about fan-clans
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314You want something to be different, but the most important thing is to ask why are they different? What changed? Why did the culture evolve in that way in particular?
315Look at the concept of multiple medicine cats, for instance. What would have needed to happen in order for a clan to take two medicine cat apprentices at the same time? Some kind of widespread sickness? Or do the two young cats have equally prestigious ability? Or are they both unable to become warriors (perhaps due to injury) but can still work just fine as medicine cats? And what would have happened, socially and politically (as in, within the clan, and between the other clans), if both apprentices became medicine cats? What would the other clans say? Would there be fights about it? Does it break the warrior code - and if it doesn’t, would another clan try to amend the warrior code so that it wasn’t allowed? What would happen when the two medicine cats needed to take apprentices - would they each take one? How can the clan afford to have so many medicine cats, anyway - what has changed so that they don’t need so many cats to hunt or fight? What about the medicine cats having kittens - is the clan worried that they might run out of kittens, since the warrior code bans medicine cats having relationships like that? Are they worried that the gene pool might become too small? Does the clan scrap the idea of medicine cats not being allowed to take mates, since there’s so many medicine cats now? How do the other clans react to that? How does the multiple-medicine cat clan react - does it shake their faith in Starclan? Do they fear Starclan’s wrath, or are they beginning to think that Starclan doesn’t care about those earthly things? Does every medicine cat connect to Starclan? Is their a ranking system among the medicine cats now, from most senior to the youngest? Does medicine become just another part of warrior training? How does the clan deal with that? Is the sacredness of the medicine cat traditional destroyed? Who goes to the Moonstone/Moonpool/Moonthing? Do they take turns? Do they just not attend any more? 
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319Do you think it would be possible for cats or a culture in a clan be brought up in a way where skills are more attractive than looks? Like let's say a cat is a very good hunter and that would be considered attractive because he/she is very swift and greatly provides for the clan and that's admirable. Same for a good fighter. Maybe a belief that traits like this could be passed down would support this also? "This cat is really strong so their kits would be strong too."
320Yes? That would be every clan - or at least, that’s how I write Ailuronymy. That’s why it goes skills first. Because skills are the most important thing to recognise in a cat, followed by personality, and then appearance.
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324 The original arc is supposedly set in England, but that becomes North America as the books progress. There is no logical reason for rearranging the entire planet to tell a story about cats. It’s as silly as saying, “The aliens did it!” when you can’t think of a conclusion to the mystery; it’s lazy, it’s a cop-out to readers (they know when you’re just being convenient to yourself), and it’s not as though it was necessary either. If it were my call, Warriors would be set solely in England, and there would be a lot more about the plant-life. The plant-life is fascinating and beautiful, with names like charms, and it makes for really wonderful description. Not only that, but it makes for feline description – cats, or so I like to think, are going to take more notice of the plants in their habitat than people usually do. I’d also like to keep some consistent fauna.
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328I would love for Warriors to have a non-human language involved, a conlang for cats, which adds another layer to their culture and their non-humanness. I would love for there to be feline concepts and phrases interwoven through the books, and even when speaking English, I would love for each clan to have a distinctive way of speaking – a clan identity that sets them apart from one another (I’ll come back to this shortly). I believe that the inclusion of a feline language would also solve all problems that exist within the traditional naming system, and would make names so much better than they already are. For example, I believe that it would be possible to distinguish the difference between Maplewhisker* (named after the bark, therefore a brown tabby cat) and Maplewhisker** (named after the maple flowers, therefore a fluffy golden-coloured cat); it would be as simple as having a differentiation in the feline name. Maplewhisker* - Athanhtiar’a (meaning ‘maple [bark] whisker’). Maplewhisker** - Athanhniar’a (meaning ‘maple [flower] whisker’). It would work flawlessly.
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332In Warriors, the clans live separately for no adequately explained reason besides the allocation of territory and prey. The problem with this is that these clan cats are supposed to have a rich culture, but they don’t. All clans are basically the same, and not only is that boring, it’s unrealistic. Living in isolated, or even semi-isolated, groups has a social effect. Every clan should, by rights, speak in a particular way, with their own phrases and terms for things, and accents (however slight); they should have diverging beliefs – they might all believe in Starclan, but there is so much more to living a life-style than that, and it should be these differences in beliefs and values that keep the clans so strictly apart; there should be far less emphasis on Shadowclan being “the bad guys”, because I hate that; and there should be particular things that each clan has and does that is special to them, and I’d like to know more about that (as a reader). I also feel that there should be a heavier focus on in-world story-telling, since that would play a vital part in every clan’s culture, as a means to pass on history, moral teachings, lore and legends, and entertainment. 
333I’d love to see the whole “lions, leopards, and tigers, oh my” scrapped entirely, because I don’t see why feral cats would know anything about them; in its place, I’d adore some Aesop-esque fables about dead cats and their exploits, the great battles, the infamous and notorious leaders, all that fun stuff.
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337I dislike Starclan. Immensely. Originally, it was supposed to be mystical and mysterious; now they’re fighting wars, or something? I don’t know, I’m not masochistic enough to read the new series. I like mystical and mysterious; I like the concepts of religion and spirituality and mythology of afterlives and doubt. I like doubt a lot, it makes things so interesting. I would write Starclan as being impossible to prove one way or the other – you just have to have faith that it’s real, and that your family is waiting for you. I would love to have incidents in the books where it seems the only explanation is Starclan, only to have it shown that it could possibly be just some freak accident or coincidence; I would like to see the cats’ faith waiver occasionally, and maybe even have those that outright do not believe in their ancestors’ ghosts – it’s done in canon, but it’s pointlessly done. Starclan absolutely exists, and so it doesn’t matter if you believe or not. Starclan exists, so really, nothing matters. I’d love for leaders not to have nine actual lives; there is no magic, you don’t get a second chance after you’re struck down. But I’d want for them to have nine lives in the sense that, when they become leader and commune with their ancestors, they are given nine lives of experience from the dead – in other words, they have the knowledge of ten cats, but not on command. Leaders get brief flashes of memories from the dead, visions of things they never saw, knowledge that seems to come inexplicably from the air itself; not enough to convince everyone of Starclan, but enough to give the leader wisdom enough to avoid the mistakes of fallen clan-members.  I think that ties in so much better with the concept of a cat’s nine lives anyway, and it makes for such great plot possibilities. 
338I would like for cats to have a fear of being forgotten. That’s why they tell stories of their exploits and others’, even long after they are dead. Because they fear that, if they don’t continue to talk about a fallen comrade, that cat will cease to exist; in telling stories, cats breathe life into the dead. This is partially to do with my in-world theory that cats have a shorter memory than humans and are quick to move on after grief, and partially because it makes sense for the context of Warriors. So many things about warrior life are about clinging to an identity – the clan itself and loyalty to it, every cat’s name, the rituals and ceremonies. It seems likely that every cat would try to leave a legacy during their lifetime, so that they would live on after death, because cats who are forgotten vanish from Starclan and are never seen again. That belief would be borne from the fact that some Starclan cats would still walk in the dreams of the living occasionally, but it’s impossible to tell if they’re real spirits visiting, or just dreams. Again, from a plot point of view, that could make all kind of fun havoc.
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342 I want to read about how their senses change the perception of the world – the visceral smells and sounds and see the world through a cat’s eyes – and I want to read about what makes sense to a cat, because I’m sure some human things make no sense to cats and vice versa. I’d like for the damn cats to be nocturnal as well, since Erin Hunter forgot that cats usually sleep during the day and hunt at night; what a dumb thing to forget. 
343Something I would really, really love is for mother cats to actually act like mother cats, and not some moronic Victorian-era concept of fainting femininity. That would be great. Erin Hunter writes bile about how, by some witchcraft, having kittens makes queens soft and nice and saccharine and it’s enough to make me want to spit up. Female cats are not like that. At all. Even slightly. Becoming a mother turns a she-cat into a monster, in the best kind of way, because she’ll rip anything to shreds if her babies are threatened. Mother cats are brutal as fuck. From my experience, even the nicest pet cats can go sour if they think you’re dangerous to their kittens - I once had to retrieve a stolen kitten from a (normally) lovely old Siamese (desexed) she-cat once, and she went for me like you wouldn’t believe, and it wasn’t even her baby. You don’t mess with queens. And yet, Erin Hunter writes them as these bland, simpering things more often than not, which is especially a shame when their pre-kitten personality was an attempt at being feisty (or something). From that, I can only assume that’s Erin Hunter’s anthropomorphism – which says a lot about what Erin Hunter thinks of human females. Remember what I said about being a good role model to children and changing the world? Erin Hunter’s a good example of what not to do. So yeah, she-cats who act like she-cats would be awesome; toms should be barred from the nursery at all times, with the exception of the medicine cat (who is celibate, because that makes him less threatening).  Since I tend to gravitate towards brutal, cruel, or otherwise unpleasant things, I like the thought of queens eating their own kittens if extraordinarily stressed, which is why the clans tread so very carefully around new mothers and don’t upset the applecart. Some people might think that’s too dark for children’s literature, but children’s literature can be very dark sometimes, and it’s all about how you write it.
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347I think Warriors has a lot of potential for rad sub-plots within the overarching plot lines. And by rad, I mean varied and engaging and not about “omg you cheated on me I though you liked me you said it yourself I hate you”. Because that is mind-numbing. I would really enjoy some mysteries thrown in all over the place because a good mystery is hard to beat, and a little inter-clan sneakiness is good too, as is the constant shifting and shuffling of alliances and betrayals, and given that Warriors has so many characters, and so many possibilities for individual stories within the clan narrative, I think it could actually benefit from multiple protagonists. It would definitely give the reader a wider scope of vision into the world of the clans, and would mean that you could have about four stories going at once, which means there shouldn’t ever be a dull moment.
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351Joining a clan means renouncing the cat’s former life (especially if their former life was strictly against the warrior code in some way), so to keep their name - or even a part of their name - could very easily give the impression of clinging onto that past life and the clan wouldn’t like that. It would seem that the cat wasn’t trustworthy or committed to clan-life. 
352This would be especially true in the case of non-prefix names (such as kittypet names like John or Ruby), because it would be blatantly saying that the cat values their previous life and kittypet roots more than they value to clan’s traditions and culture. Very bad move. 
353But it’s possible that some clans wouldn’t have a problem with it, especially if the cat joining the clan could put forward a good argument as to why their name is all right as a prefix. For example, if a pale ginger cat named Rose joined the clan, it probably wouldn’t cause a riot if that cat kept rose- as a prefix. 
354It’s even possible (although unlikely) that a cat with a prefix the clan hadn’t discovered before might get to keep it. Maybe a bright ginger cat called Chrysanthemum joins the clan, explains what chrysanthemums are and how they came from a place with a garden full of them, and the clan like the name so much they let it stay. Generations down the track, it’s possible that chrysanthemum- is an accept prefix for a ginger cat, even though none of the clan cats have ever seen the plant themselves. 
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358One. An opposition. 
359You can’t have just one clan. There must be more than one, and they must be separate (for the most part). Alliances are only semi-permanent and conflicts are equally as fluid. The requirement of more than one clan is because it is this separation of beliefs and lifestyles that shapes the unique and complicated culture of the cats. 
360Two. A series of sacred customs.
361Without this, they are just groups of rogues living together for mutual benefit. This doesn’t mean they need to believe in some form of religion or afterlife, but they do need to have their own rituals and beliefs. They need to have a code of conduct. They need to have the comradeship and loyalty of a family unit. 
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365I've always wondered - why is that in some writings, outside kits - be they rogue, loner or kittypet (or some other faction), who have been raised and therefor grow up in a clan for their entire lives, are often still picked on and rejected by some fellow clanmates ; particularly other cats of the same age? Why wouldn't those cats who were born around or after the same time as the adopted kits see them as equals?
366I think there’s a few possible answers to this, depending on your stance. 
367The Doylist explanation for it could be: it’s an easy way to create drama and conflict, and it’s an easy way to make some cats look morally inferior/less intelligent/[some negative trait] compared to certain others. 
368The Watsonian explanation for it could be: young cats inherit the prejudice of the adults in their lives through mimicry and therefore if the adults are prejudiced against the young cat who was adopted into the clan, then the other young cats are likely to also have that prejudice and act in discriminatory ways. Just because they’ve grown up together doesn’t mean the young cats are immune from picking up on–and internalising–the prejudice of the older clan-members. That’s how prejudice is perpetuated through generations in real life, after all. 
369However, the real question, I think, is what is the basis of the adults’ prejudice, not the basis of the young cats’ prejudice. The young cats are just copying their older role models. 
370I believe one of the key features of the general clan cat’s identity is Not Being A Non-Clan Cat. I know that sounds obvious, but I suspect the clans feel the need to have strict boundaries between themselves and all other factions of cats as a means of ‘protecting’ their way of life, which is something I mentioned here v
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372The warrior code is what separates clan cats from being just groups of rogues. Rogues don’t follow a structured moral code and typically lack a cultural history, and in comparison, the clans consider themselves superior and, for lack of a better term, more civilised than most other non-clan cats. That’s a key part of clan identity: they are defined by what they won’t do, on moral grounds. 
373They won’t harm kittens, even if they belong to another clan. They won’t abandon clan-mates who have disabilities. They won’t abandon old cats who can no longer fend for themselves. They will give their lives for their clan-mates if they have to. And they won’t murder cats, even in other clans. 
374As a result, their lives are likely more difficult than those of rogues. It’s harder to survive when you’re caring for others, and not just yourself. But the clans find their lifestyle worthwhile and valuable to them, and so they protect it. 
375The warrior code–the code that all clans must follow–exists as a way of maintaining stability between the clans. It acts as a kind of rules of engagement, as well as cultural, political, and ethical commandments. It creates expectations, and therefore something that can be enforced to keep the peace as much as possible. 
376The reason no clan kills other clans’ kittens is because no clan wants their kittens to be murdered. The reason no clan kicks out their old or sick is because no cat wants to be kicked out if they get sick or old. By not-doing, the clans can hold each other to their standards. 
377And the reason murder on the battlefield is forbidden is because no-one wants to die. Warriors will give up their lives for their clan if they have to, but this rule means there’s a lot less chance of actually having to in the first place. Violence is typically how the clans resolve issues that can’t be sorted out with verbal negotiation, but I think one of the best metaphors to describe inter-clans battles is an arm-wrestle. 
378By having the “no murder” rule, the battle is an arm-wrestle match. The warriors turn up, they fight, the aim of each cat is to hurt their opponent enough that the opponent goes, “Fuck this shit, I’m out,” and runs home or is somehow incapacitated and surrenders. This is why you want lots of strong warriors, by the way: they are the clan’s ‘muscle’ by which to push over the other clan’s arm. To murder a cat on the battlefield would be like sitting at a table, arm-wrestling, and then pulling a knife and gutting your opponent. It’s just plain-and-simple Against The Rules. You would be thrown out of arm-wrestle club for life, and also sent to prison.
379The idea of fighting between clans shouldn’t be about who can kill off the other side. In reality, fighting to the death isn’t a common phenomenon among animals. That’s a very human thing. Lots of animals have developed elaborate courting dances or threatening posturing or non-contact shows of strength to avoid having to fight: once it’s obvious who is stronger, the loser gives up and backs off to avoid further conflict. 
380Those are my thoughts on the matter. As for how they lose so many cats, there’s a lot of ways cats can die when they have to fend for themselves and have limited access to human medicine. 
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382Therefore, any cat that threatens that boundary would be viewed–consciously, or subconsciously–as a threat to the clan: after all, if a cat who was a rogue can become a warrior, what is a true warrior? Is a warrior still ‘better’ than a rogue? There’s a lot of potentially uncomfortable identity crisis/moral crisis type questions that would arise from the event, I think. 
383So I imagine that’s why some clan cats would have some form of prejudice against cats who are adopted into the clan from non-clan backgrounds, and I think stories that consider the ways in which these prejudices are formed, perpetuated, and challenged would be particularly interesting.
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387Are there any pelt colors that are more common to certain settings Usually I see lighter-colored pelts in fan-clans that live in meadows or open areas in general and black/dark-colored pelts in clans alongside rivers and in forests, or sometimes there's no real pattern to the pelts and there's a whole mixture. I'm wondering if there's a pattern that should go with the setting of the clan. I feel like there should be but I'm not too sure.
388I don’t think there would be any exceptional lean one way or the other for most clans, but I do think that some pelt types would be more common than others - both because of what genetics are being mixed in the clan, and also because of what kinds of pelts are at a disadvantage. Pure white cats are usually at a heavy disadvantage in many settings, since they stand out so much - prey see them coming, and they’re easier for predators to find. That’s not to say, however, that some pure white cats can’t live a good life as a warrior; it may just be a bit more difficult and dangerous for them
389I think black cats would stand out a lot on moors and other open areas - but thankfully, only during the day, and since cats are mostly nocturnal (hunt at night), that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
390Patched cats (white with patches of another colour) may have a better chance against fish or other types of swimming prey, as the irregular pattern of their pelt may help break up their shape when they sit at the water banks (just as long as they’re careful not to let their shadow cast across the water).
391Tabbies and tortoiseshells are going to have the best advantage in forests, because their colours and patterns are so uneven; with all the dappled light and thickets of sticks and whatever else, it would be hard for prey to make out what’s a cat and what’s not. That’s why tigers are striped; it helps break up their outline and helps them hide.
392Every pelt type has positive and negative attributes, and overall, there’s not going to be an obvious representation of any type of pelt in any one clan. That’s not to say, of course, that the clan itself won’t have a perception of what is beautiful or valuable.
393Every clan is probably going to have a different idea of the “ideal” cat; the “ideal” cat is going to be the type of cat that embodies what the clan values and what best suits the territory they’re in. So if you’re making a clan, you might what to think about what constitutes the -face suffix in that clan’s belief system.
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395I always wondered about this but was too lazy to ask, but, lets say a leader, we'll call him Magpiestar, is attracted to light grey cats, so more light-grey mollies would be gettin' -face than -fur, -pelt, and -stripe. Wouldn't this be something to pay attention to when making warrior kitties?
396Yes, it would. It’s actually a very good point and I’m glad you brought it up. What’s attractive in a culture is deemed by that culture. In other words, the kind of cat that we, as humans, think is a “good-looking” cat may not be the same thing that the clans think is good-looking.
397They might think angular faces are weird, and like cats with hellaciously broad shoulders, round domed heads, little ears and big front paws. That might be their version of an “ideal” cat. And I wouldn’t be surprised if this notion of what an attractive cat was different in each clan, as each clan would favour something different to the others. Maybe Shadowclan cats think enormous ears are a wonderful quality, whereas Thunderclan cats prefer small ears.
398Overall, the territory would have a reasonable influence, as would the general psyche of the clan. The leader would also have some input, but only so far as its personal opinion went with the cultural norms of what was attractive.
399If two cats, a ginger cat and a grey cat, both had attractive features according to the clan’s mentality, they would both get -face. 
400If a ginger cat had those features, and the grey cat did not, only the ginger cat would be given the suffix -face (because even though the leader likes grey pelts, the cat isn’t the clan’s version).
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404They have their own rich and elaborate histories, and just because they come from the same root does not mean they have the same beliefs. Their ways of life are drastically different.
405Now, I’m not sure if you ever had the dubious pleasure of reading how the clans were formed but each group of cats split into groups by what kind of hunting technique they were best at, and what kind of prey suited them. Cats are naturally territorial and would find comfort in having a specific location to guard.
406As well as this, there is a certain amount of control that can be exerted over a small group far easier than a large group. Large groups are almost impossible to organise, or be familiar with. The clan relies on loyalty and duty to survive; all cats must feel a strong connection to their clan and to each other in order to feel the need to defend and protect them. If there was just one clan, there would be many cats that would not know each other very well (and subsequently, wouldn’t trust or help each other) and they would be a very weakly structured community.
407In short, the clans need separation to be a clan. Without that, they’re just rogues hanging around the same forest.
408Erin Hunter writes the bare minimum for cultural world-building, and I personally find that disgraceful. That doesn’t mean that we, as fans, have to do the same, however. I strongly recommend that all writers of Warriors stories aim to do better than canon, and develop the beliefs and culture of each clan in their writing. That way, not only will our writing be so much more interesting, but it will be clear as to why the clans live separately. 
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412Canon strongly pushes hetero-monogamy, plus kits, so I’ll call that branch the Warriors’ ‘nuclear’ approach. 
413You say you imagine a sort of polyandry (for many mollies, anyway), which more closely resembles the lives of real cats, and so I’ll call that branch the ‘realist’ approach.
414But the thing is, even in a clan where either of these is the dominant cultural norm, there are going to be exceptions and different forms of living. You noted that, but I think it’s sort of relevant to unravel it a bit for anyone else that might be interested in this topic.
415There are going to be ‘nuclear’ clan cats who don’t settle down into some sort of faithful romantic relationship, and instead just pick whoever - and might not tell anyone who they picked. In the very early canon, it’s actually said that a she-cat has no obligation to tell anyone the father of the kits: something that got thrown out the window, pretty much, once Erin Hunter got their claws into all this romance-and-children plotting and now it’s oh so very important who a cat’s parents are. 
416(Additionally, some cats in ‘nuclear’ clans are going to be polyamorous, because some people are, and the cats are anthropomorphised. If cats can fall in love in Warriors, that means all kinds of love. Not just hetero or monogamous. That’s a given).
417And in clans that have a ‘realist’ approach to lifestyle, there are going to be cats who honestly do become devoted to each other and don’t want anyone else, even if that’s not the most sensible choice. That’s because feelings are weird and typically uncontrollable and sometimes very unreasonable, and these cats are anthropomorphised enough to experience those feelings. Which means even if most cats are totally down with the ‘realist’ approach, there’s going to be some whose feelings make things difficult for them.
418But even within those two camps of clan world-building, there’s going to be so many little twisty branches. 
419For example, in the ‘realist’ approach, does the clan believe in partible paternity, or do they believe in superfecundation? I suspect that the clan’s beliefs in regards to this would have some effect on how the mother’s partners typically interact with the kits, or at least impact the thinking of the various parents. (Remembering also that all the cats involved are individuals with their own perspectives and personalities, as if things weren’t already twisty enough).
420As well as that, what are the clan’s beliefs and expectations for genetic parents? Are they expected to play a role in the kits upbringing, or not - and if so, what are they expected to do? Is it usual for a cat to contribute to making kittens but has no sense of parental responsibility to those kittens, because the kittens have a mother (and plenty of other nursery cats) to raise them until apprentice age? What about if the mother of the kittens already has a romantic partner, but for some reason chose to have a different genetic donor for her kittens, and decides not to tell those kits about their other genetic parent? Is that unfair to the unknown genetic parent, or is that normal for the clan? And on that note, are kittens entitled to know who their genetic parents, or is it that genetic ancestry is considered irrelevant by the clan (with perhaps some exceptions)? 
421This is just a handful of the questions worth asking yourself about your clans’ world-building, I feel, and sort of what I was talking about when I said it’s incredible to me that the canon clans seem to have the same beliefs and structure almost exactly. When you consider that all it would take to change the structure and perspective of a clan quite significantly would be answering even one of those questions listed above differently than the others, you can see why I am amazed and baffled by canon sometimes, I’m sure.
422The warrior code says nothing about these kinds of issues, either, which means this is where that highly contentious ‘leader’s word is law’ rule comes in. The leader’s word is literally the cultural law: that’s the leader’s job. They’re the cultural guidance for the clan, along with the medicine cat, and part of that is keeping the customs and solving the inter- and intra-clan issues that inevitably arise from time to time. 
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426Some of Erin Hunter’s misogyny stems directly from bad writing. Most of the characters are subjected to that, male and female, but in cases of female cats, it tends to follow misogynistic stereotypes in particular. For example, there are (arguably) three main character types for she-cats in clans: the “spunky” girl (such as Sandstorm and Squirrelflight), the “motherly” queen (such as Goldenflower and Ferncloud), and the “tough” veteran (such as Bluestar and Yellowfang). 
427I don’t like to melt characters down to an archetype, it sits against my better judgement, but I feel it’s worthwhile pointing out that cats who fall into the “spunky” category tend to lose a lot of the fire in their personalities once they become mothers, the cats from the “tough” category have been dragged through some kind of horrible trauma in their past to do with their children, and the “motherly” cats never seem to get a lot of character development. It’s a concerning trend. That said, I can’t speak on this in-depth, since it’s been a very long time since I’ve read the books and I feel like I can’t do this justice without re-reading them and making notes (which, at the moment, I just don’t have the time to do, I’m afraid). 
428Some of Erin Hunter’s misogyny, however, stems directly from purposefully channeling sexist views. Part of that is definitely the unsaid ‘rule’ of No Kits For Female Leaders and Deputies, which is sexist nonsense. Another example is the trend of age-gaps in canon hetero relationships, but it’s almost invariably an older tom with a younger molly (for example, Ferncloud and Dustpelt, and Leopardfoot and Pinestar).  There’s also several instances of Erin Hunter hurting, humiliating, or outright killing female characters (’fridging’), with no such male counterparts: most notably, Spottedleaf, Rosetail, Feathertail, and Silverstream (arguably also Lostface/Brightheart, and others). 
429Erin Hunter’s misogyny also works to favour male characters in many instances, excusing their bad behaviour. The most obvious examples of this would be Ashfur and Crowfeather, who are ‘reprieved’ in canon despite doing nothing to deserve it. In comparison, female characters tend to be blamed for more than their fair share and are often narratively punished in some way.
430Another thing that makes my skin crawl about Erin Hunter’s writing is how eagerly some parts of the fandom wholeheartedly believe and perpetuate “hate” of female characters, such as Ferncloud, Nightcloud, and Daisy. As I’ve said before, there’s misogyny in every fandom, and misogynists who are determined to be misogynists will find any way to vent their hatred regardless of how feminist a piece of work is. But that doesn’t mean Erin Hunter is off the hook for what is, basically, encouraging misogyny in a children’s series. That’s gross and I’m disappointed in them.
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434First of all, just because cats can get pregnant at four months old does not mean they should be getting pregnant at four months old. There are significant health risks involved, and medicine cats exist to minimise those risks: sometimes the best way to minimise a risk is to out-right ban it. 
435Secondly, these cats are anthropomorphised. That is important to note, because at four months of age, a clan cat is the equivalent of eight years old (approximately, by my rough estimate). That, in and of itself, is plenty of reason why four months old is completely and unquestionably unacceptable age for a clan cat to be pregnant. 
436A warrior apprenticeship in most clans starts at six months of age, and I would say the age-equivalent of that is about twelve-to-thirteen, judging from the general behaviour of canon characters. I don’t believe there’s any set time-limit for how long an apprenticeship takes to complete (since everyone is different and learns at different rates), but I suspect that the maximum would be six months of training before passing their trial. To be certain, I’d have to go back over the books and make a note of the average apprenticeship length, but for the time being, let’s say that six months training is average. 
437A clan cat who is about a year old would be the age-equivalent of eighteen or so, I’d say. Perhaps a fraction older at most. 
438Completing an apprenticeship is a sign of maturity: it’s a rite of passage between adolescence and adulthood, in the same way starting an apprenticeship is a rite of passage from childhood to adolescence. Until a cat has completed their apprenticeship (some lenience about medicine cats, of course), they are not an adult and are not considered as such. 
439Thus, when you frame it that way, there are three distinct age-groups in every clan: kit (child), apprentice (adolescent), warrior (adult). 
440Two of those age-groups cannot consent. Kittens cannot consent, they are children. Apprentices cannot consent, they are minors, and the clans clearly define minors as ‘any cat who has not yet earned a warrior name in ceremony’. Even canon is really clear on this: apprentices do not get pregnant, and they do not have kits. They might only wait until the day after their warrior ceremony to jump someone’s bones, but they wait because, in the clans, not waiting is illegal and there would be repercussions. There would be no excuses. 
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444Kits spend approximately six months in the nursery before they’re allowed to become apprentices and move into the apprentice den. Six months of age would be roughly the equivalent of twelve or thirteen years of age, for a human. 
445Something that happens a lot in the nursery is cats being pregnant and giving birth, as well as feeding their kittens milk. These things aren’t considered taboo. The clan isn’t going to have a moral panic because kittens know where kittens come from. It’s a part of life, and it’s really no big deal. 
446As such, by the time they become apprentices, all young cats are going to know what pregnancy is, how pregnancy happens, what sex is, so on and so forth. They’re going to pick up that knowledge just by being around nursery cats, and they’re also going to hit a point (probably about three months of age or a bit older) where anything they’re not sure about, they’re going to ask–for example, “You said Rosefur was pregnant, how?” or “Will I have kits too one day?”
447After young cats become apprentices, they get a mentor, and as well as being a teacher and role-model, their mentor is also a sort of supervisor in regards to their interactions with other apprentices (and older cats). Mentors would be expected to be approachable for their apprentices, as someone to talk to about problems the apprentice might be having or general questions they might have about various adolescent/clan-life things, and would be expected to look out for any shenanigans that their apprentice might be getting up to. 
448So between clan-life in general, and having a mentor (or parents, or relatives, or older warriors, whoever the young cat feels comfortable talking to) to ask questions to, sex wouldn’t be particularly mysterious or concerning. 
449The medicine cat might choose to talk to apprentices about it (although probably not in all in group, one-on-one conversations would probably be preferable), or apprentices might want to approach the medicine cat with complicated questions that other cats don’t know the answers to, but I sincerely doubt clan sex-ed would be anything like the uncomfortable high school sex education classes that human students get put through. 
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453Let's say this one clan's territory can only support a maximum of 40 animals at best, and the clan has had a prosperous year and has ballooned very near to that max. The nursery has a sudden explosion of pregnant and nursing queens, and soon enough there's enough kits to provide a resources problem. What might the clan do in this situation? I'm quite confused as what might happen, aside from territory expansion or just willingly letting a few cats starve, which is unlikely, no?
454The clan’s going to do whatever the can to prevent as many deaths as possible. Every cat in the clan is someone’s kid, someone’s friend, someone’s sibling, someone’s someone, and because of that, no-one will be considered expendable. 
455So they’re going to need to find new resources for food if they want to survive, which may mean stealing from pet cats, raiding human settlements (scavenging in bins, killing chickens, so on), challenging other clans for more territory, stealing prey from other clans, and honestly any other idea that anyone has that might help feed the clan. 
456Even so, cats will probably die. If everyone’s only just getting enough, those who are in poor health will be at much greater risk of starving. Likewise, cats who are using a lot of energy providing food for others will be at risk of exhaustion, and if cats who are nursing kittens don’t get enough food, it’s possible their milk will stop and the kittens will starve if there’s no-one else to feed them. 
457Like I said, a bad place to be at. It’s best to avoid overpopulation before it hits this point, if possible.
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461In my clans, I decided that it would be taboo to have kittens during leaf-fall or leafbare and most kittens are born during early/late newleaf and it is extremely looked down upon to have kittens in any season other than newleaf. This is due to about 75% of kittens in a litter dying in leafbare of hypothermia and later starvation. The leafbares are so harsh in the setting, many clan cats starve. So over generations it is the norm to have kittens during newleaf only
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465While many of the rules of the code are fairly sensible and sound in their reasoning, some of them are definitely problematic and it’s debatable as to whether or not they should be considered rules at all. The most obvious example of that is the ‘leader’s word is law’ rule, I would say. It’s certainly a useful rule, and it doesn’t surprise me that it exists, but it can be very easily abused.
466When a leader’s sorting out intra-clan arguments, it’s handy to be able to say, “I’ve heard both your sides of the story and I’ve decided that it’s Crowfang’s rock, so give it back and I don’t want to hear any more whinging about this!” and that’s the last word, because leader’s word is law. And since the leader is cultural leader as well as political leader, it’s certainly a help to have that kind of accepted authority when you’re trying to sort out problems that arise in customs or rites–for example, when someone says, “You can’t change X!” but the leader believes it is necessary that X is changed for the good of the clan and culture.
467However, if a leader becomes obsessed with controlling others, with abusing their position of power, or is negligent or otherwise incompetent as leader, then the ‘leader’s word is law’ rule can have terrible ramifications. If the leader says, “I want [atrocious act] committed,” then the clan is obliged by the ‘leader’s word is law’ rule to obey that command. If the leader says, “From now on, I decree apprentices begin their training at two moons of age,” then that’s breaking the warrior code, except that the leader’s word is the warrior code. The clan is obliged to follow both rules, and obviously, that can’t be done.
468So I would say that’s a major flaw in the composition of the warrior code. That’s not to say I believe the ‘leader’s word is law’ rule should be scrapped entirely, though. I think it has benefits to the clan when used responsibly. What I do think could possibly limit the potential danger this rule presents, however, is language that states when and under what circumstances the rule can be invoked: in other words, a sort of small-print to stop it enabling the leader with total omnipotence. I don’t know what this wording should be–and I’m sure there’d be loopholes that someone clever and sinister could work around–but I do think that the ‘leader’s word is law’ rule needs some sort of restriction placed on it at least as a precautionary measure. 
469Another rule I consider dubious is the “warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet” rule, because quite often that means “don’t steal food from pet cats” and honestly, if my clan is starving from a lack of prey, I’m going to be telling everyone to steal food from pet cats rather than watch them die trying to protect their misplaced sense of pride. Again, I’m not surprised this is rule–the clans are very proud of themselves and their lifestyle and also very disparaging of pet cats–but I do think it’s a ‘sometimes’ rule and I can’t really accept it as a good reason to avoid making the most of all the clan’s potential resources when there’s a crisis going on. 
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473MORNINGSTAR IN PARTICULAR
474it’s pathetic to suggest that cats aren’t allowed to raise kittens while being in a leadership position. 
475That said, I do think it would be more difficult to juggle the two simultaneously, but I’m certain that there’d be a lot of cats who could do it - especially when you take into consideration the fact that the nursery cats actively care for each other’s young anyway. So if the leader or deputy has kittens, I’m positive that someone - or multiple someones - would be very eager to play nanny whenever necessary. 
476Just think about it: you’d get the favour of the leader or future leader, and you’d have the loyalty of that cat’s kits to a certain degree as well. That’s a lot of power, and a lot of leverage. Even cats who don’t like kits much could see the sense in being the leader or deputy’s kits’ favourite uncle/aunt/adoptive relative.
477Add to that the fact that there’s bound to be at least one apprentice hoping for the -flower suffix who is extremely keen to prove
478their worth as a guardian; the leader or deputy would never have to worry about their kits getting into trouble, because you can be sure as hell that one apprentice is going to be all over that like ants in a sugar-pot.
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482The clans jealously guard their resources (prey, and medicine), and in times of scarcity, those things are bargaining chips that could be used for trade or otherwise controlling the allegiance or motives of other clans. 
483For example, if one clan has a lot of one medicinal plant that’s in high demand, that clan is in a position to barter–and furthermore, get the most advantageous results from said bartering. You can see how that would appeal to the clan. 
484Of course, if the clans all shared their resources, that kind of bartering wouldn’t exist. Everyone would have equal access to the plants, and while that sounds like a good idea (after all, no-one wants to be the clan having to beg another clan for resources), there’s a few major pitfalls in the plan. 
485The first is: can you trust the other clans not to steal the plants? If everyone puts their stores in the same place, they have to trust that–no matter how bad or desperate things might get–no-one will take the whole store for themselves. That’s a lot to ask, and I’m fairly convinced that every attempt to do this will result in something called the Prisoner’s Dilemma. 
486In short, the dilemma is, “I can’t trust the other clans not to steal these plants, and I don’t want to lose access to these plants, what do I do?” For many, the answer is: steal them yourself. And if every clan is thinking the same thing, you can see how this situation would spiral. 
487The second is: what happens when there’s not enough for everyone? When times are good, it’s not going to be a big deal to share resources and I doubt anyone would care too much, but when you actually need the resources, no-one’s going to want to give them up to someone else when they’ve barely got enough for their own clan. It’s easy to be generous when you don’t need what you’re giving away, and I think that’s going to put a real squeeze on the whole idea of clan-wide resource-sharing. 
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491what do you think would happen if both a clan's leader and deputy died at the same time/very soon after one another, especially if story-wise, StarClan is ambiguous? without the oh-so-magical guidance of StarClan, said clan would be left floundering for leadership or fighting over the position(s). Of course, every cat would have a different opinion on who should lead, but whose opinion should carry more weight?
492I imagine the cats whose opinions would be most valued in this situation would be elders’, since they’ve got years of life experience to back them up and are the most likely cats to have anything resembling wisdom in regards to How To Survive Through Rough Times. Getting to old age is not easy for a feral cat, even in a clan, and so the elders would basically be hardcore as hell, as a given.
493However, because of their age, it’s possible that if a younger cat (especially one with strong supporters) wanted to challenge their decision through brute strength, it’s possible you could end up with a Brokenstar leadership. 
494Brokenstar had a group of powerful warriors supporting him. That was the main problem. 
495It wasn’t Brokenstar versus the entirety of Shadowclan. If it was just him trying to enforce his unethical decisions, the clan could have mutinied and kicked him out before things got so bad. 
496But what was actually happening was Broken and his big, strong, loyal collection of militant-style warriors versus the elders, apprentices, and other less physically able cats of Shadowclan. 
497That was the problem. It wasn’t a matter of respecting Brokenstar too much to disobey him: it was a matter of not wanting to be murdered by their own clan-mates. 
498You’ve got to look at the structures of power. A leader is only as powerful as the clan believes them to be, because that belief is what gives the leader authority. 
499If you’ve got some massive, mean-looking warriors flexing aggressively behind you whenever you make your unethical announcements to the clan, you’re going to look pretty damn powerful - especially if you back it up with demonstrations of violence whenever someone tries to call your bluff. 
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