The Ultimate Guide

Introduction

THERE WERE FOUR CLANS that lived in a forest. Each Clan defended a territory that best suited its hunting skills: Fleet-footed rabbit chasers lived on the moor below broad open skies; glossy-furred cats who were happy to get their paws wet in search of fish settled beside the river; stalkers of mice and squirrels made their home among dense trees and tangled undergrowth; and bold, cunning cats who had a taste for frogs patrolled the marshes fringed by brittle pine trees.

But no… there were originally five Clans. One Clan was forced out when Twolegs took over its territory. That Clan, the tree-hunters, created a new home far, far away in a sandy gorge.

And before those five Clans, there was a community of cats living deep in the mountains, beneath an endlessly tumbling waterfall. These cats had left their home beside a lake after a hard-won decision to find somewhere else to live, free from black-and-white dogs that were too easily diverted from chasing sheep into chasing cats instead.

Those four Clans that lived in the forest? They ended up beside the very same lake when Twolegs rampaged through their territories, flattening trees to make space for a new Thunderpath. With their distant ancestors lost from memory, the Clans believed they were the first cats to settle there, forging new paths among the trees and across the windy hills.

Everywhere the cats have been, there are layers upon layers of history—some known, some long-forgotten, and some discovered in the most unexpected ways—laid down by the paw steps of many generations. What shaped the lives of these proud and noble warriors? Come, walk among them for a while, and listen to their stories…