Reproduction and Aging (+Timelapse)

1. Contact Admin .
Create a message from the character account who is trying for kittens, and include the other parent's account as well. The other parent should reply to the message within 24 hours.

2. Get Kittens.
After both parents have agreed to the kittens being formed, Admin will perform some mumbo jumbo magic (known as random.org in layman's terms), and make some kittens. Depending on your cat's age and hunger/health, the litter size will differ. Keep in mind that not every attempt will result in kittens. You will get a message noting if your cat is to be expecting. Just in case you're curious:

Age 6 months - 1 year: 0-3 kittens
Age 1.5 years - 5 years: 0-6 kittens
Age 5 years - 10 years: 0-4 kittens
Age 10 years - 15 years: 0-1 kittens.

For every -20 hunger your cat misses out on 1 kitten, as the body will instantly absorb it and the queen will never know it happened.

3. Wait.

And Then... you wait. Gestation takes 2 weeks in the roleplay, about half a season. Everything about your cat's pregnancy is to be kept a secret,
even from the second parent! The due date, number of kittens, appearance and everything else is to be 100% concealed. Only IC events may reveal that the kittens are going to be a thing - even your own cat won't know that they're pregnant until the second week due to lack of symptoms. Think of names while you wait!

4. Birth!
After two weeks, your cat will give birth! Their duedate will be unspicific during the third week, so choose whatever point works best for you!

Who will play the kittens? Well, for one, both parents get a randomized "dibs" on one of the kittens, though they aren't told which one they have. Then, other people will be randomly given kittens, as long as they have an extra character slot/they only have one character in the rp (so it's advised you leave that slot open!). If there aren't enough people, the strongest kits take priority over the weaker kits.



Week 1
Newborn Kittens! They cannot see or hear, and their sense of smell is... mediocre at best. Right now their only reliable sense is touch and taste. They can smell well enough to find the teats or identify a newcomer, and they can taste the difference between milk vs. not milk. They can hear very, very muffled sounds, and very sudden changes in light (such as being carried into/out of a dark den into sunlight) are detectable.

During this first week, the parent will play the kits, as they are too young to be interesting to roleplay. If the roleplayer wants to do an initial "they nursed" post they can feel free, however. If the kits are not nursed by someone within 24 hours of being born, they will have an increased chance of illness due to a lack of colostrum which boosts their immune system. This doesn't always mean they'll get sick instantly, but it means they could in the future.

Week 2
One Month Old! Their eyes open and their ears unfold at this point. Their leg muscles have grown stronger and they can now weeble-wobble across the nest, though they can't escape the den without being carried or otherwise assisted. They're still nursing at this point. They can't speak, but will begin to repeat single syllables from the cats talking around them, and they will squint very hard whenever a conversation takes place!

During this week, the roleplayers may officially take control of their characters.

Week 3
2 months old! Their eyes and ears are fully open, and their nose will become more acute too. They will now be able to identify their immediate denmates such as siblings and their mother, as well as other queens who have nursed them repeatedly in the past, though it may not be all that accurate. Now they can repeat full words, and even note their wants in two-word mewls ("Want food," "Too cold," "Dark scary," and "Want mama" are all possible here, and very demanding!). Their personality may begin to show here as well, but other kittens will be too focused on staying with mama. These kittens are too big to be carried by their older peers.

Week 4
Three Months Old! Their eyes will show signs of changing color now, from blue to their adult color (Note: the roleplayers can decide what color their eyes will be in adulthood), but they won't fully change in this time. Weaning will begin, but the kittens may still nurse when stressed or when they have been away from their mother. They will, however, start getting the desire to experiment with chewed-up solid food brought in by the older cats. Some kittens may not take to it until their fourth month of life, though, and that's normal.

Week 5
Four Months Old! Their balance will be matured at this point, and they may begin playing at this point. They will chase adults' tails, pounce and leap at each other, bite and scuffle, and run around. Their full eye colors will now be fully apparent and their coats will begin to darken into their natural, adult colors. They may shed some fur here and there.

Week 6
Five Months Old! They begin to look like miniature adults now, and act like them too. Their vocabulary is notably more sophisticated now that they're pretty much preteens. They may begin to show a sexuality at this point, as their interest in being friends with their preferred sex/gender may start to show, and curiosity might peak in other ways as well. They might also start showing curiosity in hunting - specifically, hunting each other.

Week 7
Six Months Old! They are basically slightly undersized adults. They will begin to hone their hunting abilities, and they are regarded as "teenagers." They don't have much growing to do anymore (some may even be to their full size), but their personalities will continue to grow and change over the course of their life. This is also when some XX kittens will experience their first heat cycle, though others may come later.