General Clan information

Within the Warriors world, the cats live in a highly structured society that is firmly divided into four groups known as Clans.

The living Clan cats are born into either ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, or WindClan, while deceased cats who are believers in the religious structure all join together as StarClan.

RiverClan

 * RiverClan is known for their skill at swimming. RiverClan Cats are also known for their unique skill at scooping fish from the river. The very first leader was Riverstar. It is currently led by Leopardstar.

ShadowClan

 * ShadowClan, the source of many of the darker cats seen in the series, is sometimes referred to as the 'dark heart of the forest'. ShadowClan Cats are known for their ability to walk quietly and avoid detection. They're also known for their willingness to eat frogs, toads, lizards,rats and crowfood, foods most Clan Cats turn their noses up at.Their first leader was Shadowstar. Was led by Brokenstar at the first of the series, and currently led by Blackstar. A couple of the dark leaders of ShadowClan were Brokenstar and Tigerstar.

ThunderClan

 * ThunderClan is heavily featured in the books, being the Clan of origin for many of the protagonists of the stories told. ThunderClan Cats are known for their skill at stalking prey through forest and undergrowth.The very first leader was Thunderstar. Thunderclan is first led by Bluestar in the begining of the series, and is currently led by Firestar.

WindClan

 * WindClan, who lived closest to the Moonstone, are cats well versed in Twoleg culture (due to the farm they lived so close to). WindClan Cats are known for their swift paws, that lend ease to catching prey such as rabbits on the open moors of their territory. WindClan's first leader in the series was Tallstar, and is currently led by Onestar.

Leader

 * A Clan Leader is charged with the responsibility to watch over and manage an entire Clan, maintaining discipline, order and protection. They are granted nine lives and a new name with the ending "star" in a ceremony where nine StarClan cats come to them in a dream at the Moonstone/Moonpool.

Deputy
The deputy is the second-in-command to the leader, and may be considered an apprentice to the art of leading the Clan. They serve in the Leaders place in the situation that the leader is injured and unable to fulfill their duties.

To become a deputy, a cat must have trained at least one apprentice. However, in the New Prophecy, Brambleclaw became deputy of Thunderclan with the promise to train an apprentice (Berrynose).

Upon the Leader's death, they become the leader should StarClan grant them nine lives.

Deputies may also retire and give up their place as deputy if they wish.

Medicine Cat
The Medicine Cat serves the Clan as both their spiritual leader as the healer, making them akin to the idea of a 'Medicine Doctor' in a tribal society. In addition to their responsibilities to their Clan, they have responsibility to one another and StarClan. They carry out their responsibilities to StarClan once every half moon, meeting together to discuss matters privately and share dreams with StarClan.

As a Healer, they gather herbs and dispense them as an apothecary would. They handle diagnosis and treatment of both illness and injury for all the cats in the Clan.

In their role as spiritual leader, they teach the code, interpret omen and prophecy, and generally serve the Clan as a conduit between the earthly cats and their ghostly counterparts.

As a medicine cat, a cat is not allowed to have a mate or kits.

Medicine Cat Apprentice
This is the cat that is being trained to follow in the paw-steps of the Medicine Cat. They learn healing and spiritual lore from the Medicine Cat. Medicine Cat Apprentices remain apprentices even when fully trained so long as the current Medicine Cat is still practicing the arts. Frequently, a Medicine Cat Apprentice who has full training will be given an adult name (paw replaced with another ending) even though they are technically still an apprentice.

At the time the old Medicine Cat either dies or steps down, the Medicine Cat Apprentice becomes a full Medicine Cat, somewhat like the leader/deputy relationship.

Senior Warrior
The upper level of Warriors. Though not exactly an official tier of a Clans organization (so there is no ceremony or exact time that a cat becomes a senior), these warriors are the older, more experienced warriors in a Clan and handle most of the training of apprentices, leading patrols and handling other duties that require a cat of proved responsibility and maturity.

There is some dispute over the requirements for becoming a Senior Warrior within the fandom. The primary point of dispute is over the need for a Senior Warrior to have trained an apprentice before being able to be considered a Senior Warrior. It was hoped that Secrets of the Clans will have dispelled this dispute and provided a concrete answer, but it did not shed any more light on the topic.

Warrior
A cat trained in the arts of fighting and hunting. Warriors make up the bulk of a Clan, and provide that Clan with the protection and food supply that keeps it safe and well fed. Typically, a cat is made a warrior at or over the age of 12 moons.

Queen
A Queen is a She-cat with or expecting kits. Their primary task during this time is the raising of their kits. Some queens stay in the nursery after they have kits, such as Daisy, Goldenflower, and Ferncloud. They are thought to do this because they feel they can help the nursing queens.

Elder
A retired warrior, deputy, or queen who is too old or not in suitable shape to continue with their duties.

Apprentice
An apprentice is a cat in training to become a Warrior. Their names end in the word 'paw' (IE: Tawnypaw, Bramblepaw, Firepaw). Most usually they are at or over the age of 6 moons.

Kit
A kit is a cat who has not been made an apprentice yet. Their names always end in 'kit' (IE: Redkit, Snowkit, Bluekit). Most often, they are under the age of 6 moons.