94 Fun Facts About Warrior Cats

'Erin Hunter', the credited author of Warriors, is what?

The team, working with HarperCollins and the packager Working Partners, includes Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Victoria Holmes and Tui Sutherland. Holmes plans each plot and the others take turns writing.

The surname 'Hunter' was picked partly so the books would shelve next to which other animal fantasy series?

The team has said 'Hunter' was chosen so the books would sit on shop shelves near Brian Jacques's Redwall, the mouse-abbey saga that was the obvious comparison.

Which of Rusty's friends refuses to follow him into the forest in Into the Wild?

Smudge, the plump black-and-white cat from the garden next door, warns Rusty against the wild cats and stays behind; Rusty joins ThunderClan anyway and visits his old friend in later books.

Who wrote the first two Warriors novels, Into the Wild and Fire and Ice?

Kate Cary wrote both Into the Wild and Fire and Ice, the first two books of the original arc, and went on to write many later Warriors titles.

In which year was Into the Wild, the first Warriors book, published?

Into the Wild was released in January 2003, launching the original arc later retitled The Prophecies Begin; its sequel Fire and Ice followed the same year.

What is Rusty, the hero of Into the Wild, at the start of the book?

He leaves his Twoleg owners to join ThunderClan and is renamed Firepaw. The Clan cats' word for pets is 'kittypet', and it is not a compliment.

What is StarClan?

StarClan is made up of the spirits of the Clans' dead ancestors, who appear in dreams to send prophecies and omens and who grant each new leader nine lives.

Which ThunderClan deputy is killed in a ShadowClan raid on the camp in Into the Wild?

Lionheart, Firepaw's first mentor and deputy after Redtail, is killed when ShadowClan raids the ThunderClan camp, opening the deputyship to an ambitious rival.

What warrior name does Firepaw receive at the end of Into the Wild?

He is named Fireheart in the same ceremony that makes Graypaw Graystripe; the leader's name Firestar comes much later, with his nine lives.

Which ambitious ThunderClan warrior murdered the deputy Redtail in the hope of taking his place?

Tigerclaw killed Redtail during the fight at Sunningrocks and blamed an enemy warrior for it; only the apprentice Ravenpaw saw the truth, which later put his life in danger.

Which loner shares the farm barn where Ravenpaw settles after leaving ThunderClan?

Barley, a black-and-white loner living in the barn near Highstones, takes Ravenpaw in; the pair later star in the Ravenpaw's Path manga trilogy.

Which exiled ShadowClan medicine cat does Firepaw meet on his first solo hunt?

Yellowfang, a grumpy old she-cat cast out of ShadowClan, is caught by Firepaw on his first solo hunt and brought back as a prisoner; she later becomes ThunderClan's medicine cat.

Which WindClan warrior does the dying Tallstar name deputy over Mudclaw in Starlight?

Tallstar, dying as the Clans settle by the lake in Starlight, names Onewhisker deputy in place of Mudclaw; Onewhisker becomes Onestar and Mudclaw's rebellion fails.

Graystripe breaks the warrior code by falling in love with a she-cat from which Clan?

Silverstream dies giving birth to their kits, Feathertail and Stormfur, whom Graystripe takes to live in RiverClan for a time.

How was Cinderpaw crippled, forcing her to become a medicine cat instead of a warrior?

The Thunderpath is the cats' name for a road; the 'monsters' on it are cars. Cinderpelt went on to train Leafpool.

Who is the mother of Cloudkit, later the warrior Cloudtail?

Princess, Fireheart's kittypet sister, hands her firstborn kit to her brother to raise in ThunderClan; Cloudkit grows into the warrior Cloudtail, a lifelong sceptic about StarClan.

In The Darkest Hour, which group of alley cats does the exiled ThunderClan traitor bring to fight the Clans?

BloodClan, the vicious Twolegplace gang led by Scourge, is brought in by the exiled traitor; the alliance collapses when Scourge kills him rather than take his orders.

How does Scourge kill the ShadowClan leader who summoned his gang from the Twolegplace?

The small black cat with the dog-tooth collar slices him from chin to tail. Firestar then kills Scourge in the great battle, losing a life himself.

Which ThunderClan deputy is killed by the alley-cat enforcer Bone in the first arc's final battle?

The apprentices then take Bone down together. Graystripe becomes deputy in Whitestorm's place.

Who is Firestar's mate, and mother of his two daughters?

Sandstorm, a pale ginger she-cat who began the series sneering at the kittypet apprentice, becomes Firestar's mate and the mother of his two daughters.

Which medicine cat secretly bore Hollyleaf, Jayfeather and Lionblaze?

Leafpool, ThunderClan's medicine cat, secretly bore the three kits; because medicine cats may not have kits, her sister Squirrelflight raised them as her own.

What is Jayfeather's disability?

Jayfeather has been blind since birth, which bars him from being a warrior and steers him to the medicine den; he can also walk into other cats' dreams and memories.

In Power of Three, what does the prophecy say three kin of Firestar's kin will hold?

The prophecy runs 'There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws'; Hollyleaf, to her grief, proves to have no power at all.

Bramblestar, who leads ThunderClan after Firestar, is the son of which cat?

Bramblestar, born Bramblekit to Tigerstar and Goldenflower, spent his youth proving he was not his father; he succeeded Firestar as ThunderClan leader at the end of The Last Hope.

In Omen of the Stars, the spirits of which place, led by the first arc's great villain, prepare to attack the Clans?

The Dark Forest is where the wicked go instead of StarClan; its cats train living warriors in their dreams for the Great Battle.

In The New Prophecy arc, what forces the Clans to abandon their original home?

The Twolegs' 'monsters' tear up the trees for a road. The Clans journey to a new home around a lake, guided by a badger named Midnight.

Feathertail dies saving which group of cats from a mountain lion?

The Tribe live behind a waterfall in the mountains and had prophesied that a silver cat would save them from Sharptooth.

Which Warriors arc is a prequel set long before Into the Wild?

Dawn of the Clans, the fifth arc, follows cats leaving the mountains for the forest and gives origin stories to Thunder, Wind, River, Shadow and Sky themselves.

In The Broken Code arc, which StarClan cat cuts off StarClan from the living Clans and possesses Bramblestar?

Ashfur, a grey warrior whose grudge went back to Squirrelflight rejecting him, seizes Bramblestar's body and seals StarClan away, while Bramblestar's spirit is left wandering.

How many books make up the eighth arc?

Every main arc has six books. Standalone Super Editions, novellas, field guides and manga fill the gaps between them.

Which 17th-century English botanist's herbal is the source for the remedies used by medicine cats?

So cobwebs really do stop bleeding and marigold really is used on wounds, more or less. Poppy seeds for pain and catmint for greencough are also from Culpeper.

Which real English woodland did the series' plotter cite as inspiring the first arc's setting?

The plotter has said Hampshire's New Forest inspired the original setting; its mix of woodland, heath and streams maps neatly onto the forest, moor and river territories.

What do Clan cats call the season that humans know as winter?

The Clans divide the year into newleaf (spring), greenleaf (summer), leaf-fall (autumn) and leaf-bare (winter), the hungry season when prey is scarce.

In 2016 which company bought the rights to make a Warriors film?

Alibaba Pictures, the film arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant, acquired the rights to a Warriors feature film in October 2016, a deal first reported by Variety.

Which other animal-fantasy series is NOT written under the Erin Hunter name?

Wings of Fire is Tui Sutherland writing under her own name. Seekers is about bears, Survivors about dogs and Bravelands about African animals.

What did the four Clans call themselves when they united against the alley cats?

Firestar united the four Clans as LionClan to fight the alley cats, answering StarClan's prophecy of lion and tiger meeting in battle; the traitor's forced alliance of two Clans had been TigerClan.

What do Clan cats call the band of stars that stretches across the night sky?

Silverpelt is the Clans' name for the Milky Way, the swathe of stars in which they believe every StarClan warrior shines.

Which manga, the first Warriors graphic novel, follows Graystripe's capture by Twolegs?

The Lost Warrior, the first Warriors manga (2007), follows Graystripe's life as a captive kittypet after Twolegs seize him and his meeting with Millie; two sequels complete the trilogy.

Which ShadowClan warrior kills Spottedleaf during the raid to steal ThunderClan kits?

Clawface, a ShadowClan warrior, kills Spottedleaf in the ThunderClan camp during the kit-stealing raid in Into the Wild; Firepaw finds her body and mourns her.

How often do the four Clans meet peacefully at a Gathering?

Gatherings happen every full moon at Fourtrees, under a truce StarClan enforces by covering the moon with cloud if fighting breaks out.

In Omen of the Stars, which cat is revealed to be the third cat of the prophecy?

Dovewing, Whitewing's daughter, is revealed as the third through her extraordinary far-reaching senses; the reveal corrects Power of Three, where Hollyleaf had no power.

Which rogue leads the group that nearly disbands a Clan in A Vision of Shadows?

Darktail, a rogue who leads the band called the Kin, seizes ShadowClan's camp and scatters its cats so badly that the Clan is nearly dissolved into his group during A Vision of Shadows.

Holmes first named Tigerclaw what, until an editor noted cats wouldn't know the word?

The villain was 'Hammerclaw' in early drafts until an editor pointed out that forest cats would never have seen a hammer; Clan names must use only things the cats know.

The red berries the Clans call 'deathberries' come from which tree?

Deathberries are the red berries of the yew; even a single one can kill a cat, and medicine cats warn kits away from them.

Victoria Holmes plotted Warriors despite not reading fantasy and preferring which animals to cats?

Dogs interested Victoria Holmes more than cats, and she 'couldn't imagine coming up with enough ideas'. She won herself round by adding war, politics, revenge and doomed love.

Victoria Holmes likened the 'relocation under pressure' plot of the second Warriors arc to which classic novel?

Watership Down was her model for the Clans' forced journey to a new home. One reviewer described Warriors as that story 'but with cats instead of rabbits'.

In the Warriors books, what do Clan cats mean when they talk about a 'monster'?

A car is a 'monster' in Clan speech, since the cats cannot follow human talk and name man-made things themselves. People, for instance, are simply Twolegs.

On the official Warriors site, which prey is listed for ShadowClan, the stealthy Clan of the pine forest?

Frogs suit the marshy pine woods ShadowClan calls home. Each Clan hunts what its own land offers, so WindClan runs its prey down on open moor.

Which verb replaces 'said' so often in the first Warriors novel that a reviewer said it 'grows old fast'?

Mewed stands in for 'said' throughout Into the Wild, to the irritation of at least one critic. Many reviewers of the wider series made the same complaint.

The official game Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition, released in 2021, is played on which online platform?

Roblox hosts Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition, which passed 500 million visits before an official sequel game, Warrior Cats: Lake Territory, was announced.

Which Scottish lake, famous for its 'bonnie banks', helped inspire the settings of the Warriors novels?

Loch Lomond, Britain's largest lake by surface area, is named with the Scottish Highlands among the real places behind the Clans' world.

The first Warriors novel opens with a ThunderClan prophecy that what 'alone can save our Clan'?

Fire turns out to be a cat, not a blaze: the newcomer who becomes Firestar. His dying leader tells him, 'you are the fire who will save ThunderClan'.

What colour is the coat of the young tom who becomes the hero of the first Warriors novel?

Ginger and bright as flame, Rusty catches Bluestar's eye while she is out on patrol, and she takes him into ThunderClan under the name Firepaw.

In the first Warriors novel, what does Rusty lose in a scrap with a jeering warrior, earning his Clan name?

His collar comes off in the fight, at which Bluestar stops the brawl and announces that he has earned the name Firepaw.

With over a thousand named characters, what is the cast list printed in each Warriors book called?

The Allegiances gives every relevant character a line of description. Readers need it, because the series has run past 70 books.

Warriors kits begin training at 'six moons' old; what span of time do Clan cats call a moon?

A month is a 'moon' to the Clans, who likewise measure distance in animal lengths, so a tall rock might stand three tail-lengths high.

Which publisher asked for one fantasy novel about feral cats and ended up with the whole Warriors series?

HarperCollins read Victoria Holmes's storylines and an editor decided there was enough material for a full series. The single hero's journey became the story of the whole first arc.

In a Warriors Clan, which rank has the chores of cleaning the elders' bedding and picking off their ticks?

Apprentices bring the elders prey, clean out their bedding and remove their ticks, so that cats who served the Clan for many seasons need do no more work.

In the Warriors Clans, who chooses the first half of a newborn kit's name, such as 'Blue' or 'Tiger'?

Its parents pick the prefix, usually for the kit's looks or personality. Only the ending changes later, and the leader decides which suffix a new warrior receives.

What do Clan cats in the Warriors books call the spot in camp where hunters drop prey for all to share?

The fresh-kill pile comes with etiquette: warriors may not take from it until the kits and the oldest cats have eaten.

In the Warriors forest, ThunderClan's leader speaks from which boulder with a lichen-hung den carved into it?

The Highrock is ThunderClan's own, while WindClan's leader speaks from the Tallrock and ShadowClan's from the Clanrock.

In the original Warriors forest, which neutral ground hosts the Clans' Gatherings under a strict truce?

Fourtrees sits at the centre of the forest, where the leaders address the crowd from a boulder called the Great Rock under a strict truce.

Which starlit place, found by Leafpaw after the move to the lake in Warriors, lets medicine cats meet StarClan?

The Moonpool, whose water reflects the stars, replaced the sacred stone the Clans had left behind in the forest. The spirit of Spottedleaf led Leafpaw to it.

Which leader's daughter in the first Warriors arc is Graystripe's forbidden mate and dies bearing his kits?

Silverstream had saved his life, and the two kits she left behind, Feathertail and Stormfur, later join the quest that finds the Clans a new home.

Which boulders, exposed when the river shrank, do ThunderClan and RiverClan keep fighting over in Warriors?

Sunningrocks once lay under the water, so RiverClan claimed the stones as its own, while ThunderClan argued that they now sat on its bank.

In Warriors, what does Squirrelflight tumble into by the lake that becomes ThunderClan's new camp?

A stone hollow, in fact an abandoned quarry, gave ThunderClan a well-sheltered home. The same patrol picked pine woods for ShadowClan and moorland for WindClan.

In Warriors: Starlight, lightning fells a tree that opens the way to which new Gathering place?

An island became reachable when the toppled trunk formed a bridge, and the same tree crushed Mudclaw, the ousted WindClan deputy who had led a rebellion.

What do ShadowClan cats in the Warriors forest call the stinking Twoleg rubbish dump on their territory?

Carrionplace is hunted only when times are lean, because its vermin can carry disease. One such sickness once swept through ShadowClan and came close to destroying it.

Which jagged peaks in Warriors, called Devil's Fingers by Twolegs, hide the cave known as Mothermouth?

Highstones guards a man-made mine, long abandoned, whose tunnels lead to the cavern of the Clans' sacred quartz stone.

Which ThunderClan warrior, barely out of training, challenges Rusty's right to join the Clan in Warriors?

Longtail came away from the fight that followed with a scarred ear and a lasting rivalry. He later lost his sight when a rabbit clawed his eyes.

In Warriors: A Dangerous Path, what bitter name does Bluestar give the badly mauled Brightpaw?

Lostface was Bluestar's cruel choice at a moment when she believed the young cat would die. The survivor went on to become the warrior Brightheart.

In Warriors: The Darkest Hour, what does ShadowClan's leader call his alliance with Leopardstar's Clan?

TigerClan took its name from a mythical ancient Clan. Firestar and WindClan's Tallstar both refused to join it.

Which predator snatches Snowkit from ThunderClan's camp in Warriors after its sheltering undergrowth burns away?

A hawk could swoop in only because the blaze had stripped the camp of its cover. Once the vegetation regrew, the camp was secure again.

In the first Warriors Super Edition, Firestar helps a rebuilt SkyClan fight which swarming old enemies?

Rats had destroyed the original SkyClan, leaving tiny claw marks on the walls of its deserted caves. Beating them cost Firestar one of his lives.

In Warriors: Dawn, the 'dying warrior' foretold to show the Clans their new home turns out to be what?

A shooting star, taken as a sign from the late medicine cat Mudfur, drops behind the mountains to mark the way.

In Warriors: Moonrise, which cougar terrorising the mountains is killed by a falling stalactite?

Sharptooth died along with Feathertail, who leapt onto the stalactite to bring it down and so fulfilled a prophecy about a silver cat.

In Warriors: Sunset, which half-brother does Brambleclaw kill rather than let Firestar die in a snare?

Hawkfrost had urged him to finish off the snared leader and take ThunderClan for himself. Brambleclaw freed Firestar instead, then killed his attacker with the snare's own stake.

In Warriors: Twilight, which WindClan cat flees with ThunderClan's medicine cat until badgers attack her Clan?

Crowfeather had confessed his love after rescuing her from two attackers. The affair broke the code twice over, since a medicine cat may take no mate at all.

Which sister of Brambleclaw left her birth Clan for ShadowClan and joined the Warriors quest in Midnight?

Tawnypelt made the move so that she would no longer be judged for who her father was. She has had to prove her loyalty to her adopted Clan ever since.

In the Warriors arc Power of Three, what gift does the prophecy give the golden tabby Lionblaze?

He cannot be beaten in battle, which drew the spirits of dead villains to coach him in his dreams before he understood their aims.

Firestar loses his ninth life at the end of which novel in the Warriors arc Omen of the Stars?

The Last Hope ends with Firestar destroying the spirit of his oldest enemy and then dying himself, which hands ThunderClan to his deputy.

In Warriors: Dark River, which WindClan cat does Lionpaw meet in secret in tunnels beneath the moor?

Heathertail, then still Heatherpaw, was the first to find the tunnels, where the pair played at being warriors of a make-believe DarkClan.

In Warriors: Dark River, which ancient cat's spirit guides Jaypaw through the tunnels where he once drowned?

Fallen Leaves entered the tunnels as a test of adulthood, lying that no rain was coming so that he would not be made to wait.

In the first Omen of the Stars novel, cats from every Warriors Clan go upstream to drive out which animals?

Beavers had dammed the stream and caused a drought around the lake. The first attack on the dam failed and cost the warrior Rippletail his life.

Which ThunderClan warrior dies destroying the spirit that possessed Bramblestar in Warriors: The Broken Code?

Bristlefrost shared the fight with Shadowsight and Rootspring, and the three heroes' victory led the Clans to rewrite the warrior code.

Which ninth arc of the Warriors series, launched in 2025, sees humans building around the Clans' lake?

Changing Skies also follows a young cat troubled by threatening voices, while unrest grows in SkyClan over calls for Leafstar to step down.

Which former kittypet follows Graystripe to ThunderClan in Warriors but refuses to give up her old name?

Millie kept him going on the long journey to find his Clan at the lake, then told ThunderClan: 'I have always been Millie, and I see no shame in it.'

Which Clan leader of the first Warriors arc was born Stormkit but renamed after a childhood accident?

Crookedstar broke his jaw falling onto a rock in the river, and his whole name was changed to match the injury. He was an established, respected leader by the time Firepaw arrived.

What was the warrior name of Blackstar, who served two cruel ShadowClan leaders as deputy in Warriors?

Blackfoot did the dirty work of both leaders without hesitation, yet he went on to lead ShadowClan himself and took it out of the dying forest.

Which exile, driven from ThunderClan over her kits' father, lures Frecklewish to a snake's nest in Warriors?

Mapleshade tricked her victim into lunging at an adder, whose bite proved fatal. Her exile began when a warrior of a rival Clan, Appledusk, was revealed as her kits' father.

Which ThunderClan leader of the Warriors series made the future Bluestar his deputy and was succeeded by her?

Sunstar had first passed her over for a rival, Thistleclaw, because she had kits to raise. Only after she gave the kits up did he name her deputy.

Which producer of the Harry Potter films was attached to a Warriors movie that was later abandoned?

David Heyman was announced for a live-action film with computer-generated cats, meant to fold the first arc into one unified story. It never reached cinemas.

Which manga specialist co-published the original English-language Warriors manga, written by Dan Jolley?

Tokyopop shared the side-story books, which were kept shorter than regular manga because of the publishing schedule. Critics found the art closer to a graphic novel's.

In Warriors: Midnight, which rambling old loner guides the questing cats through Twolegplace?

Purdy led them by such a long, winding route that they might have crossed faster alone, yet the Clan cats came to care deeply for him.