Werecats

A werecat is a shapeshifter described in folklore and fiction as a person who can change between human form and a feline form, typically a domestic or wild cat. Like the better-known werewolf, the term combines were- meaning man and cat, but the creature's appearance and behavior vary across traditions. Werecats are usually depicted as having enhanced senses, reflexes, and agility in their animal form, with the capacity to retain human intelligence to varying degrees.

Folklore about feline shapeshifters appears in many cultures. In some European and Mediterranean traditions, cats are associated with witches and magic, and legends speak of people transforming during the night or under certain spells. Similar ideas exist in parts of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, where werecats are portrayed as either cursed individuals or beings that choose to shapeshift. The animal form may be a domestic cat, a wildcat, or a larger feline, depending on the tradition.

Transformations are usually triggered by environmental cues such as the full moon, at times by ritual or madness, and may be voluntary or involuntary. In many depictions, the werecat retains human moral agency and can control or resist the transformation, while in others the change is overwhelming and predatory. Other common elements include heightened senses, shapeshifting capability, nocturnal activity, and a fraught relationship with society due to their dual identity.

In contemporary fiction and games, werecats appear as urban fantasy beings, sometimes organized into clans or cultures, and often treated as a distinct category of shapeshifters. They are a mythic concept rather than a scientifically documented phenomenon.