Carpcat
Padding along quickly and without the slightest hesitation comes the ship's Carpcat, to see why all the crowding and attention isn't all on her.
Habitat
There are two main kinds of Carpcat, saltwater and freshwater. Freshwater live in well aeriated lakes, ponds, and rivers while saltwater live in deep water oceans and seas, only coming around land during mating season. They thrive in both cold and warm climates, even when transplanted from one to another instead of naturally migrating. As long as a stable food source and proper salinity of water is there they will stay.Senses
Along with excellent sight and hearing, carpcats have a well defined sense of smell. They can track creatures across the silty seafloor and are rumored to be able to smell a storm coming from under the water.Appearance
Carpcats live up to the name, resembling an adorable cross between a fish and a housecat. There are several differences between saltwater carpcats and freshwater ones, most apparently being size. Saltwater carpcats are a bit bigger than a housecat, reaching 44 in in length, including the tail, and 18 in from head to the ground while freshwater ones stay similar size to a normal housecat other than a bulkier tail. Both kinds have large paws that are equipped with large claws and webbed toes that, along with their tail, help them speed around water with ease. Carpcats' have scales on their faces and running down their backs to cover their tails while the rest of their bodies are covered in sleek fur. The coloration of fur and scales is relatively conforming in wild carpcats, being mostly determined by geographical location and habitat. Bright and clear waters lend to pale tan and brown scales with tawny fur to blend in with the sands while more hazy waters lending to darker tones. Freshwater carpcats have speckled shading to blend in with the debris and silty bottoms of rivers. While saltwater patterns are much more mild, only being used to provide counter shading so to blend in with the sky or sea bottom, depending on where they are viewed from. However everything about coloration changes when considering domesticated carpcats. While breeding odd colors into working saltwater carpcats would be detrimental to the animals natural defenses, pond dwelling carpcats have no such issue. This has led to a wild variety of colors and patterns, similar to the practice of koi breeding. Carpcats have an extra clear eyelid used during swimming and flaps of skin in their nostrils and ears to keep out water. Their nose and lungs are not connected to their throats to prevent inhaling water and they have a set of gills running down their backs.Reproduction
Reproduction of saltwater carpcats and freshwater carpcats is practically identical, only differences in nesting materials and the fact that freshwater carpcats do not migrate out to sea. Male carpcats court females during a short breeding season during late spring or early summer depending on how soon temperatures rise. Males will create nests off the coast from seaweeds, seagrasses, and bubbles formed from a thick and heavily scented mucus and show it off to females along with displays of agile swimming and presents of food. They mate for life and will raise kits every year if there is sufficient food. They mate like most mammals. Kits stay in the nest with one of the parents nearby while the other hunts for the first few weeks. After which the kits will start to explore the surrounding area under watch of one of the adults. They are mature enough to follow their parents out to sea by late fall.Diet
Fish, mollusks, crustaceans, cephalopods, rodents, eggs, birds, and seaweeds.Domesticated Carpcats
Carpcats were fist domesticated as rodent control and company on ships. Their amphibious and social nature made them prime candidates to have on board, along with the fact that they would often feed themselves and even bring extra for the crew. Eventually this caught on inland and carpcats were trained as "birding cats" to fetch downed water birds during a hunt. Soon enough the wealthy members of society found you could breed fanciful patterns into carpcats creating a hot new hobby.
Geographic Distribution
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