Alchemist's Cats

The alchemist's cat is a small, comparatively intelligent winged mammal with a remarkable sense of smell. It is possessed of forepaws that are reasonably good at grasping and carrying, and can carry items while it flies. It is easily trainable and can recognize and associate sounds with smells -- which is to say it knows what to collect when it is told to. As such, it is most commonly trained to fetch components by alchemists; it is able to operate small simple drawers with its nimble paws. Larger apothecary cabinets are often built with small ledges for the cats' convenience.

Though called cats, the animals are physiologically somewhere between raccoons and foxes. Their hind legs are somewhat shortened, and the musculature that supports their batlike wings is partially camouflaged by the structure of their forelimbs. They have long tails which act as rudders to help steer their short flights -- alchemist's cats are not distance flyers, their distance capacity similar to that of the domesticated chicken.

The origin of the alchemist's cat is unknown, though it is clear enough they were purpose-bred by sapient beings, likely with the aid of magic. They are omnivores and, when necessary, scavengers, though they struggle to survive in the wild. The few successful wild colonies of alchemist's cats have stolen the roosts of low-nesting kits of pigeons, chasing them out (or eating them).

Alchemist's cats display many coat colors and patterns -- more or less every cat coat pattern is available, and there are some that resemble the common markings of the red fox. They are also kept as pets, and in that context the favored colorings are fox-red, usually with brown wings; a light coat with dark points, with the skin of the wings either uniformly light or fading into the darker point coloration; and pure white, ideally with blue or gold eyes. Actual alchemists tend to care little about coloration and choose their cat for intelligence, curiosity, or possibly disposition.

Alchemist's cats have shown an unsurprising affinity for magic, considering their probable origins. They can serve wizards as well as alchemists, being capable of fetching and carrying most spell components and writing implements. Some wizards even find their summoned familiars can take the shape of an alchemist's cat after they become acquainted with the species.