A Housecat
The first elves do not seem to have held housecats for pets, though they certainly knew the wildcats of the forests, mountains and plains but do never seem to have tried to tame these.Only in Aman they seem to have become used to semi-tame kittens (Q."Tissi") living about the elven settlements.The culture to have at first seem to known tamed housecats as pets were the Numenoreans, though it is unknown if the númenorean cat descended from the intelligent kittens of Aman -as some scholars believed - or from creatures found on the coasts of Middle-earth - and descending from the fell-cats of Angband as the other faction among the wise often proposed. However by the late third Age the domesticated cat or Housecat had become common throughout the Westlands, from the Shire and Bree to Umbar and Wilderland.
Known Breeds[]
- Black Cats (Q."Morimëor") -a small breed of short deep blueish-black hair, good-natured but sometimes mistaken for descendants of Morgoth's fell-cats
- blue-longhair cat (Q."Luinëandesilker") - a beautiful small long-haired cat popular with Noble-ladies, believed to be a descendant of the númenórean cat.
- Fancycat (Q."Vanimayauler") - an elegant, small cat with short, fair hair, popular with many noble or wealthy households.Believed to be a descendant of the númenorean cat.
- Fell-cat -large demonic cat-like beasts or their lesser and smaller, animalic descendants.They came in various different colours.
- Ginger Cat (Q."Yaulënarwar") - a small and agile cat of white and ginger hair, common in many rural regions of Arnor and Gondor.
- Grey Cat - a type of common housecat descended from the wildcats of Rhovanion but domesticated and good natured.
- Kittens of Aman (Q."Tissi") - small and beautiful long-haired animals with large , bright eyes and characteristic tufts of hair on the tips of their large ears.Many different known Colourings.These cats were intelligent and often supposed to be fairy animals or their descendants.They were almost unknown in Middle-earth although there had been reports of them having been spotted in Lindon.
- Mordorian Cat (BS."Zûrmi") - extremely thin and large-eared cats with white hair with black faces.Harmless and usually good-natured, but often falsely believed to be beasts of evil or descendants of Morgoth's fell-cats.Mordorian Sorcerers nevertheless found these intelligent cats useful to corrupt and use as familiars.They albeit had to break their will magically.
- Númenorean Cat (Ad."Mûiwî") -a supposedly extinct breed native to the Island of Númenor.Only known from ancient númenórean depictions in manuscripts or art.
- Ratcatchers (S."Narferyn") - a very common sturdy, short-haired cat native to many parts of rural Eriador and even larger settlements throughout Rhovanion.
- Tawny-cats (S."Moikulurinath") - a small but sturdy breed of longhaired cat native to Rhovanion.Often guessed to be a tamed and domesticated descendant of the rhovanian wildcats.