Alec's Cats!

Summary

This mod started as a simple cat conversion from unused base-game assets and has grown into a full pet system with:

Taming + ownership
Capture/spawn with persistent appearance variants
Command controls (Follow, Hold, Recall, Move To Ping, Set Home, Return Home, Attack Target)
Happiness/needs simulation with resource seeking
Passive companion breeding
Trait generation and inheritance for bred companion cats
Multi-language localization

Requirements

Alec's Tamework! 2.11.x dependency is required (Alechilles:Alec's Tamework!) for parent-line breeding role inheritance, pre-1.9.0 eye attachment migration, attachment display labels, and current Hytale compatibility.

Craftable Items

Cat Collar (Capture/Spawn Item)

3x Light Leather
1x Gold Bar
Bench: Workbench Tier 2 (Tinkering)
Stored cats use generated collar icons that match their body type and coat.

Cat Treat Bag (Command Item)

2x Light Leather
5x Raw Fish
5x Raw Meat
Bench: Workbench Tier 2 (Tinkering)

Cat Cardboard Box

10x Plant Fiber
5x Catnip Plant
Bench: Workbench Tier 2 (Tinkering)

Large Cat Cardboard Box

20x Plant Fiber
10x Catnip Plant
Bench: Workbench Tier 2 (Tinkering)

Quick Start

Find a wild cat.
Feed raw fish to make it friendly.
Use a Cat Collar to capture/tame it.
Place your cat from the Soul Lantern item.
Use one of these control methods:
- Interact directly to cycle basic modes (Follow / Defend / Stay).
- Use the Cat Treat Bag for advanced commands.

Cat Treat Bag (Command Item)

Left click on a cat: link/unlink that cat to the bag.
Right click: open command selection wheel.
Left click (while not targeting link action): execute selected command on linked cats.

Default commands:

Follow
Hold
Recall
Move To Ping
Set Home
Return Home
Attack Target

Notes:

Commands require ownership + tamed cats by default.

Taming and Ownership

Taming assigns ownership.
Only the owner can interact with/store the cat by default.
When stored in an item, ownership can be cleared until re-spawn (trading-friendly flow).
Owner damage/invulnerability behavior is controlled by Tamework companion config:
- Alec's Cats!\Server\Tamework\Companion\ACCompCat.json

Happiness and Needs

Happiness fluctuates based on if the Cat's needs are being met
Cats will automatically eat raw fish or Tamework Carnivore Kibble from storage containers nearby
Tamework Carnivore Kibble can also be used as backup hand-feed, but it is less satisfying than their preferred food
Cats will automatically drink water from water sources nearby
Cats prefer to have at least one cat friend nearby, but don't like to be overcrowded
Cats like when their owner is nearby

Breeding and Traits

Cats can automatically breed if they are happy and have a suitable partner
Cats can spawn with 0-4 traits
Traits can alter anything from size, to strength, to fertility and more
Traits can be inherited from parents, and breeding cats with the same traits together can result in higher trait values (or lower!)
Fur and eye color are also inherited from parents
Body type roles can be inherited from either parent, with a small chance of a different body type appearing as a mutation
Cat breeding uses Tamework gender support, so compatible breeding pairs must be different genders when that Tamework setting is enabled

Spawns

Cats are uncommon but not extremely rare.

Mediumhair: Zone 1 Plains and Forests
Shorthair: Zone 2 Oasis, Plateau, and Savanna
Bobtail: Zone 1 Mountains, Zone 2 Plateau, and Zone 3 Mountains
Longhair: Zone 3 Forests and Tundra

They usually spawn solo, but can spawn in small groups.

1,216 Appearance Variations

All cat textures are now made by an artist far more skilled than me, Celly (@Excel Lynt).

Appearance combines body type, coat, and eyes. Eye colors are separate randomized attachments, so cats can inherit eyes independently from coat color.

Category	Count	Variants
Body types	4	Mediumhair Longhair Shorthair Bobtail
Coats	19	Black and White Gray Light Gray Silver Tabby Orange Tabby Brown Tabby White Cream Cream Tuxedo Gray Tuxedo Brown Tuxedo Light Orange Tabby Tuxedo Black Tuxedo Black Snowshoe Sand Tabby Dark Gray Tabby Chocolate Point Blue Point
Eyes	16	Bright Orange Bright Yellow Dark Orange Forest Green Green Hazel Ice Blue Light Blue Blue and Green-Yellow (Rare) Blue and Green (Rare) Orange and Yellow (Rare) Yellow and Green (Rare) Pumpkin Orange Teal Yellow-Lime Yellow

Total combinations: 4 body types x 19 coats x 16 eye variants = 1,216 appearance variations.

Config Files

Companion Config:
- Server/Tamework/Companion/ACCompCat.json
Interaction Config:
- Server/Tamework/Interactions/ACIntCat.json
- Server/Tamework/Interactions/ACIntCatTemp.json
Spawner Config:
- Server/Tamework/Items/Spawners/ACSpawnCat.json
Command-item Config:
- Server/Tamework/Items/Commands/ACCommCat.json
Happiness Config:
- Server/Tamework/Happiness/ACHappCat.json
Needs Config:
- Server/Tamework/Needs/ACNeedsCat.json
Breeding Config:
- Server/Tamework/Breeding/ACBreedCat.json
Trait Config:
- Server/Tamework/Traits/ACTraitsCat.json
Attachment Migration Config:
- Server/Tamework/AttachmentMigrations/ACAttachmentMigrationCatEyesPre190.json
Attachment Display Config:
- Server/Tamework/AttachmentDisplays/ACAttachmentDisplayCat.json

Want More?

If you're interested in bringing the same mechanics to vanilla mobs in Hytale, check out my new mod:

If you're a modder interested in adding these mechanics to your NPCs, check out my comprehensive taming framework built specifically for modders to integrate my systems with their mods. By referencing Tamework, you can add complex systems to your NPCs without writing any Java code at all: