☆ PTSD ◇ Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It's known by persistent, distressing symptoms that interfere with life and can include re-experiencing the event, avoidance behaviors and negative thoughts and mood ◇ for Hibs, the symptoms will be avoidance and distrust, sleep disturbances, startle reflex and occasionally lashing out ◇avoidance - Hibs will avoid the twolegplace and also generally open spaces as she feels exposed and unsafe. she will go to these kinds of places if she must but she will be very skittish and wary and will want to leave as soon as possible. she also sleeps/sits with her back against walls or trees so she feels more protected. she generally wont avoid other cats (doesnt mean she trusts them though!) unless they have harmed her or someone she knows ◇ distrust - she will struggle to trust other cats, being friendly but unlikely to let others into her life until she has spoken to them a few times and has a better understanding of the other cat. even then she is hesitant ◇ sleep disturbances - while Hibs was likely too young to remember the incident, her brain has held on to the trauma, causing restless sleep and frequent nightmares. these nightmares will cause twitching during her sleep and so she will distance herself from her siblings while sleeping so she wont disturb them ◇ startle reflex - she is easily startled, whether that be by another cat she was not aware was near her or loud sounds, even if she was expecting them. while she tries her best to hide it, it can be seen in the form of twitches or flinching or, in worse case, actually jumping ◇ lashing out - this is a rarer symptom for Hibs as she is a people (cat?) pleaser and wont want to hurt/annoy others. it comes in the form of words most of the time for her but her claws may come out on some occasions. the few times that she might lash out would be after having a nightmare (especially seconds after she has woken as she is still half in the dream) or after being startled (as she is twitchy and on edge). she will try her best to not but unfortunately it just happens. she will apologise profusely if she lashes out ◇ how will she overcome it - she will learn calming/grounding techniques for when she is feeling on edge, especially after nightmares. she will not go to places she doesnt like by herself however if she is asked to or someone wants to, she will go along without question, slowly getting less fearful of open spaces and the twoleg place. it will take a long time and will depend on how many times she actually goes out but she will learn these places arent so bad. Her nightmares dont really leave her but if a relative or mentor visits her dreams, the nightmares wont come, even after they leave her to sleep. probably because the familiarity helps to calm her. another way she can somewhat avoid the nightmares is by calming herself every night, a little ritual she does after she becomes an apprentice. her startle reflex will likely get worse as she gets older but she will warn cats to not sneak up on her. she tries her best to not lash out, her calming techniques help her with this. but if she is already in a not so good state of mind or deep in thought, there is little she can do except warn cats ☆ rounded ears ◇ Rounded ears are usually the result of genetic mutations that affect the cartilage in the ear, causing the ears to either fold, curl, or grow in a less pointed shape ◇ hearing - Slightly altered shape can affect sound directionality but hearing remains strong ◇ osteochondrodysplasia - the disruption in growth and development of cartilage and bone, which causes skeletal abnormalities (like the rounded ears) and can cause issues later with arthritis and spinal abnormalities ◇ Hibs will feel pain in and around her ears occasionally however it is minor. she will not talk about it, even to her siblings who are experiencing the same thing unless they bring it up. ◇ she will develop arthritis later in life which will cause stiffness and difficulty moving and will likely make her more irritable. this will also increase the frequency of lashing out due to being startled by another cat as the action may cause pain in her joints
☆ Bobtail ◇ her tail was lost in an accident due to a dog ◇ Balance and agility - will have difficulty with balance and agility due to the shorter tail so climbing trees and some battle moves will be a challenge. but she will push through in order to please/impress her mother and mentor and to match her siblings, not wanting to be seen as less than them. so while her ways may be slightly unconventional, they work for her and she will get the job done ◇ communication - since the tail is quite often used in communication between cats, Hibs will need to gesture with her other limbs and will learn other ways to get her point across without a tail. she never felt very impacted in this area since she never learnt to communicate using her tail in the first place but she will learn what different gestures mean so she can understand others ◇ spatial awareness - the tail is often used in high up or narrow spaces. however, with no tail, Hibs will likely just avoid these spaces unless necessary. but if she somehow ends up in a situation where she is in either of these spaces, she will likely use her whiskers (in narrow spaces) or use her claws and stay low to whatever she is holding (in high places) ◇ as this happened very early, she will adapt quite well, developing ways to overcome any challenges very early on ◇ phantom pain in her tail will trouble her as the nerves in her tail were damaged by the dog. however she will never complain about it and will push through, no matter how painful it is. if you're observant, you may be able to tell when phantom pain is occuring as she is slightly slower to respond and slower to perform tasks. she will probably not complete tasks to the best of her ability due to the distracting pain
