Everything you need to know about...
COATALA!
Pronunciation: “Coh-TA-lah”
Plural: Coatala
Baby Coatala: Knitten
A bunch of Coatala: Blankit (Example: A blankit of Coatala)
Coatala are highly intelligent & independent, but will bond very loyally with their family and become protective of them. These creatures have a particular fondness for napping in unusual spots, particularly very high or hard to reach places.
They seem to have a real tender spot for wynglings, and tend to take on the roles of protectors to wynglings in their families.
Coatala are covered in short silken fur with luxurious collars of hair around their necks. From this fluffy collar drapes a skin flap that they use to help wrap around the animal’s body for warmth when sleeping, as well as provide a cooling shade from the hot sun. The capes are flexible and able to completely tuck around a coat's body. Some are even so long they drag on the ground! (Often referred to as 'fancy coats')
Coatala Features
Coatala have a variety of different features, some more common than others. Let's look at the different kinds of features:
Tails
Coatala tails typically range from 2'-26' in length, and anywhere in-between. A coatala's tail needs to be under 4' in order to be categorized under the "short" type. Any longer, and it's considered "long". (Measured by the skin and not the fur)
While the "long" tail coat is clearly the more common sight, short tailed coats don't necessarily cost more to buy from breeders. This is probably due to the longer tail variety being more desired. Showing off your prized coat's glossy tail is a sort of bragging right, as well as it helping keep balance for hunting.
Short tailed coats are much more common in domestically bred coats, but feral litters with short tails have been observed as well. It's definitely easier to brush a short tailed coat, which might be why owners who are just looking for an independent pet that don't require as much attention to fancy this style.
Long Tails
Short Tails
Eye Color
Coatala are unique in that their irises are always jet black, making their pupils very difficult to see. Shine a light
on it however, and you will see they do have split pupil. The sclera (normally the white part of the eye) is what has the color. These colors range from common colors like yellows, greens and blues, to rarer colors like pinks, reds and purples. Coats with colors like this are highly sought after and expensive.
Plentiful (common)
Scarce (rare)
Plentiful Traits
-
The coats (the fluffy collars), inner ear tufts and tails often match in color
-
Capes and eye scales match in color ALWAYS. These can also be more vibrant than the coat color.
-
Nose can be any color, although lighter noses are far less common.
-
Fur coloring is dull and muted, generally more natural colors, but can be dull non natural colors such as blue and purple
-
Back feet are 3-toed paws and have pawpads.
-
Front feet are thumbed hands similar to monkey fingers. (Used for climbing) They also have thumbs!
-
Capes are either blank or have very simple markings on them.
-
3 “frown” lines always on head (even on Knittens) These aren’t markings, but actual creases/folds in the top of the head.
-
Iris is always a dark beady color.
-
Coat
-
Eye Scales
-
Cape
-
Nose
-
Eyes
Unusual Traits
-
Whiskers
-
Markings on Cape or Gradient
-
Light Colored Nose
-
Ear tips
-
Asymmetrical Color Placements
Scarce Traits
-
Pink, Red & Purple Eye Color
-
Half & Half Coloration
-
Split Tail
-
Split Ears
-
Coat Tails
-
Heart Nose
-
Royal Robe
Diet and Hunting
Coatala are mainly carnivorous. They hunt small mammals and reptiles such as puckoo, gurps and sometimes even runeboos. Coats however do not EVER hunt wynglings, as they have been domesticated and bred as wyngling guardians for hundreds of years.
Feral Coatala are a huge menace in the Wyngro ecosystem and are usually tracked and killed or captured to be reformed back to a more domesticated state.
Coatala have a very unique way of hunting in the wild. They are extremely flexible at climbing and will often perch atop a tall tree, waiting very still until something wanders underneath. That’s when the Coatala will leap off the tree and drop onto its prey, usually killing it from impact alone. They have a very malleable frame that takes falls very well, as its skeleton is well evolved to survive falling from great heights. (Especially if it misses its prey)
If the prey is not killed upon impact and merely stunned, a Coatala will scramble to the animal’s throat and bite the jugular to kill it as fast as possible. Feral Coatala are easy to spot because of this, as they have red stains on their chest and collar fur.
However, a Coatala that has a family caring for and feeding it will not go out and kill for the sake of hunting like a domestic housecat. They still like to stalk and chase, but so many years of domestication has tamed them into avoiding actual killing unless specifically trained.
Size
Full grown Coatala are large creatures, around the size of a very large dog. Knittens are only half the size of a Runeboo when first born, but grow rather rapidly to be around the size of a wyngling. It takes a few years before a Coatala reaches their full size.
Feral vs Domestic
Feral Coatala are non-confrontational. They are very large predators and as such are not bothered much by most things. If a Coatala does however feel threatened, or feels that their family is threatened, they become very aggressive and protective of their family and will attack whatever the threat is if it continues to advance on them.
Domestic Coatala are highly independent creatures, their behavior mostly like that of domestic cats.
Purely wild Coatala basically do not exist as they have been domesticated for so long (even longer than Runeboos, so it’s rumored). Their original wild ancestors were much smaller than current day Coatala, but were still quite effective hunters. So much so, that any Coatala that weren’t domesticated were largely brought to extinction through extermination, as the wild Coatala were a menace to Puckoo farmers everywhere. So if you see a Coatala living in the wild, it’s mostly likely a feral pet, or spawned from one.
Communication
Coatala communicate various sounds, but their trademark “sound” sounds like they’re saying “warm”.
Unlike real world cats, Coatala are far more in tune with wyngro and do tend to understand wyngro speech to an extent. This may seem like a fantastic trait to have for training, but Coatala are not at all interested in being trained, they’re very prideful and always keep their coats and capes well groomed and clean.
Uses in Wyngro Society
Coatala were domesticated largely for their skill in hunting the highly annoying Gurp species. Coatala are one of the few creatures that hunt and eat fully-matured Gurps, and are very effective in keeping the noise-pollution levels the Gurps produce low. For some reason, the horrid bitter and waxy taste that drives away most predators from consuming Gurps does not affect Coatala whatsoever: they even seem to enjoy the slimy texture of fresh Gurp meat above all else. It’s even quite healthy for them, and many pet owners feed their prized Coatala only the best Gurp meat, while cheaper varieties like compressed Gurp Meat are also available for those with less money (or those unable to hunt down annoying screaming Gurps themselves).
Because of their intimidating size and predator status, Coatala are an invaluable addition to any farm. They largely keep hungry or curious wild Runeboos away from crops, though they can also alert farmers if there’s anything threatening their livestock or fields. They aren’t highly recommended as a guardian for Puckoo dunces, as even if the Coatala doesn’t bother them at all Puckoo are generally too dumb to ever be taught that the predator is not a threat, and frightened Puckoo are less productive layers of eggs than dumbly content Puckoo.
Coatala are also bred to be shown off in fancy shows! Many breeders breed solely for attractive colors and coats for this reason.
Though long domesticated and well adjusted to Wyngrew, Coatala still have a way of doing what they want, when they want, are are not as easy to train as Runeboos are. This is due to their independent nature.
Care and Maintenance
Despite their personal cleanliness and grooming, Coatala still require a lot of hand-brushing to keep their coat from getting matted, especially the area of their coat right behind their head. The furrier variations need even more work, and lots of care.
Coatala also needs lots of stimulation and exercise. While they can be content with a lot of nap time, they still need freedom to roam and stretch their legs and exercise their mind. Otherwise you’ll wind up with an overweight, unhappy, and unhealthy Coatala. Lack of exercise and stimulation can also lead to a Coatala growing restless, resorting to things like excessive grooming, obsessive pacing for hours at a time, and chewing on furniture and other household items.
Breeding & Knittens
Coatala require a male and female to produce offspring, and typically produce litters in sizes of 1-4. Knittens are born with their eyes closed and are largely helpless for the first few weeks of life, clinging constantly to their mother who provides warmth, milk, and grooming care for her offspring.
It is typically after the 3rd week when the Knittens can begin to be away from their mother that the female will begin ‘introducing’ her young to the rest of the ‘blankit’, or family group. The Knittens are given to ‘babysitters’ to cling to, and more often than not a mother will trust her favorite Wyngro to care for her young as a ‘babysitter’ along with her mate if he’s still around. The mother won’t leave her young for long yet, but this is the prime time to get the Knittens used to Wyngro smells and some very gentle handling.
Knittens continue to be mostly clingy and not very explorative until around two months of age, at which point their natural curiosity kicks in and they become prime explorers and climbers. Knittens still aren’t very comfortable alone on the ground at this age, but love checking out every high space they can get to. This is a good time to begin introducing them to other wyngrew outside the usual ‘family’. Letting friends give them attention and a few soft treats as the Knittens teeth begin to grow in.
Once the Knittens grow brave enough to walk around on the ground without their mother close by (this is typically after they’ve been weaned), this is when it’s best to begin socializing them with Runeboos and other pets if they’re meant to be a companion animal, or begin teaching them how to hunt and kill if they’re going to be pest-control animals or hunting companions.
Social Behavior
Coatala are not excessively social animals, a trait that harkens back to their undomesticated ancestors that were primarily solitary or family-group hunters. However, Coatala can be persuaded to at least be tolerant of one another, and even other pet companion species. Though some are more naturally ‘social’ than others.
Typically, Coatala are quite fine enough being the only pet in a household, but most can be persuaded to share their ‘territory’. It’s typically easiest to persuade ‘sharing’ with just one other Coatala in a household, but it’s entirely possible to have groups as big as five living comfortably together under the right circumstances. These groups, though not always outwardly affectionate, come to form a blankit, and will be very quick to defend one another along with their Wyngro family from any outsiders or threats. The more affectionate ones may even groom one another, or share high ‘nesting’ spots.
To make sure a Coatala views Runeboos as fellow pets to be polite to instead of just large ‘kyuu’-ing toys, it is best to introduce them to Runeboos at a young age. Runeboos are typically quick to use a bit of magic to show overly-pushy young Knittens that Runeboos can’t just be pushed around, but many Runeboos are frightened of Coatala and will flee from them. However if early socializing is created, the two species can live together quite well! Though it must be noted a Coatala who’s been taught to hunt should never be left alone with Runeboos they’re unfamiliar with!
How to Obtain a Coatala?
So now that you know all about Coatala, how do you go about getting one?
Coatala can be obtained in a couple of different ways, so let's check them out!
Joining our $5 tier on Patreon will give you early access to Runeboo, Coatala, & Wibble sales! This means that when a new pet goes up, you'll get an email showing it! These pets go fast, so you have to act fast! Typically, coatala cost anywhere from $53-100+, depending on the rarity.
This is your best chance to buy pets and get first pick at a new one!
The Trading Post is a place where members may post a pet they bought and couldn't connect with. They may be willing to trade for other items or even art! So this is a great place to stop by and have a look from time to time! Just make sure to read the rules!
The Trading Post can be found HERE!