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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Printable Version

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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Tad Carlucci - 12-07-2012 08:43 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I learn more about KittyCatS?


Official KittyCats Manual
https://kittycats.ws/manual/index.php?title=KittyCatS_Manual


Defines the terms and symbols you see in-world and in the Pedigree; but does not cover breeding, itself.

Are there classes on breeding?

Yes. Class schedules can be found in the KittyCatS Community.

Can I get one-on-one help learning to breed better?

Yes. There is a mentoring program. Information about that is in the KittyCatS Community as well. Of course, for short, occasional help, you can always ask on the in-world group chat.

Interacting with my Cats

I sent my cat to the Cattery. How do I get it back?

To retrieve a cat from the Cattery, you need a Dock.

The Dock is free and available at the KittyCatS Main Store.

Rez the Dock where you have rights. Be sure you have the correct group tag on since, to move your cat back in-world, the dock will need to be able to rez on your behalf. You'll probably get a scary-looking warning about Linden dollars. Allow the Dock; otherwise you will not be able to send L$ to the Cattery for food and other supplies for the Cattery.

To move a cat in-world, click on your Dock. Select "Cat->SL" (Cat to Second Life) and follow the link to a web page. Select the cat(s) or box(es) you want to send in-world.

If something goes wrong, and the cat does not appear in a few seconds, don't panic. If the Dock could not move the cat in-world, refresh the web page and the cat should re-appear in your Cattery. Check the Dock is in the correct Group, and that there are prims available. If you still have problems, contact KittyCatS support for assistance.

Oh, and if you accidentally send your cat the Menagerie, and it's only been a couple of days, you can get a free Menagerie Magic Bottle to get your cat back. It's also free, and also at the KittyCatS Main Store; and works identically to your Dock, except it pulls cats back from the Menagerie instead of the Cattery.

I was cuddling my cat and it's lost! What happened?

This is an old, worn-out bug in the Second Life environment. It happens with objects which were rezed in-world by another object and then attached to your avatar using scripted action.

To avoid it, always use Drop from the pie menu, NEVER use Detach. If Drop is not offered, check you're standing on land where you can rez and check you have the correct group tag on to allow you to do so.

To avoid it completely, even if you crash while wearing a cat: take the cat into inventory and Attach it from there. This will let you chose a different attachment point or stack several cats on the same attachment point (yes, even your HUD attachment points!) .. BUT .. you won't see the pretty animation. Remember, also, that the cat won't gain any advantage for Love or Happiness from being attached to alternate points. Toys and Teacups need to be on the Left or Right Shoulder, Normal-sized cats want to be on the Chest or Left Forearm.

No matter what, it will still happen sometimes that you'll lose a cat. Read the next topic ...

My cat is lost! How do I get it back?

Don't Panic!

First off, remember, if the cat is off on walk-about, it'll return to its home when it sleeps. So it may not be permanently lost and you'll find it if you wait. If the cat has been gone a while you may get a message saying something like "Mew, I'm 30% hungry, please feed me and pay attention to me" followed by an slurl. Use it to teleport to your cat. If you find your cats frequently wander off your parcel/sim you can reduce their range or turn their walk off.

First, check your inventory, especially your Lost and Found and Objects folder. It can help to log out of Second Life, wait a minute or two, then log back in before doing this.

If you have a HUD, and the cat is listed, teleport the cat to you, or send it home. You can obtain a HUD at the KittyCatS Main Store. The HUD is limited to only around 275 cats. If you have more, it can help to use the Area Search feature in Firestorm, or you can try one of those area-search objects.

If you were Cuddling the cat and it's now lost, try logging out of Second Life, waiting a bit, then logging in and checking your inventory. If it's not in your inventory and wasn't simply invisible to you because of lag, it's been eaten by that bug mentioned in the topic just above.

If none of this works, contact KittyCatS support for assistance.

My cats produced a box while I was Cuddling them. Where is it?

When you're Cuddling, and a box appears, the box appears at your (not the cat's) position. This should be just about the center of your hips. Take a few steps back and take a look where you were standing.

This can be a real pain if you're moving around while Cuddling; especially if you're out shopping and teleporting around a lot. If you could rez (most shops allow it), the box will be floating around at the point you were standing at the instant it appeared.

If you can't rez, the cats should try to make the box again in a little while.

If the box never appears, or you were teleporting around so much you have no idea which sim to look at .. much less WHERE on the sim to look .. try using the Teleport History and Area Search features of Firestorm .. if that doesn't help contact KittyCatS support for assistance.

Your best bet, when Cuddling to get that last 1%, is to stay home and wait for the box.

What do those little symbols mean?

Read the manual.


My cats won't make a box. What's wrong?

First, read the manual.


To breed both cats need:
  • 100% Love
  • at least 75% Happiness
  • at least 25% Energy
  • less than 25% Hungry
  • both partners awake
  • both in the Cattery, or both in-world
  • if in-world, set home properly and ensure the home positions are within the set range
  • if in-world, in the correct land group which allows them to rez a box
  • if in-world, there must be at least one prim available on the parcel
If you're out of prims, free some up and wait a while. The cats should try again in a bit.

If you're still stumped, contact KittyCatS support for assistance.

My cat won't eat! What should I do?
My cat won't drink milk! What should I do?

The most likely causes are:
  • Food/milk in the wrong group
  • Cats in the wrong group
  • Food/milk out of range
Try this:
  1. Pick food and milk.
  2. Check your group tag!
  3. Pick up and rez any cats in the wrong group, or move and re-Home those too far away
  4. Rez the food and milk
  5. Wait. Give it 30 minutes or so and if you see the hunger go down you should be fine

Also, if you use one, check the setting on your automatic feeder. If it is set to group, be sure all the cats are set to the same group.

If that doesn't help, contact KittyCatS support for assistance.

How can I transfer food?

You can not transfer supplies such as food, milk or vitamins, to another avatar.

Other breedables have had problems with fraudulent supplies. To prevent this, KittyCatS! supplies can only be obtained from KittyCatS! and can not be transferred to another avatar.

This may seem a bit draconian. Remember, though, that most cats are transferable, food and milk can be set to group access, and you can manually change the group for your cats and supplies. While this can present some issues, if you're careful, you can safely work around the restrictions and use your supplies to help someone else out. Will it always work? No. But it works well enough for most cases.

I'm going on vacation, can I have a friend feed my cats?

If you own your own land, yes. Set the land group to a private group. Invite your friend to that group. Put out your cats, making sure they're set to the land group. When your friend needs to set out food or milk, have then be sure it's set to the land group, and set the food to GROUP access (the default is MY CATS).

If your cats are at a marketplace region, where a number of people rent, and place out their cats in the land group, you can still use this approach. But be sure to NOT use the land group! (Otherwise your friend will be feeding EVERYONE's cats on the ENTIRE SIM!!!) After setting out your cats, change them to your private land group and have your friend change her food to that group and BEFORE setting to GROUP access. NOTE: If your cats attempt to produce a box, they will fail because they are not in the land group. If you're only concerned about a few days (less than a week), this isn't much of a problem: the cats will keep trying and, when you return and set them back to the land group, finally produce the box.

You should seriously consider putting your cats in the Cattery while you're gone, and loading up on food and/or K$. That way, all you need is basic web access to check boxes, partner cats and purchase food or milk.

If you're only going to be gone a few weeks, it might be more cost-effective to simply let your cats get hungry, and wait the week for them to get healthy once you return.

If you're going to be gone for a long time (several weeks), certainly if you're going to be gone over 120 days, you should consider simply sending all your live cats to the Menagerie before you leave, and starting fresh from boxes when you return.

Breeding

Is X more dominant or recessive to Y?
What is the standing of trait X?


These questions come in a number of forms. No matter how the question is put, they're all asking the same thing: what is the dominance relationship between two traits.

Charts available on the Forum show what is currently known on this subject. Your first stop should always be to check these charts.

These charts are maintained by a small group of workers. They make every effort to keep the documents accurate and up-to-date. If you feel you found an error, contact them by sending personal message to
KittyCatsProofs Resident
.

Discussions about new discoveries for these charts appear on the Forum, generally in a discussion thread for the specific trait. There is a Forum thread devoted to indexing each. If you think you've discovered a new trait, check this thread first to see if there is already a discussion about it and add your observations to that thread. If there is no thread, start a new one. Once it's been verified to actually be a discovery someone (usually one of the maintainers of these charts and lists) will add it.

I just got a pair of starters, should I breed them together?
What should I breed with [this trait]?


Again, these questions come in a variety of forms. If you're asking them you probably want to take a class, find a mentor, or need to study the charts.

What is "back breeding?"

Back breeding is one of the most common patterns. It simply means breeding sons to mothers, or daughters to fathers. This can be very effective when you want to find out what hidden genetics each parent carries. It is not as effective as using more-recessive stock but often it is your only choice.

Help! I keep getting one gender and I want the other!
I know my cat hides [this trait] but all I ever see is its dominant trait!


At its heart, KittyCatS genetics are like a coin toss. [In fact, they ARE a coin toss!]

The results you see for each box are independent and random. While the ODDS of a given outcome are always 50/50, the results you observe will rarely [read: never] be exactly 50/50.

Runs of various lengths should be expected. Occasional long runs will occur.

The odds of getting 32 females in a row are 1 in about 4.25 BILLION. But just because it just happened to you does not change the fact that the odds of your next box being male are 1 in 2.

One of the goals of the breeding process is to select stock, and design and use patterns, which reduce, if not eliminate, the basic 50/50 randomness. Yes, you can design patterns which lead to success and don't care if the next box is male or female, or shows a specific trait.

How do I get a Fancie Cat?

To obtain a Fancie Cat directly from KittyCatS:
  1. Pick up free jewel boxes at the KittyCatS main store.
  2. Collect 10 Diamonds, 20 Rubies, or 30 Emeralds. Jewels appear randomly when you breed a new kitten box.
  3. Store your jewels in the jewel box.
  4. When you have enough jewels of one type, turn them in to purchase a Fancie Cat.

Jewels and Fancie Cats can also be bought or sold the secondary markets. There a forum section for buying, selling, and trading jewels.

Everything you need to know about this process is in the Manual.

Can I breed for Gender?

No.

Can I breed for Size?

No.

Can I breed for Twins?

No.

Can I breed for Gems?

No.

Although, Fancy Cats (Special Collection cats only available by trading Gems for them) will produce a new Gem with each box they produce.

Marketing

Where can I get the Pedigree View script?

Often, you won't need the Pedigree View script. If the cat is in-world, go to its Pedigree page. Make sure there is a check in the checkbox labeled "Enable In World Pedigree Link". Checking this option enables features similar to the Pedigree View script without the need for extra prims.

There are still times you'll want to use the Pedigree View script, or have no option but to use it. There is a freebie on the Marketplace. It includes a note card explaining how to use the script.

When was [this trait] discovered?
When was [this trait] retired?
Who discovered [this trait]?

The team behind KittyCatsProofs Resident also maintains a chart showing when traits were discovered, who found them, and when they were retired. Where possible, this includes links to the relavent Forum discussions.

You can contact the team by sending a private message. But, in general, they update this chart based upon the Forum discussions and you should make your comments on the thread for the specific trait.

What auctions are scheduled?

Check the Forum discussions for auction announcements.

While there used to be auction calendars, they seem to have fallen into disarray and disuse. If you know of a reliable calendar not devoted to a tiny number of auctions I'd be happy to add it. Traditionally. though, such calendars have caused more problems than they solved, so I may take some convincing.

What are the "starter" traits?

The visible traits for all starters. All starters are guaranteed to show one of these visible traits. In addition, for most traits, starters are guaranteed to hide a non-starter trait.

This includes the genetic (as opposed to costume) traits for Special Collection starters.

Fur: NEVER the hidden trait on any starter.
  • Genesis Coco IV
  • Genesis Diamond IV
  • Genesis Domino IV
  • Genesis Flame IV
  • Genesis Smokey IV
This list changes about once a year.

Many still do not count the older Genesis furs. They are now Retired Traits, not Starter Traits, and should be counted as such.

So,when the Genesis V series appears, it becomes the new Starter Traits, and the IV series shown here becomes Retired Traits.


Eye Color: NEVER the hidden trait on any starter.
  • Genesis Earth
  • Genesis Meadow
  • Genesis Odyssey
  • Genesis Sunshine
  • Genesis Water
Eye Shape: CAN also be the hidden trait in a starter.
  • Curious
Pupil: CAN also be the hidden trait in a starter.
  • Big
Shade: CAN also be the hidden trait in a starter.
  • Natural
Ears: NEVER the hidden trait on any starter.
  • Genesis
Tail: NEVER the hidden trait on any starter.
  • Genesis
Whisker Color: NEVER the hidden trait on any starter.
  • Silver
Whisker Shape: NEVER the hidden trait on any starter.
  • Guitar
In addition, the costumes seen on special collection (limited edition) cats should not be counted. This includes special collection offspring which some special collection parents give out.

In general, special collectable cats are marketed as collectibles and not based (solely) upon their traits.

Lucky Irish Clover is a special case. This was randomly given during an event in 2011 and, while applied as a costume (meaning you saw it in-world and some places on the web site) it actually indicated the hidden recessive was present.

What traits "count"?

Any trait you can breed for which is not a starter trait.

That means, don't count things like Genesis traits, Gender or Size.

What are Limited Edition traits?

Some traits are only available for a short while, typically from a special collection (limited edition) starter.

In general, Limited Edition traits are also Retired Traits.

What are Retired traits?

Retired traits are no longer available in any normal, or special collection, starters. The appearance and survival of these traits depends solely upon someone, somewhere, having the trait and breeding for it.

Once they're gone, they're gone forever.

Tips and Tricks

Can I check my Cattery without a Dock?

Sometimes you just want to look at what's in your Cattery as if you'd used a Dock but don't want to send any cats in-world.

This can be handy since the page you see when you use your Dock is the only KittyCatS! web page which reliably lists all the cats you have in your Cattery. You can access this page, without having to log into Second Life and use your Dock, using the following link:

https://kittycats.ws/online/get_cat.php

You will need to be already logged in to the KittyCatS! web site.

If you accidentally click on a cat, don't worry. Since you did not use a Dock, it can not be sent back in-world. Simply wait a moment, then refresh the page and the cat will re-appear.

Can I check my (short-term) Menagerie without a Magic Bottle?

Just as you can look at what is currently in your Cattery, you can see what you recently sent to the Menagerie; and could retrieve if you had used a Bottle, using the following link:

https://kittycats.ws/online/get_cat.php?m=1

You will need to be already logged in to the KittyCatS! web site.

If you accidentally click on a cat, don't worry. Since you did not use a Bottle, it can not be retrieved from the Menagerie. Simply wait a moment, then refresh the page and the cat will re-appear.

Can I check my (long-term) Menagerie without a Miracle Menagerie Bottle?

Just as you can look at what is currently in your Cattery, you can see what you long ago sent to the Menagerie; and could retrieve if you had used a Bottle, using the following link:

https://kittycats.ws/online/get_cat.php?m=2

You will need to be already logged in to the KittyCatS! web site.

If you accidentally click on a cat, don't worry. Since you did not use a Bottle, it can not be retrieved from the Menagerie. Simply wait a moment, then refresh the page and the cat will re-appear and does not count against your limit of 3.

Note that once you hit your limit of 3, you'll still see an error message.



To assist those looking for answers to frequently asked questions, I'll try to update this posting, occasionally. I ask that the discussions which follow this post pertain to the FAQs: either suggesting new ones, helping clarify existing ones, or simply whacking me upside the head for the stupid mistakes I'll surely make.

If you're interested in a good white paper which expresses my feelings on what makes a good FAQ, and why this one is needed instead of the official not-so-FAQ, read Infrequently Asked Questions of FAQs by R. Stephen Gracey



RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Bea Shamrock - 12-07-2012 01:21 PM

Excellent idea Tad!!!! Thanks for starting it!!!!

My 2 cents on * "What traits count?": as well as not counting gender, size or genesis-labelled features as traits, don't count unmarked genesis/"default" features like Normal shade, silver whisker colour, guitar whisker shape, curious eye shape or big pupil. (normal shade is still cute, mysterious eye shape with big pupils too, and I'm sure other people find other genesis-non genesis combinations cute as well).

* "What are the starter traits?" Starters are guaranteed to hide non-genesis features/traits for 6 of the 9 slots: fur; eye colour; tail; ears; whisker shape; whisker colour. Some starters will also hide a shade and/or mysterious eye shape and/or small pupil.

* YES, I absolutely hate that aspect of coin tossing. Big Grin It's like going back to square 1 every time you throw the dice for a board game. But it also makes it fun Smile


RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Nocshadue Balbozar - 12-08-2012 03:02 AM

Writing an FAQ has been something I've been doing in world for the past several months..I've made a NC I've been passing to newbies and have had some positive feedback on it so I am hoping it helps as intended. I've just kinda answered the questions I keep hearing come up in KC chat. I'll paste below what is in it other than the imbedded NC's on budgeting, the secondary market NC and so on.

New Breeder Q&A

How do I count traits?

In general, Starter..or Genesis traits are not counted as a trait. Though they do pass to kittens, but if they counted as a trait..then every single cat would be a nine trait cat. So here is a break down of traits that most people seem to agree with. If in doubt, check with a KittyCatS CSR.

Fur: Anything with Genesis in front of it is not a trait. So..Smokey, Smokey II, Flame, Flame II, Coco, Coco II, Domino, Domino II, Diamond, Diamond II furs don't count as a trait. Any other fur does count.

Eye Color: Anything with Genesis in front of it is not a trait. So.. (Genesis)Sunshine, Earth, Meadow, Water, Odyssey..are not traits. Any other eye color is a trait.

Eye Shape: Curious eye shape is not a trait. Mysterious eye shape is a trait.

Pupil: Big pupil is not a trait. Small pupil is a trait.

Shade: Natural is not a trait. Any other shade is a trait.

Ears: Genesis ears are not a trait. Any other ear shape is a trait.

Tail: Genesis tail is not a trait. Any other tail shape is a trait.

Whisker Shape: Guitar is not a trait. Any other shape is a trait.

Whisker Color: Silver is not a trait. Any other color is a trait.
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What do the symbols over my cat mean?

? 1 day --- age

? 0% --- love ( two hearts mean stats are ready to mate, outline heart(s) mean love vitamin given in past 48 hours)

? 92% --- happiness

? 41% --- energy

?? 3% --- hungry ( lower number means cat is eating, if hunger reaches 100% cat will get sick )

((CAT))
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why won't my cat eat?

I'm not sure what causes a cat to stop eating, but here is the advice I've been given to try and fix it. Pick up the cat/cats that aren't eating and the food/milk. Rez the food/milk FIRST, then the cats. Give it some time, maybe 30 minutes or so and if you see the hunger go down you should be fine.

Also, check the setting on your food/automatic feeder. If it is set to group, be sure all the cats are set to the same group. (Rclick, edit, general tab, group) If that doesn't help, contact KittyCatS support for assistance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How come my cats won't make a box???

To breed both cats need:
100% Love
at least 75% Happiness
at least 25% Energy (to be safe think 30%)
and be under 25% Hungry

They also need to be in range of each other, you need enough prims for the box to rez and if a group is needed to rez on your land then the female at least needs to be set to that group. A lot of things can happen..lag, restarts etc. For the Cattery it's the same except group. prims and range don't matter.

If all the above is good, try to pick up both cats and re-rez them. They will reconnect to the server and it should speed things along. Remember if you are not feeding milk that happiness drops pretty fast..if you cuddle and then leave before they have a box, don't expect to see one when you log back in the next day.

Watch their sleep cycles. Its possible for everything else to be good, but one have like 6% energy while the other has 97%. They will never meet up with the right amount of energy on their own. You can either watch and wait to wake the one with the lowest energy once it reaches around 30% and the other is still awake with over 25% still, or you can use 2 Catnap0's to reset their sleep cycles to match.

Cats start gaining love at 7 days old. From that point on, they will gain love faster if you give them milk or cuddle for 30 minutes a day. Their happiness depends on milk and cuddles too, and they will not be happy enough to make a box without one or the other. There is not a pregnancy period for cats, once their stats are ready they mate and you get a box right away. They can breed up until their age counter clicks over to 121 days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I lost my Cat!

Don't panic, due to SL being SL this happens all too often. First, if you have a HUD and I really recommend one, try to tp the cat to you or to its home point. If nothing happens, check your lost and found folder, your objects folder and even your library folder. Easiest to do by searching inventory by the cat's name..but..check spelling etc or it may not show up in a search if you typo it.

Try an Area Search. I only know how to do it in Phoenix because I haven't upgraded my viewer yet. IF you happen to use Phoenix..go to Phoenix-Area Search and in Name search type in "kittycats" or the name of the lost cat if you are sure how to spell it. If it shows up in the list double click it and you'll get a beacon and arrow to help you find it.

If the cat has been gone a while you may get a whisper in local chat saying something like "Mew, I'm 30% hungry, please feed me and pay attention to me" followed by a slurl. Take the slurl to tp to your cat!! So many people see this message and ignore the fact that the cat is trying to tp you to it so you can get it back home.

If you find your cats frequently wander off your parcel/sim you can reduce their range or turn their walk off. If none of this works to find your cat, you can file a support ticket and KittyCatS will help you find or replace your cat. The only cats that cannot be replaced are the ones sent to Menagerie. even if sent by mistake, so be sure you are willing to have the cat gone forever if you Menagerie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Costumes???

If you buy a special Holiday cat from KittyCatS or the secondary market, most likely the kitty will be wearing a "costume". That means when you click the kitty and its info comes up in local chat, the traits you are seeing there are costume traits and (most of the time) will not pass on to their kittens.

To see the "real" traits that the cat can pass on, you will need to look at the pedigree. If you own the kitty, click it and choose 'online help' then 'view the pedigree tree for this cat'. Unless the kitty is a 'special' offspring of two holiday cats, ( a mummystein like we had this halloween for example) it is going to be a Starter cat and show all genesis traits. You will have to breed the cat to try to discover what traits it may hide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How do I use the Cattery?

The Cattery is wonderful if you want to breed but don't have many prims or can't spend a lot of time inworld. First of all make sure you get the latest Dock from the Main Store. It's free, and I suggest taking two..one to keep out on your land and one to have in your inventory.

When you rez the Dock, a yellow menu will pop up in the upper right corner of your screen asking permission to take L$ from you. Say yes...this is how you get food for your cats in the cattery. You are the only one that can use your dock, and you can't use anyone else's so it's handy to have one with you.

Your cat or box need to be rezzed to send to Cattery. Just click the cat or box and from the menu, choose Cattery, then yes. Make SURE you are sending to CATTERY...do not confuse Cattery with Menagerie.

You will also need to put food and milk if you choose to use it in the Cattery for any live cats you keep there. The food you use in SL will not work for Cattery. You will need to add K$ (kitty dollars) and buy food through the Cattery Dock. Click the Dock..from the menu choose ADD K$..this will take L$ from you and add them to your K$. 1 L$ = 2.5 K$. The food and milk you buy in the cattery cost the same as the what you get at the mainstore..but it looks like more because you are paying with K$.

Now that you have some K$, click the Dock again and choose Visit Cattery. This will open in the SL system browser unless you have your viewer set to open in an external browser. You can also just go to Cattery via http://www.kittycats.biz/online, but you will need to have registered and know your log in and password. A KittyCatS CSR will need to help there if you need assistance.

In the upper right corner of the web page you will see a little picture of food bowls and an ADD+ button. Click the ADD+ button to buy food and milk for your live kitties. If you do have live cats in Cattery..they will be divided by boys, girls, and pairs.

To partner your cats, hover your mouse over any kitty, and you will see buttons pop up below it. When you click the Partner button it opens a small window allowing you to scroll through your cats of the opposite sex and choose a partner. Cats will NOT breed in Cattery unless you partner them. Any boxes you have from cats in Cattery will be shown under the Boxes tab with the most recent on top by default.

To bring you cat or box back into SL, click the Dock and choose Cat to SL. A web page will open showing all your cats on one tab, and boxes on another. Just find the one you want and click it on the web page and it will appear on your Dock.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How do I know if my kitty is a "good" kitty?

As I watch the chat in KittyCatS Addicts, I see lots of kitties being posted and then the poster will ask "Is this a good kitty?" The standard answer you will get is, "All kitties are good kitties." or, "If you like it, it's a good kitty". Both are true..but the real question is.. "Do other people like this kitty and would they maybe buy it?". Well.. there are several ways to figure that out and it does come down to a matter of taste. Different people go gaga over different cats.

There are several ways to stay informed on what is trending with kittycats. Read the group notices. KittyCatS often announces when someone has discovered a new trait etc. Newly discovered traits will be highly sought after for some time, until more people have it and its then widely available and the price drops.

Here's the thing though, if you go spend a zillion L$ for a new and rare trait, it will most likely be difficult to breed out. So by the time you have a cat to sell, the price may have dropped drastically and you will not be able to recoup your investment. So buy it if you love it and just have to have it, but not with the goal of making money from it.

Another way to stay informed is to attend auctions and breeding classes that are offered. They are all listed on one blog and there are usually several going on through the day and evening. Here is a link to a good auction/class schedule.

https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=6f0qbscbj4hunrh9l1up0iuba4%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago

Here is a caution about something you may see at an auction though. So there you sit..there are nice cats on all the panels, but as the auction progresses, you see a few people get into a bid war over a certain cat. Now its nice..but you can't understand why people are suddenly willing to drop a bucketload of L$ on say a Chateau 3 Spot No. 1 when you've seen lots sitting unsold in shops.

Take a good look at the cat causing the bid war. It probably has a certain look to it, a combination of traits that make it especially appealing. But the other ingredient is the people attending the auction. For a bid war to happen there needs to be more than one person that wants the cat badly. If that same cat being fought over tonight had been in a different auction with different buyers, it may not have even sold.

My point is...don't see that happen and take it to mean that you need to try to breed "that cat". Those bidding frenzies happen when the right people are there, with L$ to spend and the planets are aligned etc. They just happen, you can't predict them or cause them, even with an EPIC cat.


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How do I sell my kitty?

If you are just getting started, first take some time to figure out if your cat is a good potential seller. Follow the suggestions above to decide if you want to sell or not. If you decide to sell, an easy way to start is to place the cat in an auction or on a bid board.

Bid boards do not require you to be there and most are active for 24 hours. You will get a message from the board as to who the high bidder is at the end of the bid time, the high bidder gets a message as well. You simply make contact and sell the cat to them for the high bid price. Things to consider are..your starting bid and what your availability in SL is.

Auctions are fast and fun, but you need to attend the auction you are selling a cat in. And with a bid board, you should be sure you are able to be online around the time the bidding will close. Most Sims that have bid boards have assistants and managers that are happy to help you get set up.

Think carefully about your starting bid for both an auction and a bid board. If it is too high..the cat will not sell, and you've wasted time and money. If it's too low..and for whatever reasons..you get only one bid, you may end up selling it for much less than it's worth.

If you decide to try renting a shop, take some time to decorate it and within the rules of the Sim, make it your own. One of my biggest pet peeves is walking by a shop with TONS of boxes or cats shoved together with all their hovertext on. Please... just don't do that, no one can read any of it.

Instead... take the time to name your boxes something like "Chat 3.2/Gerb Orange 5T" or similar. If the box is named the name will show when someone hovers their mouse over the box. It makes it much easier to shop for what you want that way.

Also... rotate your stock. Don't leave the same boxes out for sale for months. I try to restock and rotate the boxes I have for sale weekly. Change up the look of your shop now and then too. Decorate for the season, or holidays etc. Watch your prim count though!

If you make your shop look inviting, and your cats/boxes easy to browse, you are ahead of the game. Take a few moments to go walk around a market and see what I mean. Where are your eyes naturally drawn? Would you really fight your way through that sea of hovertext, or just move to the next shop?

Learn how to Spam your cat! Join a few advertising groups and follow the rules. But if you have a cat in a auction or on a bid board..spam it! People may want it and have no idea it's for sale. Here are links to one of the oldest and biggest and to my own.

*:-.,The KittyCatS BaZaaR,.-:*
secondlife:///app/group/fc7ca675-d541-8f20-dfb9-7e8d4a308664/about

I Can Has Kitteh?
secondlife:///app/group/4438e329-4bfd-1c72-0ab1-fa8fe26d6b7d/about

More are listed in the Secondary Market Info NC at the bottom.

A word of warning about spam though...

Read the rules!
Don't spam groups you aren't allowed to spam in (eg. spam an auction cat in group X when the auction is in market group Y)

Don't spam too often!
Most people belong to a LOT of cat groups. If you spam every one you are in every hour that is way too much spam for most. I suggest breaking it up and spamming maybe three groups one hour, then a few more a couple hours later etc. I have left groups for getting hit with too much spam from the same people over and over.

Be specific for best results!
Please don't send out tons of spam saying... "Nice cats, come buy them..Cheap!" That means nothing to an experienced breeder. Most are looking for something specific. If you have quite a few for sale, pick two or three of the best and list their stats "Bali Lilac with Ody K, plush whiskers and Illume~ 1500 L$" will get a much better response.
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How much should I sell my cat for?

(insert zombie groan) To be honest I struggle with this myself all the time. Here is what I can tell you. The market varies all the time. People vary as everyone has different tastes. A common standard is to price at 100 L$ per shown trait for traits that are not really rare. Not a bad place to start. What I often see though is when the cat doesn't sell quickly, and it may not..people start dropping the price and having fire sales and whatnot.

The best thing to do is to shop around yourself and see what other sellers are pricing cats similar to yours at. Read the Budgeting NC Theo wrote and consider the time and effort you put into the cat when you set your price. Use common sense above all else. Someone is always going to over price or under price, sometimes to an extreme. Do what feels right to you.

Keep in mind that there will always be more boxes than buyers. No one..no mattter how great their cats are, sells every cat they try to sell. Boxes pile up fast and I tend to hoard them, but you can also Menagerie them and use the K$ for a special Menagerie Tiger from the main store or use it for food to feed your other kitties. Again, Menagerie carefully, considering not only what the cat is showing but what it may hide when making your decision.

What I am going to say next is harsh. Sometimes it is better to just Menagerie a cat that isn't selling if you don't want to take it home and breed it. ( With the advent of being able to put the boxes in Image mode and know the sex before birthing, its MUCH easier to sell a box now than it used to be! Take advantage of this when possible, as you don't have to feed a box.)

You don't want to become known as the seller who has fire sales. Then why would anyone pay full price for your cats when they could just wait and let you feed it for a week and get it at your fire sale? Now if you initially set a cat out at a certain price, then look around and see other similar cats priced for less..it's ok to adjust. Talk to other sellers too. There is also a pricing group you may want to check out.

secondlife:///app/group/3a133ff2-defd-03c5-14f3-c26e2a9c2549/about
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How do I know who to partner my cat with?

When choosing a partner for a cat, remember to not only look at the traits each cat is showing, but look at the parents of each cat as well. Learn the recessiveness order of traits and you will make better decisions. Saga Felix maintains several documents on this that are well worth checking out frequently. Remember that the most dominant trait is what will be showing.

It's like a crap shoot...each cat rolls the dice at every breeding to see if it will throw its hidden or its shown for each trait...then of those two traits, the more dominant one will show on the kitten. Thats why you can get different looking kittens from the same parents, the parents don't 'throw' or give to the kitten, the same traits every time. Here are links to the trait documents.

Traits:

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Ak_Wqb33nVpndGtPQTIzN1Z3MzAyMGtmRW5yQUhta1E&sort=name&layout=list&pid=0B0_Wqb33nVpnZWYwNGViMGMtYWU4ZS00ZjAyLTk4OTctMzk2YzljODliMDhm&cindex=2

Furs:

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Ak_Wqb33nVpndHhxT3RqQ1dtNV9WdDMtZUtaOGx0Q3c&sort=name&layout=list&pid=0B0_Wqb33nVpnZWYwNGViMGMtYWU4ZS00ZjAyLTk4OTctMzk2YzljODliMDhm&cindex=1

Eyes:

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Ak_Wqb33nVpndFYtNGtTZ2dHZHgyMjZydjA5Z2VzS1E&sort=name&layout=list&pid=0B0_Wqb33nVpnZWYwNGViMGMtYWU4ZS00ZjAyLTk4OTctMzk2YzljODliMDhm

These are also available through the KittyCatS forum under general discussion.
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RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Tad Carlucci - 12-08-2012 07:07 AM

I'll merge most of that in. My first pass at it was based on scanning postings on the web site. I left out things like the icon meanings in hover-text and the specifics for starter creation because, to my mind, the correct answer for those is `RTFM' since they're already documented in the Manual section. I'll add links to TFM instead of the full text.


RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Saga Felix - 12-08-2012 10:12 AM

Brilliant, Tad <3

My only objection is about the times where you simply write "RTFM". Perhaps all Americans know what that means, but very few from everywhere else in the entire world would. All in all, the numerous American abbreviations are not easy - it took the KittyCatS community to teach me what a "CSR" is, for instance. I simply never knew.

Try "Read the manual, HERE" (link being HERE) or something like that... it's easier to understand, and to be honest also a wee bit kinder ;-)

Other than that, A+ from here Big Grin

-Saga


RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Tad Carlucci - 12-08-2012 10:20 AM

Changed.


RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - CordeliaSloan Resident - 12-08-2012 04:25 PM

(12-08-2012 10:12 AM)Saga Felix Wrote:  Brilliant, Tad <3

My only objection is about the times where you simply write "RTFM". Perhaps all Americans know what that means, but very few from everywhere else in the entire world would. All in all, the numerous American abbreviations are not easy - it took the KittyCatS community to teach me what a "CSR" is, for instance. I simply never knew.

Try "Read the manual, HERE" (link being HERE) or something like that... it's easier to understand, and to be honest also a wee bit kinder ;-)

Other than that, A+ from here Big Grin

-Saga

Hey now, I am American and I don't know what those mean either. I only know that CSR is the person you ask when something goes wrong, but dunno what it means. Tongue and never heard of RTFM


RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Bea Shamrock - 12-08-2012 04:46 PM

I believe it's not Menagerie kitties but Fancie kitties obtained through gems that produce a gem with each box.


RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Tad Carlucci - 12-08-2012 05:59 PM

Corrected.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rtfm


RE: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Kayleigh McMillan - 12-08-2012 06:58 PM

(12-08-2012 04:25 PM)CordeliaSloan Resident Wrote:  Hey now, I am American and I don't know what those mean either. I only know that CSR is the person you ask when something goes wrong, but dunno what it means. Tongue and never heard of RTFM

This Dutchie is guessing:
RTFM = Read The F*cking Manual ?
CSR = CuStomer Reanimator*/ Relations ?

* After the customer learned more about the price of a product.