Cats That Had the Hardest Lives by Silverdusk

Silverdusk lists cats who have gone through a lot during their life.

Hii!! My name is Silverdusk and in this article I’m going to list cats who have had the most difficult lives. This isn’t in any order btw!

1) Ferncloud

Most people don’t usually think about Ferncloud when they’re talking about warrior cats that had hard lives, but she really has had some struggles!
First, her littermates Elderkit and Tulipkit died, which must’ve upset her. Then, her mother Brindleface died, killed by Tigerstar to give the dog pack in the forest a taste for cat blood. But that isn’t the end of it. Ferncloud’s son, Shrewpaw, was hit by a monster and killed and Hollykit and Larchkit died of starvation. You see cats go mad with grief from losing just 1 kit. Imagine the pain of losing three! And as if that wasn’t enough, Ferncloud’s only surviving brother Ashfur was killed. Ferncloud was happy, with her beloved mate Dustpelt and her job as a full time nursery queen, but she really did lose quite a bit.

2) Ashfur

Ashfur, Ferncloud’s brother, also went through a lot. First, the loss of Tulipkit and Elderkit, his siblings. Then Brindleface was killed, leaving Ashfur undoubtedly grief-stricken and lonely. But the worst thing of all, the thing that shattered Ashfur’s heart and turned him into a villain, was Squirrelflight. This ginger she-cat, who has been crushed on by 3 toms, which is like a warrior cat record, was once Ashfur’s good friend. But he wanted to be more then that and so did she— until she decided that Brambleclaw would be a better mate for her. Squirrelflight didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, but she really hurt Ashfur.

Ashfur’s hunger for revenge led him to his demise when Hollyleaf killed to stop him from spreading Squirrelflight’s dark secret at a Gathering. Ashfur’s life was dark and lonely without Squirrelflight and nobody can say that this speckled grey tom didn’t have a hard life without her.

3) Crowfeather

Crowfeather, the prickly grey WindClan warrior, loved 2 she-cats over the course of his life. First, there was Feathertail. This silver tabby saw past Crowpaw’s rough exterior, to the kinder heart within. But Feathertail gave her life to save Crowpaw from the mountain lion Sharptooth and Crowfeather never stopped feeling responsible for that. He even asked Tallstar to be called Crowfeather in honour of Feathertail. Then Crowfeather fell in love with Leafpool. They ran away from their Clans together, but Leafpool made the decision to go back, breaking Crowfeather’s heart again. So Crowfeather became mates with Nightcloud from his own Clan and had Breezepelt with her, but he never loved her like how he loved Leafpool & Feathertail. And it hurt the dark grey tom every day he was away from them, though eventually he did find peace with himself and managed to find happiness.

4) Mapleshade

This tortoiseshell ThunderClan she-cat was a loyal warrior that many cats thought would one day be leader. But then she fell in love with a RiverClan warrior named Appledusk. She had his kits and shdb her Clan found out, she was exiled. She tried to carry her children across the river to RiverClan, but they were snatched from her grip by the current and drowned. Mad with grief, Mapleshade continued her journey to RiverClan, only to be completely rejected by Appledusk, who blamed her for their kits’ deaths. Alone, guilty and grieving, Mapleshade plotted her revenge and, plagued by hallucinations of her dead kits telling her to kill, she murdered Appledusk and attempted to do the same to Appledusk’s new mate Reedshine, only to be attacked by Perchpaw and to die of the injuries she had suffered. This poor cat only wanted love and safety- but instead she was rejected time and time again until she made the bad choices that would result in her ending up in the Dark Forest for the rest of her days. Poor Mapleshade!!!

5) Bluestar

This blue-grey leader has been heartbroken again and again. Firstly, Bluepaw’s mother Moonflower died in the rather pointless battle against WindClan. Then, Snowfur, Bluefur’s sister, was struck by a monster and killed. Bluefur, now alone, went into a depressed state. When she recovered, she became mates with a RiverClan warrior called Oakheart and had his kits. She was forced to give them up so that the blood-thirsty cat, Thistleclaw, who would drown ThunderClan in death if he succeeded in becoming leader, wouldn’t rise to power. This was a painful decision she had to live and suffer with every day. Mosskit, one of Bluestar’s kits, died before she could go to RiverClan with Oakheart, frozen to death in the cold night.
But that isn’t all.

Bluestar’s deputy, Redtail, was killed by Tigerstar, who told Bluestar the little tortoiseshell deputy had been killed by Oakheart, who Tigerclaw had apparently killed as an act of revenge. So that’s 2 cats she cared about that died right there. Then Bluestar’s second deputy, Lionheart , died in a battle against ShadowClan. And Bluestar’s third deputy, Tigerclaw, betrayed her and tried to kill her. In the end she died saving her final deputy, Fireheart, from the dog pack that killed Brindleface. So Bluestar’s life was really heartbreaking.

6) Crookedstar

Crookedstar, like Bluestar, has faced many challenges. He was once known as Stormkit; then he broke his jaw and his cruel mother Rainflower renamed him Crookedkit. Crookedstar had to deal with his mother Rainflower’s death, which upset him despite her nasty attitude toward him. Next, Crokkedjaw’s father Shellheart, who was deputy, retired and died of cancer(I think?)
Then Hailstar chose Crookedjaw as deputy and died shortly after that, killed by rats. Then Crookedstar became leader and has kits with the love of his life, Willowbreeze. She died of greencough after her kitting, followed by 2 of her kits, Minnowkit and Willowkit. Only Silverkit survived and Crookedstar spoiled her. Oakheart, Crookedstar’s brother and deputy, died in the battle over Sunningrocks, which must’ve hurt Crookedstar as they were very close.
Silverkit, Crookedstar’s daughter, became Silverstream and broke the warrior code to be with a ThunderClan warrior, Graystripe.
(I LOVE SilverxGray)
Then, sadly, Silverstream died of blood-loss during her kitting, devastating Crookedstar. So now he has no more kin. But at least they were all waiting for him in StarClan and eventually they all reunited.

7) Leafpool

Leafpool fell in love with the WindClan warrior, Crowfeather. She loved him so much– but then she had to make the choice: Crowfeather or her Clan. She chose Crowfeather, but when she learned about the attack that was going to be launched on her Clan, ThunderClan, she had to come and help, even if it meant giving up Crowfeather. Cinderpelt, Leafpool’s fellow medicine cat, died in the battle, killed by one of the rampaging badgers. Leafpool was completely devastated by this. Then, Leafpool gave birth to Crowfeather’s kits. Nobody knew except for Squirrelflight, Leafpool’s sister, who agreed to take care of Hollykit, Lionkit and Jaykit as if they were her own. Not even Squirrelflight’s mate, Brambleclaw, knew!! Leafpool had to watch her kits grow up without even knowing that she was the mother and eventually hate her for lying when they found out.

8) Squirrelflight

Squirrelflight is without a doubt the BEST sister there ever was. She raised Leafpool’s kits as her own, even when it meant she had to lie to her mate Brambleclaw. Eventually, Ashfur threatened to kill Lionblaze, Jayfeather and Hollyleaf to try and hurt Squirrelflight and in an attempt to save them she said that she wasn’t their mother. Hollyleaf revealed this at a Gathering and Brambleclaw broke it off with her. Hollyleaf disappeared into the tunnels in ThunderClan territory and was presumed to be dead when a rockslide sealed her in. So Squirrelflight had to deal with that, as well as Jayfeather and Lionblaze hating her for lying. Even when Squirrelflight made up with them and had kits with Bramblestar (for real this time) two of them died. And then Leafpool, Squirrelflight’s best friend in the whole wide world, died. Just imagine all the pain Squirrelflight’s been through!!!

9) Briarlight

Having a hard life doesn’t necessarily mean losing cats you love. Briarlight’s life was difficult because her hindlegs were paralyzed when a tree fell into the hollow, meaning she could only drag herself around by her forepaws. She was remarkably bright and enthusiastic despite her life-changing injury, which is one of the reasons I love Briarlight. Briarpaw’s distress over her legs brought tears to my eyes. Poor Briarlight!!!

10) Cinderpelt

Like Briarlight, Cinderpelt also had to deal with an injury. She wanted to be a warrior, maybe even leader, but then she was hit by a monster and broke her leg. Cinderpelt became a medicine cat, giving up her hopes of being a warrior, which is so sad. Cinderpelt’s energy and enthusiasm is a lot like Briarlight. Cinderpelt’s whole life changed and she also had to give up on her hope of being with Firestar (if she really did have a crush on him, I don’t know if it’s been confirmed)
But Cinderpelt was such a great medicine cat and though I feel bad she couldn’t ever be a warrior, I don’t think ThunderClan would’ve been the same without her skills. Not to mention that ThunderClan wouldn’t have a medicine cat after Yellowfang died if Cinderpelt had been a warrior. It’s good that Cinderpelt got a chance to live her warrior life as Cinderheart.

Anyway, that’s all I have for this article!!
I hope you enjoyed it and have a great day!
~Silverdusk~