Post by Mistybreeze on Apr 6, 2020 0:22:02 GMT -5
Upon seeing the TR Sisters allegiances, I was struck by two things.
1. They are pretty small for a breeding cult.
Allegiances for both SH and TR:
They travel a lot and cast out all toms. Obviously both factors would have a big impact on their population. But they breed like rabbits. They had 2-3 litters* and were expecting another in SH, and 4 in TR, plus 1-2 more that recently left. At the rate they're breeding, how come they don't have more younger she-cats? In fact, they shrank between TR and SH. There's also quite a few single kit litters as well. True singletons are very rare, I think the Clans have only had two that we know of. That would suggest a pretty high mortality rate for kits. But despite the factors limiting their numbers, it seems like their birthrate would be able to counter that a little.
*It's unclear how old Flurry and Sparrow actually are.
2. This brings me to my second observation, they have a lot of toms. 4 out of 6-8 in SH, and 4 out of 8. Now that is pretty average until you consider that there are more toms outside this list of a similar age. In the Clans, the birth ratio clearly leans more towards females. And yet it seems to be the opposite for the Sisters. This could just be the editors doing this to keep them small, but there are some realistic explanations for it.
The research I am going to reference is about humans, but these cats are very humanized. But it is a possibility that an editor heard about this and decided to implement it.
A recent study shows that stress greatly increases the chances of a woman having a girl. Higher levels of cortisol and adrenaline in the mother's body during conception and throughout her pregnancy makes her more likely to have a girl. The reason for this is because boys are more vulnerable in utero. But interestingly, this study also found that mothers with more social support had more boys. Obviously this will greatly reduce the mother's stress which balances out the gender ratio. Another study suggests that women is dominant positions socially are more likely to have sons.
This actually fits what we see with both the Clans and the Sisters. The Clans are under and almost constant state of stress with having to protect their territories from each other and outsiders. By comparison, the Sisters are far more laid back and easy going. They also have the support of the other Sisters, though Clan queens do as well. The Sisters are also large and intimidating and much stronger than the average cat. They seem to fit the more "dominant" position that the one study referred to.
Now I know that this probably nothing. But I found their gender ratio to be really weird. Given how the editors have used genetics lately; related cats having similar body shapes, the Sisters inherently psychic abilites, etc, perhaps they could have made them predisposed to having toms. We know they don't really follow the rules of genetics, so why can't they stretch science a little while they're at it?
1. They are pretty small for a breeding cult.
Allegiances for both SH and TR:
Squirrelflight's Hope:
Moonlight (expecting two she-kits, one tom)
Tempest (mother to Grass and Stone, both toms)
Furze (mother to Creek, tom)
Hawk (mother to Flurry and Sparrow, both she-cats)
Snow
Sunrise
Tree's Roots:
Moonlight (mother to Earth, Sunrise, and Ice, one tom, two she-kits)
Snow (mother to Haze, she-kit)
Furze
Hawk (mother to Sparrow, Chesnut, and Snail, one she-kit, two toms)
Petal (mother to Stream)
Tempest
Two toms, Spider and Mud, are also mentioned. Moonlight also has several older sons as well
Moonlight (expecting two she-kits, one tom)
Tempest (mother to Grass and Stone, both toms)
Furze (mother to Creek, tom)
Hawk (mother to Flurry and Sparrow, both she-cats)
Snow
Sunrise
Tree's Roots:
Moonlight (mother to Earth, Sunrise, and Ice, one tom, two she-kits)
Snow (mother to Haze, she-kit)
Furze
Hawk (mother to Sparrow, Chesnut, and Snail, one she-kit, two toms)
Petal (mother to Stream)
Tempest
Two toms, Spider and Mud, are also mentioned. Moonlight also has several older sons as well
They travel a lot and cast out all toms. Obviously both factors would have a big impact on their population. But they breed like rabbits. They had 2-3 litters* and were expecting another in SH, and 4 in TR, plus 1-2 more that recently left. At the rate they're breeding, how come they don't have more younger she-cats? In fact, they shrank between TR and SH. There's also quite a few single kit litters as well. True singletons are very rare, I think the Clans have only had two that we know of. That would suggest a pretty high mortality rate for kits. But despite the factors limiting their numbers, it seems like their birthrate would be able to counter that a little.
*It's unclear how old Flurry and Sparrow actually are.
2. This brings me to my second observation, they have a lot of toms. 4 out of 6-8 in SH, and 4 out of 8. Now that is pretty average until you consider that there are more toms outside this list of a similar age. In the Clans, the birth ratio clearly leans more towards females. And yet it seems to be the opposite for the Sisters. This could just be the editors doing this to keep them small, but there are some realistic explanations for it.
The research I am going to reference is about humans, but these cats are very humanized. But it is a possibility that an editor heard about this and decided to implement it.
A recent study shows that stress greatly increases the chances of a woman having a girl. Higher levels of cortisol and adrenaline in the mother's body during conception and throughout her pregnancy makes her more likely to have a girl. The reason for this is because boys are more vulnerable in utero. But interestingly, this study also found that mothers with more social support had more boys. Obviously this will greatly reduce the mother's stress which balances out the gender ratio. Another study suggests that women is dominant positions socially are more likely to have sons.
This actually fits what we see with both the Clans and the Sisters. The Clans are under and almost constant state of stress with having to protect their territories from each other and outsiders. By comparison, the Sisters are far more laid back and easy going. They also have the support of the other Sisters, though Clan queens do as well. The Sisters are also large and intimidating and much stronger than the average cat. They seem to fit the more "dominant" position that the one study referred to.
Now I know that this probably nothing. But I found their gender ratio to be really weird. Given how the editors have used genetics lately; related cats having similar body shapes, the Sisters inherently psychic abilites, etc, perhaps they could have made them predisposed to having toms. We know they don't really follow the rules of genetics, so why can't they stretch science a little while they're at it?