Shifting Perspectives: The forgotten feral form

Shifting Perspectives is the Druid column normally written by someone else other than Ryan Carter, but he is currently cutting his level 68 teeth on everything that moves, so he is filling in for your regularly scheduled Druids, who are on vacation in Nagrand and points beyond.

Moonkins, mongeese, and bears oh my! Is there a reason that everyone hates cats, or is it that no one likes them? As a Druid, I hear about Dire Bear tanks, I hear about those party-animals, the Moonkins dps-ing their way into the lime light, and of course those restro Druids, who hang out with healers. What about the feral kitty? Why does no one play them but me? Is it harder to be a cat, or is it just a misunderstood sub-class? Personally, I love playing the cat, since there are many advantages to this spec. Sure, bears, owlbeasts and trees are great, but since I am biased, let me explain what I consider to be the distinct advantages of playing a kitty.

First off, Prowl (stealth) is an extremely powerful tool in groups, solo, or in an instance. Rogues have this ability too, but putting 3 early talent points into Feral Instinct makes it even harder to detect you when roaming around (like a talent rogues have). Stealth is useful for recon, figuring out the best way to pull a difficult group in an instance or for doing things other classes can't even dream of doing, like soloing LBRS to get your own Smolderweb Hatchling or Worg Pup. I was a level too low to be running LBRS in daylight, yet was inside stealthing through LBRS to get my pets, all alone. Wanna be the talk of the town or do the impossible before it should be possible, roll a druid.

Now, I know that any Druid has stealth, and that this has nothing to do with cat form being awesome, but the point is, once you get there using stealth, the real fun begins. You can use stealth to get close, then using abilities like Pounce, Ferocious Bite, Mangle, and Maim, the fight is over fast. Having the right gear helps for sure, but the cat is a formidable ally or opponent.

Now that I am getting ready to get geared, keyed and run end-game content, I love my kitty even more. I am finding all sorts of new uses for abilities I've had since I was a kitten in Stormwind, just roaming around looking for ankles and gnomes to bite. Maim and Mangle, both higher level abilities cause all kinds of problems for anyone they come up against. Not only is a cat good at higher levels, it is one of the easiest specs for soloing, from level 20 on. With the right gear and talents, I almost feel sorry for the unsuspecting mobs I took out at lower levels, no, not really.

What reasons would you have for not rolling a feral cat Druid? What is it about the cat, or about the other type of druid you like that makes you want to play a different type of Druid? Is that the cat is too complicated, or just not widely-played, and little known?

Many resources online exist for other types of druids, but sadly not many at all for Feral Cats...perhaps us cats should remain a musical? Is it okay with you Druids that this great spec lurks in the shadows and no one cares? What do you think? Let me hear you growl!