The variety of characters, locale, and factions in The Witcher 3 are some of the factors that make it a stand-out RPG. It's still one of the most popular games on multiple consoles, including PC, and part of that popularity stems from the complex, interconnected lore that isn't always right in the players' faces.
There are several Witcher Schools in The Witcher series, but not all of them are directly seen in-game. The School of the Cat is one of the few schools that actually sees direct representation in the games, as Geralt must help Cat School Witchers in both Velen and Novigrad at different points in his quest.
6 They Are The Only Witcher School That Trains Non-Humans
The Witcher School of the Cat is a unique Witcher School for a number of reasons. Their students are by far the deftest and they have very different values to the typical values of the various Witcher schools. One such value is the willingness to train non-humans, chiefly Elves.
Typically, Witchers are human males who were either cast out by their society, given to the Witchers as payment, or found by a Witcher with nowhere to go. The Cat School may have some strange ideas when it comes to neutrality, but they are the only ones that look to train elves (and theoretically other non-humans) as well.
5 The School of the Cat Was Technically The Third To Split Off
In the lore of The Witcher games, there was an Order of Witchers founded long ago to oversee and utilize the many Witchers that were created as a result of human experimentation. Many Witchers did not like how the Order ran things, though, and the founders of the Bear School betrayed the order to split off and form a new Witcher faction.
Then, after some time, the founders of the Viper School split off from the Bear School, much in the same way that they betrayed the original Order. After this ordeal, some of the remaining Witchers formed the Cat School with a focus on enhanced mutations and political influence – they didn't betray the order as the Bear School Witchers did, though – they simply left in the dead of night and took supplies with them.
4 Their Training Focuses On Attributes Like Dexterity, Flexibility, and Precision
The Cat School, as its name might imply, focuses its training on cat-like attributes such as dexterity, flexibility, precision, evasiveness, and speed in combat. Whereas the Bear School and, to a lesser extent, the Viper School, focus on heavy armor and defensive tactics, Cat School Witchers dance around their opponents with unmatched speed and skill.
The Cat School Witchers wear very light armor, so light that it hardly impedes natural movement. This is because the fighting styles of Cat School Witchers revolve around the natural form and using one's own potential to cause damage. As a result, they are very proficient in seeking out critical attacks of opportunity and opening up enemy armor with fast, precise attacks.
3 The Cat School Doesn't Stay Neutral Like Other Schools
Typically, a Witcher does not hold any bonds; they avoid contact with family, generally stay distant from other Witchers (even from the same school), and certainly don't favor one contract over another simply due to national allegiances. The Cat School, however, was partially founded to be a political influence on the region, going against a foundational tenet of most Witcher schools.
Their training and acceptance of Elves is but one signal that this school does things a bit differently. In the Gwent spin-off card game based on The Witcher, it is said that Cat School witchers are known for choosing steel over silver most of the time – which means they are more than willing to take on humanoid targets, for political purposes.
2 Cat School Witchers Make Their Home In A Traveling Caravan
The Witcher School of the Cat was once based in Stygga Castle, atop a mountain in Ebbing. It wasn't their non-neutrality that led to their downfall, though – it was actually the mutation-enhancing experiments they performed on themselves that killed and deformed a number of students.
One student escaped from a pile of discarded bodies of failed experiments and fled the castle to find locals. Eventually, nearby nations stopped dealing with the Cat School entirely, and led an assault (with the Witchers who survived the horrendous tests) to kill every Cat School witcher in the castle. Since then, the remaining members have become nomads.
1 The Final Test For Students Is An Ever-Rising Tightrope Walk
The final test for students of the Cat School is one that starts out easy, but eventually becomes one of the most nerve-wracking tests given in any of the schools. The bottom of a gigantic tight rope is tied close to the ground, with the other end tied far away, high above the ground.
Students wishing to pass their training must make it all the way up the tightrope with no mistakes. It's easy at first, as the rope is barely above the ground, but towards the end the student will have to balance on the rope countless feet above the ground – making death all but certain for those who fail.