Amber Coatimundi

One of the most common pets in the Shattered Isles is the amber coatimundi. It is a small mammal reminiscent of a long-legged raccoon or a lemur, weighing around 15-20 lbs. They stand a foot at the withers and measure 4' long on average, over half of which is tail length. The undercoat of their pelt is black, but the longer fur and guard hairs are honey-golden with lighter stripes along the back and tail. They have long, flexible snouts, sharp canines and claws, and nimble digits, enabling them to scale trees and buildings with ease. Formerly an entirely mundane creature somewhat ill-suited to close companionship in civilized areas, the amber coati gained its sun-touched coat and wheat-bright eyes during the Shattering some eleven millennia hence. The amber coati has a higher intelligence and greater interest in social bonding than its natural predecessors. They are not so arcana-infused that they can function as familiars, but their unexpected mental and behavioral mutations have made them remarkably well-suited as companion animals to those with a certain lifestyle. Amber coati are comparable to harper collies for intelligence and potential for destruction if not properly trained and entertained. They are resistant to obedience training that they consider boring, but they have a strong sense of curiosity and cleverness, and they enjoy puzzles, challenging games, and having a "job" alongside their chosen person. Because they are easy-to-feed omnivores who can scavenge for their own meals in the nearby forest or eat basic travel rations like a kinvar, many travelers and merchants enjoy coati company on the road.

Basics of Care

When hand-raised from a just-weaned pup, an amber coati can bond very intensely with its person. If it receives good care, it will become a lifelong companion that will be affectionate, helpful, protective, and frequently obnoxious in its willingness to stick its long nose into whatever its person is doing. Due to their magic-touched nature, amber coati have longer lifespans than their natural cousins, often living into their 30s in good health. In general, a kinvar should expect their coati to keep itself fairly clean, fed, and watered. Occasional grooming can be an excellent social-bonding activity, however, and helps keep the dust of travel or small parasites from lingering in the coati's sunny fur. (Do not be surprised to find the coati returning the favor, snuffling and combing its claws through its person's hair.) Bathing in water should not be necessary unless an accident occurs, as coati do not typically coat themselves in filth. If staying indoors for prolonged periods, a potty pan or litter box should be provided and cleaned daily; some coati can even learn to use the same chamberpot as their kinvar. Coatimundi pups are voracious and energetic insectivores, and they should be allowed and encouraged to dig up snacks from the forest floor. In a setting where no insects are present, kinvar-made treats should be placed under sturdy rugs or fallen leaves for enrichment. Young coati are gregarious and will bond easily with each other, their kinvar, and any animal companions their kinvar may have; introducing an adult coati to strangers is much more difficult. When possible, it is recommended to have two female coati pups to raise together, but males should be raised alone; adult females will be hostile towards adult males except during breeding season.

Training

Coati training is the primary concern of the would-be keeper, and it is vital to understand that coati should not be trained as dogs are, but more like cats may be. Amber coati of any age will be incessantly nosy and curious about their surroundings, and this energy should be appropriately redirected when possible to avoid destructive tendencies or accidents. For pups, treats and toys can suffice as their occupations, but they will ignore most attempts at standard obedience training and must be "tricked" into training. A diligent keeper will accustom their pup to paying attention to whatever the keeper is interacting with, making even challenging puzzles easy to solve with the right-placed treat. Amber coati are diurnal, which may make them less ideal a companion to nocturnal races, like moon elves. While older pups and adults can entertain themselves for short periods of time without necessarily destroying anything, coati are not animals to be left alone for many hours on end. When accompanying their kinvar, coati can often seem well-behaved while intently surveying their surroundings, but even the changing scenery of travel will eventually bore a coati. Kinvari are advised to keep a variety of toys on hand to distract their coati in the absence of a task that the coati can perform alongside them. Fetch is particularly beloved by most coati, though their keeper must be aware of their surroundings before throwing an object. Coatimundi are very talkative animals and make a wide variety of sounds, including snorts, grunts, chirps, and chitters. Many coati will default to "conversation" once they have become bored with their situation but before they resort to mischief, making this uptick in chatter a useful cue for their keepers to distract them. Some coati are naturally chatty all of the time and will gladly participate in a mutually-unintelligible call-and-response conversation with their keepers, and sometimes with other animals with similar natures as well. (Smaller hound dogs and pyramid cats are especially prone to such talk when encountering a friendly coati.) For their size, amber coati are quite capable of defending themselves from other animals--including raccoons, badgers, dogs, and even wolverines--and they will often try to defend their person from much larger threats. A kinvar must be careful to keep their coati out of harm's way in a truly dangerous situation; many keepers keep a comfortable vest-like harness on their coati for grab-and-run emergencies. Thankfully, even a defensive coati will usually follow its kinvar away from danger unless it is pinned or otherwise restrained, which is difficult to manage for wild animals and unprepared kinvari. Coati should never be purposefully trained to violently defend or attack on command, as coati will notoriously make their own decisions on who or what is worthy of such wrath. Children and other pets are not exempt from this danger. Responsible keepers will instead train their coati to come to them in a fraught situation to avoid risk to all involved.

In Conclusion

Many travelers in the Shattered Isles swear by their coati companions, and these beautiful creatures can provide many years of entertainment and enrichment. Their cleverness, cuddliness, and talkative demeanors make them unique and rewarding little friends. In the Isles, amber coati are only matched by domestic dogs for their popularity and closeness to their keepers. Would-be keepers are advised to speak with other keepers or reputable breeders before adopting a pup of their own to make sure their lifestyles are compatible with coati needs. Once an amber coati has bonded to a kinvar, it is nearly impossible to rehome and may become a dangerous, half-feral shadow to a kinvar who no longer wants it around. Always adopt responsibly!