Among the countless mysteries of the Feline Legions, the Catstartes Chapters, one of the most legendary and at the same time most feared are the Dreadcats - also called the "Immortal Warriors of Allcat" or the "Guardians of Miaustropolis". These are the few Catstartes who, despite mortal wounds inflicted in battle, did not bow even to their own death. Thanks to the biomechanical wonders of the Adeptus Felinicus and Adeptus Meowcanicus, their Feline Spirit and warrior instinct were enchanted into immensely powerful, walking war machines, also called "Iron Meowconstructs".

Dreadcats are a rare sight on battlefields, and their presence in a given Cat Empire campaign or even within the specific operations of a Catstartes Chapter is almost a sacred event. Not every Catstartes, even the bravest, attains this destiny - only those whose spirit is unbroken, and whose purrs still echo through the Cat Aether, are encased in these majestic war constructs.

Their powerful mechanical claws crush tanks, and the pulse cannons and flamethrowers mounted in their armor can destroy entire enemy squads in a single salvo. Despite their massive appearance, their movements are surprisingly quick and precise, reflecting the animal grace they retain even in death.
For traitors to the Cat Empire, the sight of a Dreadcat striding is a harbinger of inevitable doom.

Dreadcat The Purring Guardians in Battle.

Not every Catstartes can become a Dreadcat. Only those whose spirit remains unbroken, whose devotion to the Allcat has not wavered even in the face of mortal wounds, may attain this honour. When a warrior's body is nearly destroyed in battle, his brethren bring it to the priests of the Adeptus Felinicus and Adeptus Miaucanicus. There, in the holy cathedrals of technology, the ritual that transforms him into a Dreadcat begins.
First, the surviving fragments of the body are placed in a special cryo-capsule, sustaining life and protecting the soul from dissipating into the Dark Meow of the Cat Chaos. Then the Adeptus Miaucanicus constructs a new, mechanical shell for the warrior - a mighty, walking armour made of a holy amalgam of Methorite Steel and Litterium. Built into this shell are claws capable of tearing through even the armor and flesh of the Void's Rotten Fangs, as well as meowing plasma cannons whose sound terrifies even the most feral Xenos.

Calling up a worthy Catstartes, kept on the brink of death, to be made a Dredcat.

The process of awakening a Dredcat is not always successful. Some Catstartes are unable to bear the confinement of their mechanical bodies and fall into madness, their meows becoming incoherent and their minds drowning in the madness beyond the Purr of the Divine Purr. However, those who survive return to the fight as living legends.
Their voices are deep, resonant with metallic echoes, and their bodies are adorned with sacred inscriptions written by the priests of Meowus. They are not only warriors, but also guardians of tradition and memory. Some Dredcats are thousands of years old, dating back to the Meowus Heresy. Their tales are passed down through generations, and their presence on the battlefield inspires loyalists and strikes fear in the hearts of traitors.

The Dreadcat core with the Catstartes within it, ready to be fused with the Iron Meowconstruct.

Each Chapter of Catstartes has only a handful of Dreadcats among its ranks, as the technology of their creation is both mysterious and incredibly expensive. They are treated with almost religious reverence, and their names are passed down in war songs and Sagas, inscribed on the walls of the most sacred Cat temples.
Some Dreadcats live in this state for hundreds of years, still fighting in the name of the Allcat and the Glory of the Cat Empire.
They do not sleep. They do not rest. Their being is one of constant war, and their purring, though mechanized, still fills the battlefields, striking fear into the hearts of their enemies and hope into the hearts of their loyal Kits. Their being is identified with the service of the Adeptus Pawplicia - the First Generation of Kits, whose Eternal Status as the never-resting guardians of the Golden Throne of Litterium.

One of the most powerful Dreadcats in history is Ferrmius Meows, once Captain of the Catstartes - Maned Warning. During the Meowus Heresy he was mortally wounded by the Blood Claws, but his spirit did not give up. The Adeptus Meowcanicus sealed him in the sarcophagus of a Purrnihilator-class Dreadcat, armed with the Meow Arm and the Talons of Meow Fury. For millennia he led his Cat brothers into battle, his war roar echoing across the battlefields, and his legendary quote engraved on his armor reads:


- Continued: Divine Catnip

Ferrmius Meows - A Purrnihilator-class Dreacat.

A quote from one of the oldest Dreadcats, Garrus Brokeclaw, who fought in the Meowus Heresy and still fights in the outer reaches of the Galaxy:

"Did you think the purring had stopped? No. It still echoes through the aether. And I will forever remind you who truly rules the Cat Imperium."