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Current: Neutral
Past: N/A
Creature Type
Creature: Cow
Species: Bos primigenius
Book Appearances
Living: Midnight, Outcast, Sunrise, Secrets of the Clans, Escape from the Forest, The Sun Trail

Cows are large, black and white animals that carry "pink bags of milk."[1] Sometimes cows can be brown, but in the Warriors series they are all black and white. They are found throughout the world.


Cows are large animals. Their weight ranges from 147 - 1363 kilograms, and their height between 49 - 52 inches. They have short fur covered in mainly black, white and brown. They have a long, tufted tail. Some have two, hollow horns on their heads. Cows have a long, flap of skin along their neck all the way to the front legs called a "dewlap".[2]

Cows are farm animals that are raised for their milk, meat and leather hides.[3] They mainly eat grass, hay and plants as they are herbivores and they drink heaps of water a day.[4]They eat grass by twisting it around their tongue and cutting it with their lower teeth. They are ruminants, which allows them to breakdown the plants where they consume it. Their stomach has four parts, a rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. The grass goes in their rumen, where it is mixed with special bacteria. Then the food goes into the reticulum, where it breaks down even more. Since it is only partly digested, it is known as "cud," is chewed on. After it is swallowed, it moves onto the omasum and abomasum, where the nutrients are absorbed and the food is broken down to the maxium. The disgestion process takes around 70 to 100 hours.[5]

Mating can occur all year round, but most calves or baby cows are born in the Spring. A calf is normally born after 9 months in gestation. Calfs are able to stand and walk and recognize other cows soon after birth. The mother cow will nurse the calf for 6 months. The next 6 months, the calf becomes a cow and is independent. Females can start mating at about 1 year, and it can continue for the next 12 years of their life. A cow's lifespan can go on for up to 20 years.[6]

Cows live in groups called herds. Each cow must yield to anyone above in hierarchy. In hierarchy, calves adopt to their mother's. The mothers are highly protective of their children, and they will chase anything that threatens them. Female cows share the parental care in the herd. Cows communicate to each other through chemical signals, touch, visual cues and sounds. [7]

Relation to Clan cats

Cows are neutral about hostility to Clan cats. They normally won't do any harm to cats as long as they stay away from their huge feet.[8] They are usually seen enclosed in a field surrounded by a Twoleg fence harmless to cats except for stomping on them.[8] They can't attack cats.[9] Although, if a cat gets too close to a cow, they can do some harmful things to cats, even if they don't mean it.[10] A stampeding herd of cows could trample a cat without them noticing it.[11] Seeing they have a large size, fighting techniques don't do much use. Cows are similiar to horses but much larger and stronger. [10]

Clan cats don't like being near cows.[10] Cats don't like their hot, damp breath.[10] Their tails can slap cats in the face hard without them even realising it. Cats also cannot kill the animals for food, seeing that cows are much stronger and can kill a cat easily without even trying.[10]

Book Mentions

In the Dawn of the Clans Arc

The Sun Trail

While Gray Wing searches for signs of movement in the open, he scrambles backwards as a cow looms over him. He gazes up at it, and sees that more were following it as they through a gap in the line of bushes. He notices that they were bigger than sheep, and as he casts his mind back to the elders' stories, he wonders if they were cows. One of them lets out a deep-throated moo, and Gray Wing remembers how Misty Water loved to imitate the noise, which scared the kits who listened to her tales.

In the New Prophecy Arc


The cats on the journey to the sun-drown place see a group of cows in a fenced field, standing together in the shade of some trees, swishing their tails and munching on long, cool grass, and are unsure if they are dangerous. They notice that the cows ignore them, although they take care to stay away from the cows' giant hooves, which could easily kill a cat if the cat was stepped on, much like a horse.


When the cats on the Great Journey are stopping to shelter at Barley and Ravenpaw's barn, Barley wonders if so many cats are staying at the barn, when the twolegs come to get the cow's straw, they will go crazy.

In the Power of Three Arc


On the way to the Tribe of Rushing Water, Hollypaw, Lionpaw and Jaypaw see cows for the first time in their lives. They worry if the cows will attack the cats, and are scared at the sight of their size. Purdy and Squirrelflight however, comfort the apprentices, by saying that they won't do any harm as long as they stay away from their huge, heavy hooves.


As the cats journeying to find Sol go through the fields, they see some cows. Lionblaze and Hollyleaf remember them from their trip to the mountains. Brambleclaw assures the younger cats that the cows won't attack, although they are still doubtful. The cows gather around them, far closer then the warriors want them to be. Brackenfur leads the patrol out of the group of cows.

In the Tigerstar and Sasha Arc

Escape from the Forest

When Sasha is on the boat, as she is moving, she sees some cows. She never knew that the world could be like that.

In the Ravenpaw's Path Arc

Shattered Peace

When Ravenpaw is introducing the farm, cows are shown to be there.
As Ravenpaw and Barley are going for a walk, they see cows. They cross through their land.
Later when Ravenpaw is walking, Barley wants to speak to him about the visitors, Willie and his group. They pass by some cows on their way.
After the barn gets burnt down, Ravenpaw and Barley decide to stay at the cow's place, as they weren't using it.

The Heart of a Warrior

When Ravenpaw and Barley come back to the barn with Firestar and some other ThunderClan cats, they decide to make their camp at the cowshed.
As Ravenpaw, Barley and the ThunderClan patrol are waiting to strike their attack on the rogues living at the farm, they hear the twolegs feeding the cows and chickens.
Ravenpaw and Barley start to live at the barn again. When Ravenpaw wakes up, he can sense the cows along with the chickens, twolegs and the creak of the barns wooden walls.
At the end, Ravenpaw and Barley are looking at the view of the farm. They see some cows.

In the Field Guide Arc

Secrets of the Clans

Cows are listed as "Other Animals". They are explained to have four legs, and their hooves are to be avoided. It is said that they are harmless, but cats have to be aware of a stampeding herd of cows, as they could crush a cat without realizing it.

References and Citations

  1. Revealed in Midnight, page 200
  2. Revealed on Bos taurus infomation
  3. Revealed on Facts about cows
  4. Revealed on Cows Diet
  5. Revealed on Bos taurus infomation
  6. Revealed on Bos taurus infomation
  7. Revealed on Bos taurus infomation
  8. 8.0 8.1 Revealed in Outcast, page 175
  9. Revealed in Sunrise, page 59
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Revealed in Sunrise, page 60
  11. Revealed in Secrets of the Clans, page 157

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