Server : Drinal
 Website :  http://www.catsinhats.net/
 Timezone : America/New_York

 Members : 109
 Average level : 80

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Cats In Hats was originally formed on Mithaniel Marr in mid-July 2000 with the goal of providing a guild to those players who wanted to raid high-end mobs but didn’t want to or couldn’t apply to the guild Afterlife. The name was chosen as something silly which reflected the guild’s fun-loving character after the original choice “The Goonies” was rejected. Starting with a conversation between Radigan and Emrok, the newly formed guild drew heavily from The Proven, a guild of ex-Regisque members which was created after that guild disbanded. During the first week, Cats In Hats grew quickly to create a solid foundation of players with which to begin raiding. The guild found recruits among ex-members of guilds such as Regisque Futuri, Soldalitas de Veritas (and its successor Burning Circle), Ma Yuan and the like, all guilds which disbanded in the months following the release of Kunark. Membership was open to just about any high level player who was recommended and approved by members who happened to be online at the time. An important point was that members invited were given a clean slate. Any reputation they had before joining was ignored, and all members had to prove themselves once in the guild. This started a tradition that continues today. Once it was decided there were enough members to support the goal of raiding, open recruitment was ended, being eventually replaced by what would evolve into the current recruiting process.

The first official raid by Cats In Hats was on Lord Nagafen. This successful raid was followed by a Lady Vox kill and then a trip to Fear. All of this occurred within the first two weeks of the guild, allowing members to get to know each other and setting a precedent for a heavy schedule of raiding that continues today.

It was obvious from the start that Cats In Hats also formed to provide competition to Afterlife, which dominated the high-level game on Mithaniel Marr. There were several confrontations surrounding Trakanon, but as Afterlife moved on to Veeshan’s Peak, Cats In Hats was able to practice on their first true “New World” challenge. After several attempts Trakanon was finally taken down, and what emerged was a solid raiding guild that was here to stay.

Competition with Afterlife had always been a severe handicap to Cats In Hats. Fortunately the powers that be deemed Mithaniel Marr ready for a server split, and Cats In Hats moved to Drinal. This new server, formed from server splits of Mithaniel Marr and Tunare, provided Cats In Hats with room to mature without fear of competition. On the newly formed server, Cats In Hats was in a class by itself. Trakanon was taken down by Cats In Hats during the first week of Drinal’s existence, and would continue to be taken down by Cats In Hats for several months before any other organization on the server could attempt to do so. In fact, some Trakanon raids took so little time that some people on the server simply could not believe that Cats In Hats could do so legitimately, at one point even asking GMs to shadow CiH raids.

To avoid competition and confrontation, Cats In Hats has always tried to stay a step ahead of other high-end guilds and organizations. Being at the very peak of the pyramid allows the guild the flexibility to do what it does best-take down high-end mobs-while being able to allow other guilds on the server the room to find their own path. This suits the personality of the guild just fine. CiH has always been a totally self-sufficient guild, and is perfectly content in its own little end-game world.

The history of the guild isn’t a fairy tale come true, however. Several times the guild has been on the brink of disintegration, and only the dedication, flexibility, and integrity of its members has saved the guild. One example is from the last few weeks of using the points system. It was obvious that the system wasn't working, so the guild officers sat down and came up with the current loot awarding system. This system wouldn't be the highly successful system it is today without the dedication of the guildmembers and the integrity of their officers. Another example comes from the months prior to Luclin release. A lowpoint in active membership necessitated the partnering of Cats In Hats with Crimson Twilight. Originally a highly debated decision in guildchat, this alliance proved extremely beneficial to both guilds. Flexibility of the Cats In Hats members meant they could continue raiding, while Crimson Twilight gained experience in the very high-endgame world. With the release of Luclin, the alliance was no longer needed and both guilds went their separate ways. However, both guilds came away with better mutual understanding, and the endgame on Drinal has surely improved from the former alliance.

With very few exceptions, Cats In Hats can claim Drinal firsts for almost all of the high-end mobs on the face of Norrath and Luclin. An aggressive recruiting policy has ensured that the guild retains an active core of players with which to raid almost every night. Some may claim that Cats In Hats isn’t that great of a guild, since it has no game-wide firsts. However, those who claim such ignore the fact that the average Cats In Hats member has a pretty normal and active life outside of Everquest. They may be a full-time student, have a full-time job, or have a family to take care of. This makes the accomplishments of Cats In Hats even more amazing.

These Drinal first accomplishments include: First Trakanon kill; first entrance into and subsequent clearing of Veeshan’s Peak; first Velketor kill; first killings of the Velious leaders Dain Frostreaver IV, King Tormax, Lord Yelinak; first exploration of Western Wastes; first killing of Klandicar; first killing of Sontalak; first killing of Zlandicar; first exploration of west wing of Temple of Veeshan and subsequent first killings of the west wing dragons; first entrance into North wing of Temple of Veeshan; first clearing of North ToV, including killing Lord Vulak and Vyemm; first exploration of Sleeper’s Tomb; first killing of each of the four Warders; waking of the Sleeper on Drinal; first killing of Statue of Rellos Zek; first killing of Avatar of War; first clearing of updated fear and hate zones, including first kill of Cazic Thule 2.0; first killing of Tunare; first killing of Bristlebane; first killing of high-end Luclin mobs like Grieg, Burrower Parasite, Glyphed Covered Serpent, Arch Lich Rhag’ Zadune, Blood of Ssraeshzaen, High Preist of Ssraeshza, Rhag’ Zhezum, Rhag’ Mozdezh, The Itraer Vius, Vyzh’dra the Cursed, Vyzh’ dra the Exhiled, and Xerkizh the Creator; and first attempts to kill the Emporer on the way to getting into Vex Thal.

Over two years after its formation, Cats In Hats continues to be an active and highly successful end-game raiding guild. The guild's original goal of high-end raiding, facing challenges and overcoming them, and simply having fun while doing it continues today, with no end in sight and a never-ending line of mobs waiting to be killed in the future.