Werecat
Werecats or Ailuranthropes are sentient creatures with shapeshifting abilities, being able to take on the appearance of either a human or a large, shaggy cat. Whether they migrated to Alagaësia or were native to the land was unknown. They were quite rare; the few who were alive during Eragon's time did not often reveal themselves. The werecat is usually an individual who can shape-shift into a cat during the night of a full moon.
A werecat (also written in a hyphenated form as were-cat) is a therianthropic creature of folklore, horror, and occultism, described as being a feline shape-shifter similar to a werewolf or werecheetahs. [1][2]An engraving from 1763 depicting a "weretiger" Depending on the story in question, the species involved can be a domestic cat, a tiger, a lion, a leopard, a lynx, or any other felus type, including some that are purely fantastical felines.[5] Typically, an individual werecat can only transform to one unique feline, not to a number of different species, and each individual type of werecat may be known by a more species-specific term such as "werelion". The word "werecat" was not coined until the late 19th century, so it was not directly used in legends from earlier eras, only by later folklorists' commentary.
European folklore usually depicts werecats who transform into domestic cats. Some European werecats became giant domestic cats or panthers. They are generally labelled witches, even though they may have no magical ability other than self-transformation. During the witch trials, the official Church doctrine stated that all shapeshifters, including werewolves, were witches.