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In mid-December of 1996, Dr. Cat was contemplating how he should put his honorary Ph.D. from Clown College to some use. He decided he wanted to make something that would create fun and enjoyment for people all over the world, while at the same time letting him sit at home at his computer all day. An idea popped into his head and he sat down at the computer and started busily programming.
A few hours later, he completed a program he called Furcadia, which was a text-based chat program in which the chatters pretended they were animals. In the first version, the choices for species were cat, dog and mouse. Since there were no graphics, the program inserted "Meow!" "Arf!" or "Squeak!" in front of each line a chatter typed, denoting their species. Horses were not included in the first version, because Dr. Cat wasn't quite sure how to spell "Neigh!" No logfiles were ever kept from this period of Furcadia, but here is an approximation of what could have happened.
Dr. Cat: Meow! I think you spelled your name wrong.
Matimeo: Squeak! Oops!
Dr. Cat: Meow! Why don't you recreate it?
Firebrant: Arf! Too late, I already have that alt.
Matimeo: Squeak! Darn!
Dr. Cat was extremely proud of what he had created, but he was worried that it would not become popular if it wasn't more visually appealing. Since he only took Origami as his art elective in high school, he felt that there wasn't much he could do to, from an artistic standpoint, to improve Furcadia. One morning, he took a leisurely walk in his favorite kimono while he tried to come up with some ideas to make Furcadia more interesting.
During his walk, Dr. Cat spotted a lamp sitting on the ground next to a cactus. He became very curious and, remembering back to stories he was told in childhood, he knew what he had to do. He knelt down and rubbed the cactus.
After a loud yelp and a quick glance around to make sure no one witnessed his mistake, Dr. Cat cursed at himself, and wished aloud that he hadn't done such a silly thing. At that very moment, Talzhemir appeared before him. She informed him that his wish was granted, and that he had two wishes left. Dr. Cat, realizing he was no longer in pain, was absolutely astonished. It didn't take him long, however, to realize he had found what he was looking for.
Dr. Cat explained his wish to Talzhemir and, in the wink of an eye, she created the graphics for Furcadia, and slapped Dr. Cat for winking at her. Dr. Cat then used his last wish to wish that Talzhemir hadn't slapped him. Talzhemir granted his wish, and then slapped him again. Dr. Cat yelled, "OW!! WHAT THE F--" Just then he noticed several small children looking up at him intently. Dr. Cat quickly stopped himself from completing that profanity and, unsure of what to say, started nervously rambling, "...'ello! Er... Nnn..." One of the children asked, "Felorin? What's that?" Dr. Cat replied, "Why... um... that's my name! Yeah! :X)"
Thus, the legacy of Furcadia began.
It's now been nearly ten years since that fateful day, and, for some crazy reason, Furcadia is still growing and becoming more popular every day. On this website over the next couple weeks, you will find a growing collection of Furcadian memories. You'll also find many memorable quotes from various furres from all over the last ten years, most of whom probably had no idea their quotes were being saved all this time for an occasion such as this.
Stay tuned, and tell all your friends. Come on, you gotta have at least one!