Because they were often in possession of higher than average abilities, the occasional "metahuman" ability, and often acted either ditzy or had tendencies to act in an irresponsible if friendly manner, reactions to the catgirls were mixed internationally.
In some nations (Libya, Iran, North Korea, France, Afghanistan) - they were seen as abominations and killed or euthenized at birth!
In some nations (Saudi Arabia, most of the Mid East, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam) they were property without any rights of their own.
In a large number of nations (Japan, Australia, Russia, Germany, Norway, etc), catgirls were "pets with rights."
In some few nations, being a catgirl was considered a strange thing and special laws and provisions had to be created because:
a) catgirls typically decided on a particular owner, and then became absolutely devoted to their target of affection. If a catgirl took a liking to you, you'd know it. If she decided that you were The One, well, there was no way you'd be able to ignore it and if you already had a "special someone" in your life they'd better learn to share.
b) prone to sharing. It wasn't unusual for more than one catgirl to focus on one particular mate.
c) cute and cuddly up until the point their friend, mate, or family is threatened. Then the "kitt" gloves were off.
Because the catgirls literally could not help behaving in certain manners, they had to be deemed irresponsible in some of those countries - hence the "pet with rights" category, but other countries insisted that their laws came first - even before reality, and so countries like the United States had a tendency to cause catgirls to either become criminals or to move elsewhere.
The average catgirl was quite simple: (Using Champions stats. 10 is human average, a 15 strength can lift twice that of an average person)
Str:15 Dex:18 Con:10 Body:10 Int:10 Ego:13 Pre:13 Com:24. PD:3, ED:2, Spd: 4, Rec:5, End:20, Stun:22. Cost:55
Discrim. Scent, Enhanced Hearing +3, Claws +1 HTH Damage, Acrobatics 15-, Climbing 14-. Odd talents or abilities (variable)
DISADVANTAGES: Protective of family/loved ones 14-, Compulsive feline behavior 14-, Distinctive looks
In the Seattle Incident, the vast majority of the cute and cuddly catgirls had pretty much been contained within the area of that city. A mere 7,800 in the Seattle area. A few had moved with families and could be scattered about the United States and Canada. As they bred true, it was determined that (as they were also quite affectionate) that the numbers would continue to grow and this would eventually become a viable minority. The virus had spread a little, and there were pockets of other catgirls here and there where the virus had proven contagious before finally dying out with containment procedures and quarantines.
Against your average superhero or typical superhuman martial artist (ie: Ryouga, Ranma, Taro, etc) the typical average catgirl was no match. The problem was that a lot of catgirls were not typical. Some had nearly superhuman intelligence (Ami), or strength (Makoto), or stealth (Hotaru), while others clearly were superhuman (Nuku) or had special abilities that defied normal categorization (Honey).
Ranma had one of the biggest collections of catgirls (due to his nekoken) in Japan. (The biggest collection of catgirls outside Japan was at the Wilde Home For Wayward Catgirls.)
Ranma was just finding all this out as side-effects from his mother's wish. His reaction was:
(Posted Mon, 10 Feb 2003 11:23)
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