3

Could I attune a magical item to my pet cat? There don't appear to be any base requirements for attunement.

NeutralTax
  • 3,060
  • 1
  • 19
  • 52

1 Answers1

8

They likely can attune but it's ultimately up to your GM

Quoting directly from the answer to "Can a familiar attune and wear or use a magic item?":

Yes, [cats] are creatures and, as such, can attune to magic items so long as they meet the requirements for attunement (For example, the magic item cannot require the attuner to be of a certain class, and the DM must deem the familiar capable of wearing/attuning to the particular piece of equipment).

The attunement section states:

Attuning to an item requires a creature to spend a short rest focused on only that item while being in physical contact with it (this can't be the same short rest used to learn the item's properties). 

There are no restrictions on what type of creature can do this, so long as a cat can spend an hour focusing on an item the cat can attune to the item. Whether a creature is capable of focusing on an item for an hour is not something the rules define, so it would be up to the GM.

Exempt-Medic
  • 75,986
  • 11
  • 289
  • 534
  • This would seem to require some volition on the part of the creature though. A familiar - under the guidance of a master - might be capable, but would an ordinary non-sentient animal have the focus to do such a thing? (Personally, I find it impossible to get my pet cat to do anything it doesn't want to do!) – PJRZ Aug 31 '19 at 18:53
  • @PJRZ Sentience is not defined in the rules. But also attunement only requires the creature to focus on the item, this is the creature's choice, not its owners – Exempt-Medic Aug 31 '19 at 19:02
  • Yes, that's my point. Can you imagine a cat choosing to focus on a non-edible item for a whole hour? :) – PJRZ Aug 31 '19 at 19:04
  • 2
    @PJRZ real cat can focus on a toy for an hour sometimes. For wanting, there is Animal Handling, Animal Friendship etc. Ultimately, up to DM what will actually work but there are ways to influence animals beyond our mortal means :) – Mołot Aug 31 '19 at 20:35
  • 1
    Indeed, put it on the end of a string and drag it around in front of the cat for an hour, and the cat will have focused on it for an hour. Add catnip if needed :-) – R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE Sep 01 '19 at 02:27
  • @R.. Wouldn't that result in the cat exerting itself sufficiently that it wouldn't count as having taken a short rest, thereby preventing it from spending that short rest attuning to the item in question? – nick012000 Sep 01 '19 at 11:28
  • Short rests can be shorter than an hour if the GM decides so. – NeutralTax Sep 01 '19 at 12:26
  • @NeutralVax The GM is indeed able to modify the rules however he sees fit, but the rules are very clear that a short rest is "a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long". There is a variant rule that makes short rests longer and one that makes them shorter in the Dungeon Master's Guide, but the core rules are 1 hour + – David Coffron Sep 03 '19 at 17:07