Clans have a very clear system of command and respect.
Kits
At the lowest level are kits. Their name always ends in "-kit". These are cats younger than six moons old. They are restricted due to their age and are not permitted to leave the camp without parental supervision. It is against the warrior code for kits to hunt. They have no duties in the Clan, and spend most of their time playing with each other in mock fights or they play alone with moss balls, leaves, or puddles. After their sixth moon, a kit is made an apprentice, and given to a warrior to mentor them.
After Raggedstar's death (during Brokenstar's leadership from before and during most of Into the Wild), Brokenstar had ShadowClan's kits begin their training at three moons of age, and he named them full warriors at five moons.
Apprentices
When a kit reaches six moons old, they are apprenticed. Their name, which formerly ended in "-kit", now ends with "-paw". They are assigned a mentor, who can be a warrior, deputy, medicine cat (if the apprentice plans to become the next medicine cat), or even the leader (Firestar was Brambleclaw's mentor, for instance, however, the leader's apprentice doesn't necessarily be deputy or leader) Apprentices also care for the elders in their Clan. They are allowed to travel within Clan territory, either alone or with their mentor, and are also allowed to go to the Gathering at full-moons, if they are permitted by their leader and mentor.
After several moons of training, and a journey to the Moonstone/Moonpool, the apprentice of a warrior is given a new name and proclaimed a full warrior of their Clan. Traditionally, the new warrior's first task is to hold vigil and stand guard over the camp all night until dawn. The average apprenticeship, no matter which type, lasts from about four to eight moons.
When it comes to a medicine cat apprentice, they have much different training than warrior apprentices, as they must learn how to heal their Clanmates and understand signs from StarClan. Also unlike a warrior apprentice, a medicine cat apprentice is given their full name at the Moonstone/Moonpool by their mentor, in the presence of the other Clans' medicine cats. Although a medicine cat apprentice can be given their full name, they will still considered the apprentice of the current medicine cat until they succeed their mentor.
Warriors
Warriors are cats that do most of the work for the Clan, such as hunting, patrolling borders, training apprentices, and discussing most gathering matters. They are toms and she-cats who are not caring for kits. Previously, their names ended with "-paw", but now change to different things such as body parts (tail, ear, claw, fur, pelt, foot, tooth, fang, eye, nose, stripe, throat, whisker, wing, feather, belly, heart, coat, spots, soul, face, leg), surroundings (pool, stream, leaf, flower, brook, poppy, wild), movement (flight, step, fall), or weather (storm, frost, wind, cloud, breeze, light).
Warriors are some of the most important cats in the Clan. They hunt daily, patrol borders, train apprentices, defend their Clan, and fight for their Clan even at the cost of their own lives. Warriors follow the warrior code. A warrior is only given one apprentice at a time, although they are permitted to train other apprentices. For example, Brambleclaw took over Birchpaw's training while his mentor, Ashfur, was recovering from an injury. Warriors may also have kits.
Being a warrior is usually the longest period of time in a Clan cat's life, unless they are the medicine cat, leader, or promoted to deputy. A she-cat can also choose to stay as a queen and look after kits in the nursery until they retire, like Goldenflower.
Queens
Queens are she-cats expecting or nursing kits. They stay in the nursery until their kits are apprenticed, then return to being warriors. Queens are not entirely restricted to the nursery or the camp. They are allowed to go hunting and a queen may also take her kits out of camp for a short while. A queen has the right to keep the identity of her kits' father a secret, even from the leader or the kits themselves, as Bluestar did with her kits, Stonefur and Mistyfoot. Goldenflower also hid the identity of Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt's father for a while when they were still small, though she hid from the two kits, not the Clan. Silverstream had planned to hide the identity of Stormfur's and Feathertail's father, who was Graystripe, before she died bearing them.
Elders
Elders are retired warriors, deputies, and medicine cats. Instances of Clan leaders dying of old age (such as Crookedstar and Tallstar) show that leaders do not retire their positions. They are very respected and are cared for usually by apprentices. The elders' only known duty is to perform the burial of a deceased Clanmate. However, they usually defend their Clan in fierce battle when their camp is attacked. They often give advice to the Clan leader and share stories of passed events with the younger cats.
A warrior becomes an elder when they have reached an age where they cannot keep up with warrior duties, or for other reasons that force them to retire early. Examples of this are failing sight (as was Longtail's case), hearing loss or deafness (Snowkit was an example of this), and serious injury (such as Brightheart and Cinderpelt's former situations).
Medicine Cat
One of the most respected cats in the Clan is the medicine cat, who not only heals the cats of the Clan, but interprets signs from StarClan to receive advice and prophecies. Medicine cats seem to have their own code, much like the warrior code. They walk closer with StarClan than even leaders, and very few cats will argue with a medicine cat. Medicine cats are forbidden to take mates or have kits, possibly because it could be a distraction from their duties. It is possible that a tom who is a medicine cat could father kits and keep it a secret, though it seems that neither gender of medicine cat is an exception to the rule. A warrior who later becomes a medicine cat is also forbidden from having any additional kits.
Every half-moon, medicine cats travel to share dreams with StarClan. They also have to go to the Moonstone or Moonpool area. If for some reason there is no Clan deputy to take over leadership after the current leader is not with the Clan (i.e. Brokentail's exile with Blackfoot), the medicine cat asks StarClan who the new leader should be.
Deputy
Directly below the leader is the deputy, who organizes everyday activities in the Clan, such as patrols. The only requirement to become a deputy is to have mentored at least one apprentice. StarClan can also send visions that in some way suggest who the next deputy should be, even if that cat has never mentored an apprentice. The leader decides who the deputy would be if the former deputy is killed or injured badly. However, they can retire, in the case of Tawnyspots, the ThunderClan deputy before Bluestar.
A new deputy is chosen if the current one is captured, driven into exile, blinded, killed, or some other thing that renders them unable to do their tasks. The decision must be made before the moonhigh (midnight) of the night of the current deputy's resignation. Sometimes the medicine cat of a Clan will receive a sign from StarClan saying who the new deputy should be. The deputy is usually a senior warrior and therefore is an experienced cat. The deputy is next in line to become leader, should the current leader lose all nine of their lives.
Leader
At the top of the Clan is the leader, whose name always ends with "-star". This cat is usually the former deputy, who took over after the previous leader died. In special cases, like those of Nightstar and Tigerstar, non-deputies of the Clan can inherit the position of leader.
Leaders must commune with StarClan personally to receive their leader name and the special gift to leaders from StarClan: nine lives. Every time a leader is killed, StarClan heals the wound that killed them and returns them to life. Sometimes, however, the wound is too grievous to heal, in the case of Tigerstar, who lost all of his nine lives at once, or in the case of what would have happened when Firestar was in the fox trap, had Brambleclaw tightened the loop. On the night of a new moon, leaders travel to share dreams with StarClan. Also, in some cases, as with Nightstar, cats who may not have been chosen by StarClan may not receive their nine lives. Instead, they remain with only one life.
