#We've got 2 more books to go btw and like... we're getting close to a point where I can begin to think of rewriting

[bonefall]

While I know the arc isn’t going to be rewritten until after it’s done, do you think the researchers would be PISSED that this random vet sterilized one of their cats? I imagine they’re pretty protective of their cats, and this could throw a huge wrench into their studies

They would be. It's not like the Clan cats are an little-known thing in BB, either! It's pretty common knowledge that the colonies around Sanctuary Lake are of scientific interest.

There's even little signs up and such warning hikers not to feed or harass them. Public interest in the project is currently a bit low in this particular time period (it waxes and wanes) but the horse farm is well aware of them. They run a horseback riding business here; there's almost certainly special signs warning riders of what to do if a Clan cat spooks your mount, and they do bring curious visitors to the lake.

Frostpaw will probably not get sterilized in BB, though. Why the hell would a horse vet do surgery and TNR right there in the field, only taking a single day? Especially if Clan cats are known and studied?

What's probably going to happen instead is that Smoky runs for a human, who dials the nearby sanctuary, and the people who visit Frostpaw in BB are the researchers. IF I even end up keeping it at all.