Disclaimer/Warning:
Rat pit fighting is dangerous for the ill prepared. Lots of cats have died taking part in the past and many more will surely die in the future. This needless death can be avoided completely by adopting the correct precautions.

Objective:
The aim of rat pit fighting is to train your cat in a fun and profitable manner. Rules vary from pit to pit.

Each pit allows a certain type of cat fight there e.g. the Ardougne pit only permits kittens to fight in it.

How to challenge:
To compete you must have the correct type of cat for the pit and have some spare change. If you have both of these, you can then challenge another cat trainer.

The player you challenge must also possess the correct type of cat and some money.

Before you proceed to the bidding stage tactics should be discussed with your cat.

Tactics:
A player should tell their cat what sort of strategy they should adopt. To do this competitors should wear an amulet of catspeak when initiating a fight and accepting a challenge.

Cautious tactics should be adopted by those who are unwilling to part with their cat.

Using these tactics will aid the cat in terms of increased defence bonuses but penalize them as their cats will get out of the pits faster rather than risking death.

Using no tactics or aggressive tactics will result in your cat fighting to the death. Aggressive tactics increase your cats attack levels.

Bidding:
Once a challenge has been accepted and both cats advised on tactics the bidding takes place.

Both owners can place a small wager on the outcome of the match. The wager must be the same for both sides.

Winning and losing:
Rules differ for each pit, in the kitten pits of Ardougne the first cat to kill 5 rats is declared the winner, this number varies throughout the pits.

If your cat dies during a fight or runs away your opponent is declared the winner.

Cats tire quickly and after a certain period of time become too exhausted to continue fighting, in this case the cat with the largest number of kills is declared the winner.

If both cats have killed the same number of rats the match is declared a draw.

Benefits:
Winning a rat pit fight increases cats' happiness, matures them faster, improves their hunting skills and keeps them more active.

Even losing in a fight will benefit your cat (provided it doesn't die). As with everything in life, its the taking part which matters.