I beg your pardon if this has become a little long and rambling.
I must say that the name alynx sometimes lead me to think of lynxes, who are a bit different from cats. I don't know how much of this is intended. Cats have, for instance, much better night vision then the lynx, but lack the lynxes' rather good day vision. (Cats' vision seems to be very much like looking through night goggles, i.e. lacking in colour and detail, no matter if it's dark or not. They have a good field of vision and are good at detecting movements.)
Lynxes are also extremely solitary animals, with large territories, only meeting to mate. Cats, on the other hand, are solitary, and often nocturnal, hunters, but otherwise very social, often sharing the catch.
Both cats and lynx' hunt by sneaking up on their prey and making a short, but very fast, sprint, often ending in a leap.
Neither cats nor lynx' have a particularily good sense of smell. Better than a humans, but not in the same league as a dog. I really doubt that they could track effectively with their smell.
Their best sense is hearing, which is better than that of a dog, and, more importatantly, threedimensional. They can really pinpoint the source of a sound, thanks to their standing ears, often poised in different angles so as to catch the sound both directly and on the rebound.
The whiskers seem to be of some use, some say only to avoid bumping into things in the dark, others that they are used to sense movements in the air, and capable of detecting movement nearby. They are often pointing forward while hunting, especially in the dark.
So, where does that leave us with the shadow cat?
I think, now, that the name alynx only has to do with their size and looks, and relatively little with how they behave. They are obviously quite social, interacting well with humans.
How big are they? "The largest are the size of a large dog." it says in the Narrator's Book, which is about the same as a lynx. Earlier sources always said "From the size of a house cat to..", which always irked me, as it gives a very large span for a single species. A very large lynx weighs up to 45kg, about as a largeish dog.
At first, I thought that they should, allied with Orlanth as they are, have a better smell than our world cats. But then, why? Yinkin has no Air gods among his ancestors. He is the son of Kero Fin and whatshisface, the god of predators. His mother's Earth connections would explain the whiskers, at least.
But why the good hearing, and where does the dark complexion (and the "shadow" in shadow cat) come from? Obviously some serious darkness entanglements. From this I gather that they have good night vision, as a cat, and probably not the keen vision of a lynx. Perhaps he hunted down and ate some darkness creature/god in the Dark Age, or somehow traded some of his vision. (I do seem to recall him being in hell when the Lightbringers came. Ah, yes, there it is, "murdered and nailed to the wall" to boot (Gloranthan Visions p.91). Who is it that hates him that much? I would have thought him to be out and hunting with Odayla all through the Dark.)
It would also seem that, kin to Orlanth or not, Shadow cats love to bask in the sun. Mayhap he worships Elmal for some service in he past?
He is, as David Dunham pointed out, described as "Orlanth's secret perception" in KoS p.54, but I don't think it has to be smell. But then again, he does give the feat Scent Foe. I think I'll amend that to Hear Foe.
At last, then, what is their use in hunting?
As pointers, to find the prey, naturally, like several people on the list has pointed out. Perhaps not so much by smell as by other senses.
They can flush out smaller animals, especially birds, by sneaking up to them and pouncing. If they catch one, good, otherwise the Odaylan is ready with his bow. They lack the stamina to run long stretches and do not have a fearsome bark (or similar) to herd larger animals or groups of animals. (Heortling herders must have it rough, come to think of it, with no dogs.) Joerg Baumgartner suggest that the humans scare the prey towards the hidden alynx, which is also a possibility.This has the disadvantage that then the prey is already on the move, while the cat's strength is his tremendous acceleration, preferring to catch up with the animal before it reaches top speed. Besides, getting the prey to run in exactly the right direction would be pretty hard.
Shadow Cats are of course excellent help in getting rid of rodents, and catching all kinds of smaller prey, like hares, birds. I suppose a tame alynx comes to the humans to show up their trophies (when well fed) just like ordinary cats sometimes do with mice.
Joerg asked how suited they are to arboreal hunting. I'd say very much, but they can manage as long as there is tall grass and bushes to hide in.
All this, of course, given that Shadow cats are related to our cats/lynxes, and not to our larger felines, like lions, tigers, hunting leopards, etc.
Are there ordinary cats in Glorantha? Are they as well liked by heortlings?
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