Your transmog is cute, but have you considered adding a shoulder rat? Here are some cuddly buddies you can wear.

Among the many rabbit holes the Secret Finding Discord has gone through while trying to solve the current step of the Felcycle secret in World of Warcraft led people to explore whether we needed to complete a step while we had a rat on our shoulder. I didn’t know that a shoulder rat was even a thing, so I spent a bunch of time exploring different options for critters or companions you could ‘wear’ while exploring Azeroth.

On your shoulder

There are a number of different options for a shoulder buddy. Two use battle pets, and three are a temporary buff you get.

Cap’n Crackers is a green parrot battle pet which was purchased through the in-game store, though he seems to have migrated for the winter and isn’t available just now. If you summon the battle pet, target it, and then use the /whistle emote he will pop up on your shoulder.

Crackers is a toucan unlocked as part of the Rogue Order Hall campaign from the Legion expansion, aligned to the Outlaw Rogue specialization, by completing the quest Fit For a Pirate. While you need to be a rogue to earn the pet, Crackers can be summoned by any of your alts once learned. With the Legion Remix event expected to occur next year, it could be a good opportunity to earn this pet. You get him to jump on your shoulder the same way as Cap’n Crackers.

Poro is a Kakapo, a rare parrot from New Zealand. It comes from specific salvage crates obtained from doing Island Expeditions in BfA. It could be potentially inspired by Sirocco, a Kapapo who got frisky with Mark Carwadine in a show based on Douglas Adams’ book Last Chance to See, about endangered species around the world. There are conflicting reports as to whether this bird will perch on your shoulder — I couldn’t get him to cooperate with patch 11.0.5. I’m not sure if he’s become shy or people misremembered being able to /whistle at him, but just in case a fix is pushed, he’s on the list. Just be glad that he didn’t land on your head.

Petey is purchased from Dread Captain DeMeza during Pirate’s Day, a short-lived holiday that occurs on September 19. This is a consumable item and the buff lasts an hour, making this short-lived as well. Petey appears to be a kingfisher or woodpecker of some sort.

The Tiny Sewer Rat is an interactive object tucked into the cornet near Madam Goya’s Black Market in Dornogal. Clicking on the rat gives you a 10 minute buff, Shoulder Rat.

/way #2339 64.56 , 51.21 The Fissure – Tiny Sewer Rat

Talking to Tabaanu during the Draenei Heritage Armor quest line will gove you the opportunity to ask him “May I have a marsuul?”, which grants you a 30 minute buff Shoulder Marsuul. The screenshots I’ve seen shows the shoulder marsuul as having the same coloration as the Pygmy Marsuul battle pet. Unfortunately this one currently appears to be race locked and it’s unclear whether you can pick up the buff again after handing in the armor quest.

/way #103 53.4 87.2 Tabaanu

On your back

There are several back mounted companions available. One is a battle pet, and the others are cloak appearances. Sadly, none of these appearances can currently be earned in game.

Daisy is another battle pet purchased through the in-game shop. After you summon this delightful sloth, if you target her and use the /beckon emote, she will climb onto your back and come along for a ride.

Another in-game shop item is Reven, purchased as part of a charity bundle. You get both the battle pet Reven, and a cosmetic item that uses the cloak slot Reven’s Comfy Carrier. The back piece is animated and ever now and again a butterfly comes and lands on Raven’s nose. This was part of a limited availability bundle — it is scheduled to be withdrawn from the store on  January 7 2025, and is part of one of Blizzard’s annual charity drives.

This set of three different baby murlocs in a carrier were part of a 6-month subscription reward in 2021. I don’t know if they will come back again. Mrrgl’s Shiny Shell is a blue baby murloc, Flrrgl’s Shaking Shell is a red baby murloc, and Grrgl’s Spotted Shell is a green baby murloc. They have different idle emotes, including eating a fish they found in their basket or hiding in an egg shell.

On your lap

Somewhat less come along for the ride, but another companion interaction added during Battle for Azeroth, many battle pets that look like some kind cat will sit on your lap if you target them and sit. While I say sit ON your lap, trying a variety of cats for the screenshot I found it more to be IN your lap. As in, sitting somewhere in your abdomen.

While initially it was only the BfA cats that would cooperate (how catlike), more cats have decided over time to snuggle up given the opportunity. Chunky cats like Smoochums tend to be more visible.

On your head

The OG of feathered companions is of course Pepe, a cute little birb who charmed his way into our lives in Warlords of Draenor, and has continued to spark joy ever since. He starts as a 1 hour buff by finding him in your garrison and clicking on him, you can unlock the Trans-Dimensional Bird Whistle through a series of WoD achievements which allows you to summon him at will.

Since his initial release he has gained (and lost) an astounding number of costumes to wear, which he chooses from at random when summoned.

If you want to start collecting them, a good place to start is the addon Pepe Collection, which tells you which ones you have unlocked, and gives you TomTom coordinates and descriptions of where to find the missing appearances.

And Pepe is a great place to conclude, as he allows you to bring your mounted pet obsession into the real world. There are a number of official plush toy merch versions of him available on the Blizzard Gear store which are occasionally rotated. They are designed to be clipped onto your head or a shoulder strap. I don’t really want to count how many I have — the Maldraxxus one glows in the dark. Right now, there’s also a Greatfather Winter version, just in time for Winter Veil.