Tear Jerker / Warrior Cats

"Moonflower...? Moonflower, it's me! Bluepaw!" (to Pinestar) "Why won't she get up?"

—Bluepaw, Bluestar's Prophecy

Bet you never expected these cats to break your heart so much.

For examples from Dawn of the Clans, see here.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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The Original Series

Into the Wild

• Poor Smudge pleading with Rusty not to leave him when the latter decides to give up his kittypet life to join ThunderClan. It sounds like a heartbroken kid begging his best friend not to move away.
  Rusty: "Don't worry, Smudge. My housefolk will get a new cat, and you'll get along with them just fine. You get along with everyone!"
  Smudge: "But it won't be the same!"
• The death of the great warrior Lionheart, one of the noblest and pure members of ThunderClan.
  • Doesn't help when Graypaw yells in sadness.
• The death of Spottedleaf. One of Firepaw's first friends and ThunderClan's beloved medicine cat, murdered in cold blood by Clawface. It's enough to make Firepaw, normally an All-Loving Hero, swear to avenge Spottedleaf by killing Clawface.

Fire and Ice

• Cinderpelt's lament of, "I'm never going to be a warrior, am I?" While she later became the capable medicine cat of ThunderClan, at the moment she was just a little girl with her dreams crushed.

Forest of Secrets

• Forest of Secrets has Silverstream's death, which is made even worse by the ending where Graystripe leaves ThunderClan.
• Silverstream and Graystripe's subplot is incredibly sad, mostly because it ends with the eternally cheerful Graystripe completely broken.
  • Cinderpaw's Heroic BSoD at her failure to save Silverstream from Death by Childbirth, calling herself useless.
• Bluestar revealing to Fireheart how she became leader: during a hard leaf-bare (winter), she had to give up her kits to RiverClan to become ThunderClan's deputy instead of her fellow warrior Thistleclaw, a violent War Hawk who would have caused needless bloodshed had he become leader. During the journey to RiverClan with her kits, a snowstorm was raging, and one of her kits froze to death in the cold winter. The other two, Mistyfoot and Stonefur, survived and grew up to become RiverClan warriors, but they never knew that Bluestar was their mother. She eventually overcame her grief to become deputy and then leader, but the pain of losing them always remained with her, and she never stopped wondering if her sacrifice had been worth it.
• Graystripe giving up his kits to RiverClan because he doesn't want to cause any more bloodshed over them, not after everything else that's happened. As he's taking them to the river with Fireheart, he decides he can't abandon his kits...because he's leaving ThunderClan to be with them in RiverClan. Fireheart is heartbroken, but the two old friends share a final goodbye before Graystripe leaves for good.
  • Goldenflower's farewell to the kits also hits hard. When they were in ThunderClan, she loved them and cared for them as if they were her own (despite her own mother, Speckletail, insisting that there's "bad blood" in Stormkit and Featherkit because they are half-Clan and she shouldn't be concerned with looking after them because of this fact), fully prepared to raise them and watch them grow up alongside her own kits...and then she has to say goodbye to them forever, knowing they likely won't remember her as they grow up in RiverClan.

Rising Storm

• Bluestar's mental breakdown after Forest of Secrets. The once proud and noble leader of ThunderClan is so wounded by trauma and grief that she starts deteriorating, leaving Fireheart to take up most of her duties while she spirals further and further into paranoia.
  • What makes it worse is how everyone around her is trying desperately to help her, but nothing seems to work. Whitestorm grooms her pelt and brings her food, Fireheart tries to get her to go outside and return to her old routine in an effort to bring back some stability for her, and Cinderpelt and Yellowfang try to offer her solace with both medicine and asking StarClan for advice. And none of it works. For fans who've had to deal with mental illness in their lives, whether it be their own or that of their family or friends, the sheer desperation and futility of trying to help Bluestar is a stinging reminder.
• Runningwind's death. Just when he was getting more screen time and looking important, he's suddenly dead.
  • Since it's confirmed that Bluestar was Runningwind's mentor, his death is just another blow inflicted on an already deeply traumatized cat.
• Yellowfang's death, where she tries to save Patchpelt only for him to die anyway, and quietly dies from smoke inhalation in her den. Especially when she tells Fireheart that she wishes he was her son, instead of Brokentail.

A Dangerous Path

• Snowkit, a tiny deaf kitten, is carried away by a hawk, all the while crying for help, with no hope of being rescued.
  • It's made even more heartbreaking when Brackenfur immediately takes off in pursuit, despite the others sadly remarking it's a useless gesture. Bear in mind that Brackenfur was interested in being Snowkit's mentor if the little guy could've been apprenticed despite his disability.
  • Speckletail's anguish is worth mentioning as well. Snowkit is her last kitten, and she's desperate for him to grow up and become a warrior before she moves into the Elder's den, even resolving to train him herself if no one else will. And then he's killed right in front of her.
• The dogs attacking Swiftpaw and Brightpaw. Swiftpaw, the oldest apprentice in the clan and desperate to prove himself, ends up leading himself and his friend right into the jaws of dogs. Swiftpaw dies trying to save Brightpaw, his body mangled and mauled, and Brightpaw, a sweet and cheerful girl before this, is maimed and traumatized from the attack. And to top it all off, an already off-kilter Bluestar renames Brightpaw to Lostface. Ouch.
• Brindleface's death, especially the reactions of Cloudtail, and her other children Fernpaw and Ashpaw.
• Bluestar's death. The once-great leader of ThunderClan, fallen from grace due to grief and paranoia, returns to her old self in time to save her deputy and surrogate son Fireheart from the dogs, but not without obtaining fatal injuries in the process. She only has enough time to beg forgiveness from Stonefur and Mistyfoot before passing, ending the book with her death.

The Darkest Hour

• Stonefur's death. While only moons before he was the esteemed deputy of RiverClan, with the reveal of his half-Clan heritage he's turned into a prisoner, kept in a dark hole for who knows how long, before being ordered to kill two apprentices, one of them his own, to prove his loyalty. Even starved and beaten, he still fights fang and claw to save the lives of Stormpaw and Featherpaw, and for a second seemed to be winning against Darkstripe... only for Tigerstar to order Blackfoot to finish the job. All while his former Clanmates cheer for his death.
• Gorsepaw's murder. Once the tiny kitten that Firestar carried across the Thunderpath, he grew into a sweet apprentice who only wanted to help his clan, only to be pinned down and killed to Make an Example of Them. It only gets worse with the reveal that he and Tigerstar were surrounded by TigerClan warriors who made sure to keep WindClan from stopping the murder of one of their apprentices.
• Whitestorm's death at the end of The Darkest Hour turns many readers into a blubbering pile of snotty goo.
• Hell, Darkstripe's death scene. Sure, he was a traitorous piece of scum that poisoned a kit, but him dying on the ground, saying that "It's all black... There's nothing left..." was just... Sad. Then, of course, Graystripe ruins it by saying, "Well, that's one less traitor in the forest."

The New Prophecy

• Feathertail's death in Moonrise.
• At the end of Twilight, Cinderpelt dies. Yes, their whole character arc of being hit by a car and never being able to be a warrior, yet managing to be a good medicine cat despite this, all while watching the cat she loves having kits with another she-cat, and remaining supportive of him despite this ends with them lying dead in ThunderClan territory.
  • The ending of Twilight in general is set up as one giant Tear Jerker. Leafpool leaves the Clan to be with Crowfeather, realizes that the badgers are going to attack ThunderClan, and breaks up with him, leaving both bereft of love and happiness. (especially Crowfeather) During the badger attack, Cinderpelt is killed while trying to protect Sorreltail and most of the camp is destroyed, leaving the Clan to have to rebuild it all. Stormfur and Brook return and Sorreltail gives birth to a kit named Cinderkit in memory of Cinderpelt. Pretty depressing ending.
    • Don't forget that the kits being born are her brothers'.
• The very idea of the Clans leaving the forest which they had lived in for generations.
• Crowfeather realizing that Leafpool loves her Clan over him.

Crowfeather: "Your heart lies here. Not with me. It was never truly with me."

Power Of Three

• Honeyfern's death, just after a tender moment with Berrynose.
• Squirrelflight getting injured after the battle with RiverClan and WindClan. Thank StarClan she heals.
• Ashfur's death, despite his unfortunate total psychotic breakdown.
• Brambleclaw's heartbroken reaction to learning that his and Squirrelflight's kits aren't really their kits. Remember, trust is a big issue for this guy, so learning that, even after everything he did to prove himself, the cat he loved and trusted the most apparently didn't trust him enough to tell him that probably put him through a Heroic BSoD.
  Brambleclaw: You couldn't trust me? You couldn't trust me...
• Even though she lied to them all, Squirrelflight still clearly loved her family, and saw the Three as her children. By the end of Sunrise, she's lost her mate, her kits, the respect of her Clan, and any credibility she had. Poor woman didn't deserve that.

Omen Of The Stars

• Longtail's death in Fading Echoes. Briarlight's disability, too.
• Everything about Briarlight. What should be the happiest day of her life turns into one long nightmare because she tried to save a cat who died anyway.
  • Her breakdown in Night Whispers, where she confesses to Jayfeather that she feels utterly useless to the Clan and shouldn't be looked after because she's dead weight.
  Briarlight: I don't hunt. I don't fight. I don't do anything! ...So I don't deserve to eat.
  • Earlier in Night Whispers, Millie cracks under the stress and implies that she thinks Briarlight would be better off dead. Briarlight hears every word of this. This line in particular sticks out:
  Millie: I don't know what to think. I only see my kit, broken and helpless, struggling through each day, with danger stalking her like a fox...
• That last line in Sign of the Moon, "I will wait for you forever, Jay's Wing!"
• Firestar's death at the very end of The Last Hope.
• Hollyleaf's death, which is stretched out long enough for one goodbye with Leafpool.
• Like her or not, Spottedleaf's second death. She died protecting Sandstorm, the mate of a cat she loved, and what else? She's gone for good now.
• Mousefur's death. She and Longtail reunite in a Moment of Awesome, and then a Dark Forest warrior kills her. Longtail's reaction cinches it.

A Vision of Shadows

• Alderheart and Sandstorm had a really sweet bond. Then Sandstorm's death came along. The scene itself was tearjerking, but when you think of all she'd been through...
• Violetkit and Twigkit being separated. Alderpaw is begging the leaders not to tear the sisters apart, the sisters are panicking and trying to cling to each other, and even the leaders seem hesitant at first, but eventually, Clan politics push ThunderClan and ShadowClan to separate two kittens who have nothing left in the world but each other.
• Violetkit's isolation and misery while living in ShadowClan. None of the cats save Needletail are particularly kind or welcoming to her, with some cats like Sleekpaw going out of their way to be cruel to her. In her youth she's bounced from one group to another, her situation continuously worsening, and only ever finds a family with SkyClan and later Tree.
  • Special mention goes to Pinenose, her new foster mother, who only took the kit in out of obligation. It's clear that while Pinenose does love her foster daughter, she clearly doesn't know what to do with her, and wouldn't have taken the kitten in if she hadn't been ordered to. Their strained relationship only serves to make Pinenose's eventual death all the more tragic, as it's clear the two wanted to love each other but didn't know how.
• What Darktail does to Reedwhisker, Icewing, Mintfur, and Brackenpelt is both tearjerking and disturbing. After they are badly injured fighting his minions, Darktail imprisons them in the RiverClan nursery and cruelly tortures them by allowing their wounds to fester and starving them in a humiliating fashion under the claim that he will not feed them unless they swear their loyalty to him. At first, the RiverClan cats bravely resist, but gradually, they are worn down by this horrible treatment and give in. Even Reedwhisker, who resists the longest, eventually gives in due to the horrible pain of hunger, but as soon as he finishes the oath, Darktail humiliates him by forcing him to say it again, louder. And the worst part is even after they've given in, Darktail continues to starve them anyway. Thank StarClan Violetpaw sneaks the prisoners prey, and they eventually escape and pay the rogues back.
  Violetpaw's thoughts as Darktail humiliates Reedwhisker: Violetpaw thought her heart would break for him.
• Poor, poor Needletail. She spends the entirety of Shattered Sky in a perpetual state of misery due to all of the crap she goes through, and is brutally killed off only after starving half to death in a humiliating fashion and nearly drowning. The worst part? All of this happened due to her own actions.
• Twigpaw's imaginings of her potential father guiding and encouraging her are absolutely heartbreaking.
• Alderheart's reaction to Twigpaw's Never Found the Body Disney Death is heart-wrenching to read, even if she's revealed to be alive.
• Purdy's death, especially for longtime fans.
• Onestar's and Darktail's backstory. When he was still a warrior, Onestar sired Darktail with a pampered housecat named Smoke, and refused to let her and their son join WindClan, partly out of fear of his Clan's wrath, and partly because he feared they wouldn't be able survive living in the wild. Neither Smoke nor Darktail took this well, and the former raised the latter to be the vengeful tyrant who has caused the Clans so much suffering. Despite all of Onestar's Jerkass behaviour and Darktail's numerous atrocities, it's very hard to not feel sorry for either of them. Onestar is clearly still guilt-ridden over abandoning his mate and son, and being rejected by his father and raised to feel nothing but hate by his mother has obviously had a massive impact on Darktail.
• Briarlight's death, dear StarClan, Briarlight's death. It was so sad that there were two whole chapters detailing her death itself and her vigil, and the atmosphere of it all is just so heartbreaking.

The Broken Code

• Bramblestar's death and his family's heartbroken reaction to it. Squirrelflight's reaction is particularly heart-wrenching.
  Squirrelflight: No! I came back for you and you left me!
• Bristlefrost's increased isolation from her Clanmates as the imposter polarizes ThunderClan. She's caught in the same role as her mother, working as a spy from the inside, but her front of loyalty leaves her with no friends in the clan. She's tasked by Squirrelflight in keeping Bramblestar's body alive, which leads to her being forced to choose between loyalty to her deputy and loyalty to her clanmates. It gets even worse after she is made deputy, as everyone believes she got the position through kissing up to Bramblestar, even she doesn't want the position, and no one respects her in spite of it.
  • Even before this, Bristlefrost being rejected by Stemleaf. She's left devastated, but tries to accept his rejection, and is forced to watch as the tom she once loved becomes mates with Spotfur, her aunt. And then he dies at the claws of the imposter, who she went out of her way to save the life of.
• By the end of the battle in Veil of Shadows, only one of Daisy's kits is left alive.
• The situation faced by Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Alderheart, and Sparkpelt when the imposter begins turning against them. For the first two books they have no idea why their father has begun acting so terribly to them, and eventually, all four of them are exiled without cause or explanation. What makes this hit harder is that during The Silent Thaw and Veil of Shadows, it gets increasingly obvious that the imposter has a clear bias against the four of them.
  • Lionblaze in particular has it rough. His horrible mentor, who once tried to burn him and his siblings alive, comes back from the grave, murders and possesses his adoptive father, torments his Clan, and then kidnaps his adoptive mother. He is left with the pressure of holding together a tattered, broken Clan, some of whom suspect Squirrelflight of willingly going with Ashfur, without having proper time to process the grief he's been going through.
  • Despite Jayfeather's gruff exterior, he genuinely does love Bramblestar and like Lionblaze, has no idea why his revived father is treating him and his brother so poorly. When he finds out the imposter is Ashfur, he takes it better than Lionblaze does, but he's still bitter and upset that the gray-flecked tom managed to return and sow discourse within the Clans.
  • Alderheart is verbally abused by the imposter on several occasions, and the imposter even forces Flipclaw to train under Alderheart as a medicine cat so he has an excuse to get rid of the dark ginger tom. Bristlefrost notes to herself that Alderheart was taking the whole thing pretty badly, due to the imposter using Bramblestar's body.
  • The imposter attempts to kill Sparkpelt in a very striking manner to how the imposter's mother died. When the imposter exiles Sparkpelt, Sparkpelt is noted to be horrified and dismayed when her beloved "father" exiles her from the Clan.
• The scene where Lionblaze calls Squirrelflight on trying to stall to save Bramblestar's body, tells her they have to Shoot the Dog, and she accuses him of not caring.
  Lionblaze stares at her, trembling. "Do you think I find this easy? I care about Bramblestar too. He was like a father to me. But I'm not going to let that cloud my judgment. The cat ShadowClan is holding prisoner isn't Bramblestar. Bramblestar is gone."
• Everything about Spotfur's situation. She falls in love with Stemleaf when they're both apprentices, and seem like they have the whole world in front of them. However, she soon realizes that her leader is putting her clan in danger, so she and Stemleaf betray everything they were taught was the truth to try and free their clan- and Stemleaf dies. Spotfur is exiled, disgraced, but still keeps her head up and works to help free her clan from the imposter's reign. It's only once the imposter's been defeated that she can grieve fully—only to discover that she's carrying her mate's kits. But instead of her pregnancy being a joy, it is (initially) a reminder of the life she was supposed to have with him. Oh, and she learns his spirit is trapped in a Fate Worse than Death. Poor thing.
• Willowshine's death doubles as a Tear Jerker and Nightmare Fuel. Mothwing's grief and guilt over it is particularly heartwrenching.
• The situation of the spirits of Bramblestar, Stemleaf, and all the other cats who have died since the beginning of the series. Once free, noble, loyal warriors, they are now reduced to mind-controlled, blank-eyed slaves to Ashfur's will, imprisoned in the Dark Forest, and planned to be used as his personal army against the Clans they once served so faithfully, and the families they loved so much. What makes it worse is the fact that their true selves are still in there and may even be aware of exactly what they are being forced to do. Bramblestar being forced to attack Squirrelflight and the revelation that Willowshine has been under Ashfur's control ever since she died, after she appeared to be helping Rootspring, is particularly heart-wrenching.
• The revelation that Snowtuft, the Dark Forest cat who turned good, died trying to stop Ashfur.
• Redwillow's second death in the Dark Forest. While Bristlefrost feels pity at his second demise, Sparrowfeather, another Dark Forest cat, is noted to be crushed and very upset about it, the book outright saying she is grieving for him. Despite being labeled as "evil", it goes to show that the Dark Forest cats aren't heartless.
• Bristlefrost's death and the circumstances surrounding it is arguably the biggest Tearjerker in the entire series. In a moment of self-sacrifice, without having a chance to say goodbye to her Love Interest Rootspring, she throws herself and Ashfur into the life-sapping dark water that is flooding the Dark Forest and then stays in to make sure he drowns. Bristlefrost succeeds in drowning Ashfur, but in doing so she sinks so deep into the water that she can't get back to the surface. She begins to accept her fate, but then glimpses her beloved Rootspring gazing into the water and tries to swim back up to him, but sadly she cannot as the water is too strong and she has already been weakened by a neck-wound inflicted by Mapleshade. Though she feels sad and guilty about having to leave behind the cat she loves the most, Bristlefrost accepts her fate and as she fades from existence, she has a Dying Dream where she and Rootspring are mates and looking at their newborn kits, which she confuses for actual memories and thus dies happily.
• Rootspring's grief over Bristlefrost's death is very heart-wrenching. Not only did he never get a chance to say goodbye to her, but he never got a chance to tell her that he was going to leave his Clan to be with her. And because she's Deader than Dead, he will never see her again, not even in death.
• Shadowsight's grief and guilt over Bristlefrost's death and having lost his connection to StarClan.

A Starless Clan

• Blazefire breaking up with Sunbeam. While he does give a fairly good reason for it (they are not a good match), it's still quite saddening and makes us feel very sorry for Sunbeam, who loved him since she was a kit and believed they would be mates after they had a budding relationship for some time.
• Bramblestar's depression and fear of his Clanmates' opinion of him. It's even implied he now has PTSD as a result of his awful experiences in the previous arc, as Squirrelflight mentions that Bramblestar has not been sleeping well as a result of recurring nightmares about his time trapped in the Dark Forest, especially about Ashfur mind-controlling him into attacking her. What makes it worse is that Bramblestar has had to deal with something like this before; his Clanmates distrusting him for something beyond his control. First it was because he was the son of an evil traitor, now it's because he was possessed by an evil spirit cat.
• The death of Curlfeather at the jaws of three dogs doubles as a Tear Jerker and Nightmare Fuel. Poor Frostpaw has now lost both parents.
• The day after Curlfeather's sudden death, Frostpaw sees Curlfeather's mother Duskfur still grieving for her, noting her dull eyes full of grief, drooped tail, and the fact that Duskfur looked like she had aged seasons within a single day upon hearing of Curlfeather's demise.
• It's hard to not feel bad for RiverClan this arc. They're in the midst of a Succession Crisis after losing their long-lived leader Mistystar, their deputy Reedwhisker, and then Curlfeather, the cat who was chosen to lead them gets savagely killed by dogs on her way to receive her nine lives. The Clan is in disarray and no cat wants to lead, resulting in Mothwing overworking herself to the point of mentally breaking down at the end of the second book trying to keep the Clan organized. Then Owlnose, the next candidate for leadership, is trying his best to be the leader his Clan needs, but it's clear he's just not cut out of the job and struggles with being in a position of authority. Splashtail being appointed deputy helps some, but it's still obvious the two aren't exactly the most qualified.
  • Even worse, at the end of second book, ShadowClan forcefully subjugates RiverClan under Tigerstar's rule and Tigerstar installs himself as their leader so he can help supervise the disjointed Clan. Even worse, RiverClan told him several times to back off and go home, but losing the ensuing battle all but confirmed Tigerstar's claims. Now RiverClan has lost their independence to an enemy Clan, and Tigerstar's true motives are unclear.

Expanded Universe

• Code of the Clans:
  • The death of Badgerpaw and his warrior name request to his mentor is quite sad.
  • The story "A Loss for All Clans". Three WindClan kits were drowning in the flooded river, and a RiverClan warrior named Brindleclaw wanted to save them, but her medicine cat Graywing stopped her because she didn't want a cat from her own Clan to drown for the sake of another Clan's kits. Later, the spirits of the three kits visited her and explained that, even though the Clans were rivals, a loss for one Clan was a loss for all of them. To make amends, Graywing and her warriors brought the kits' bodies to WindClan's border and added a rule to the warrior code that no warrior could ignore a kit in pain or danger, regardless of what Clan they were from.
    Precious kits, walk safely among the stars.
  • "An Empty Prayer: Cloudstar Speaks": Cloudstar lamenting how much his Clan has lost when they were forced to leave their home because of Twolegs.
  • "A Dark Path Chosen": During a hard leaf-bare, Longtail and Darkstripe go out hunting. Longtail catches a fat squirrel, but Darkstripe starts eating it and convinces him to have some as well, even though warriors aren't supposed to eat before elders and kits. By the time they get back, Poppydawn has succumbed to illness and hunger. Longtail is horrified at what they've done, realizing they could have saved her if they'd brought back the squirrel, but Darkstripe bullies him into keeping his mouth shut. The story ends with him smelling Poppydawn's scent one more time as she goes to StarClan and frantically apologizing to her, but all he hears is, "Too late. Too late."
• Mosskit's death in Secrets of the Clans.
• Bluestar's Prophecy: From Bad to Worse
  • Bluestar's Prophecy gives us the deaths of Mosskit, Moonflower, and Snowfur. The first's death is especially heartwrenching.
  • Bluestar's Prophecy as a whole is pretty much just one giant Tear Jerker.
    • "I'll sleep out here now, with you." Just goes to show even the most courageous warriors in the clan start out as innocent kits.
• Scourge (then called Tiny) leaving home because he thinks that he is unwanted. "Goodbye Mama"... in The Rise of Scourge.
• The Star-Crossed Lovers Ryewhisker and Cloudberry in Code of the Clans. One moment, you're pregnant and all's well, but the next your Love Interest dies at the paws of his own clanmate, all just to protect you, driving an even bigger wedge between both of your clans.
• Crookedstar's speech to Mapleshade at the end of Crookedstar's Promise. Also counts as a Crowning Moment Of Awesome and a Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming.
  Mapleshade: "Your punishment is complete now, Crookedstar. You have lost everything."
  Crookedstar: "No, Mapleshade. You're wrong. I still have a clan that I love and am proud to lead. And now... ...now everything precious to me is here, in StarClan. My family is waiting here for me, when my ninth life has passed. It's you who have lost. You have no power over me anymore."
  Mapleshade: "I have destroyed you!"
  Crookedstar: "No, Mapleshade. I still have the cats that I loved. You have nothing and no one."
• Crookedstar's life as Crookedkit was heartwrenching. The whole scene where he is conscious of his twisted jaw and is trying (painfully) to eat outside of the medicine den for the first time but is wracked with shame and embarrassment is almost too much to take. Then toss in the total agonizing descriptions of his mother's rejection of him due to his accident and it's a sobfest.
• And another one from Crookedstar's Promise after Crookedstar and Oakheart fight over how Crookedstar should treat Silverkit.
  Crookedstar: How can I love her, when everyone I love dies?
• Crookedstar staying with Minnowkit and Willowkit after Willowbreeze dies and the kits are pretty much left to die from their greencough. It only gets sadder when he wakes up, the kits tumble away from his body limply, he pulls them back into the nest and Mudfur has to tell him that they've died in the night.
• Yellowfang getting banished from ShadowClan in Yellowfang's Secret. There's also when Yellowfang says goodbye to her apprentice Runningnose.
  Runningnose: I'm so sorry! I'll prove it was a fox! You'll be back soon! Come to the next half-moon Gathering!
  Yellowfang: Runningnose, you have been a dear and loyal friend, but I cannot stay here. Not as long as Brokenstar rules. This is not the ShadowClan I pledged to serve. They are lucky to have you. May StarClan light your path, always.
  Runningnose: But, Yellowfang-!
• Even though he grew up to do terrible atrocities as an adult, you absolutely have to feel sorry for Brokenkit during is nursery days. His foster siblings bully him on the regular, his foster mother makes it adamantly clear that she doesn't want or care about him (and, as we later find out, denied him milk on numerous occasions and was physically abusive towards him as well), the whole Clan acts suspiciously of him due to uncertainty of his biological mother's identity (they assume he is either the result of Raggedpelt mating with either Foxheart or a kittypet, as he too came from a Clan cat - kittypet relationship), and he only can really find himself truly bonding with Yellowfang...who is his birth mother, but due to the rule of medicine cats being forbidden from taking mates and having kits, cannot quite act on her maternal desires to care for him.

  Brokenkit: "Nobody likes me."

  Yellowfang: "I like you."

• Cloudstar's Journey as a whole is just one massive Tear Jerker where we see how Cloudstar went from an idealistic cat with great faith in StarClan to the bitter broken cat he is in Firestar's Quest.
• Tallstar's Revenge gives us the deaths of Sandgorse and Shrewclaw.
• From Bramblestar's Storm:
  Bramblestar: I miss Hollyleaf.
  Squirrelflight: So do I.
• In Bramblestar's Storm, Bramblestar notices that one of the kittypets, Frankie, has been sneaking off for long periods of time. He follows him to find out why, and it turns out that Frankie is looking for his brother, who he was separated from when the flood came. Bramblestar agrees to help him, and after a bit of searching he finds the body of a drowned cat matching Frankie's description.
• Another Bramblestar's Storm one: Seedpaw drowning while trying to receive the Memorial Stick. Lilypaw is inconsolable, Bramblestar is blaming himself, and Seedpaw's father Brackenfur reacts with this resigned, weary sort of sorrow when he hears the news, as though so much has been taken he doesn't have the energy to really be sad anymore.
  Brackenfur: How can I bear this? To lose her mother, and now this...
• At the end of Bramblestar's Storm, Graystripe and Sandstorm decide to retire to the elders' den. As Bramblestar provides their ceremony, he briefly sees the spirits of Firestar and Dustpelt beside their friends. When Bramblestar looks again, they're gone. It's then he realizes that Graystripe and Sandstorm are the last of their generation, with Firestar and Dustpelt having died in the past six moons and Bramblestar learning of Ravenpaw's death during his nine lives ceremony. What makes this even sadder is that the five of them were the first group of apprentices we were introduced to, and actually watched them all grow up in the span of the story.
• Dovewing's Silence pretty much builds its foundation on tear jerking scenes including:
  • Opening to ThunderClan sitting vigil for all of the fallen warriors. Special points go to Sandstorm and Dustpelt, both of whom are inconsolable at the losses of their mates, as well as Leafpool, Jayfeather, Bramblestar and Squirrelflight who have no time to mourn despite the fact that they all lost immediate family. Leafpool is too busy tending to the wounded, Jayfeather and Bramblestar are on their way to the Moonpool and Squirrelflight is too busy running the camp.
  • Brackenfur discovering Sorreltail's body in the nursery. Lilykit and Seedkit explain that they've been trying to wake her, maybe she's too tired from the fighting? Brackenfur's completely dissonant, "Tired..." makes it even worse as he clearly doesn't know what he'd supposed to do. Dovewing rushes the kits out of the nursery and notices they're covered in their mother's blood. And she barely manages to get them out before Brackenfur starts screaming, "Sorreltail, please don't leave me!" loud enough that everyone in the clearing hears him.
  • Purdy having to wake everyone up after the vigil and ask for help to bury the dead because he's the only elder left and he can't do it on his own.
  • Birchfall wanting to help carry his mother's body but being yelled at by his father that his betrayal of his Clan has lost him any right to her. Dovewing wanting to console her father but being told by Ivypool to leave it alone and then explaining the hostility they along with the others have gotten since the Clan discovered they were training with the Dark Forest is particularly heart wrenching.
  • Ivypool telling Dovewing that she feels she (Ivypool) deserves to die for serving in the Dark Forest. Especially if it meant that Hollyleaf would have lived.
  • Dovewing, throughout the novel, notices that Jayfeather is upset and she assumes it has to do with them losing their powers. When she goes to talk to him about it she finds him trying to treat Foxleap's wounds. Foxleap who is so injured that he's been put into a poppy-seed-induced coma. Jayfeather literally tells her that he does not care about their powers, tells her to leave him alone and let him do his job. She leaves and then at the end of the chapter comes back just in time to hear Jayfeather screaming about how he did everything he could for Foxleap and asks StarClan why they won't let him save his Clanmates.
• The reveal that Ravenpaw died offscreen? Very sad. Hearing him talk about how much he misses Barley, still watches him in their old home, and looks forward to the day the two are reunited? Tissues, please.
  • It gets even sadder when you read Vicky's statement that Barley will not go to StarClan. Mercifully, this ends up not proving true in the actual series. In Ravenpaw's Farewell, a dying Ravenpaw is offered a place in StarClan, but declines on the grounds that he wants to stay with Barley. He's assured that there's a place waiting for both of them.
• Dustpelt's personality in Bramblestar's Storm after his mate Ferncloud and his children Foxleap and Icecloud die. That means that he outlived his mate and five of his seven children.
• Despite how horrible Mapleshade is, her backstory in Mapleshade's Vengeance is extremely tragic. She was once a ThunderClan cat who fell in love with a cat from a different Clan, Appledusk of RiverClan, and bore him three kits. She planned to raise them in ThunderClan, but the medicine cat, Ravenwing, discovered her secret and told her Clanmates what she had done. Her entire Clan turned against her and threw her out along with her kits. She tried to take them to RiverClan by crossing the river, but a flood swept them away and they drowned. Appledusk and RiverClan blamed her for their deaths, and Appledusk took a new mate. Now completely alone without a Clan to go to, or her kits to care for, the only thing left for Mapleshade was a desire for revenge on the cats who had wronged her. She successfully killed Ravenwing and blinded Frecklewish, but died in a Mutual Kill with Appledusk (after finding out about his new mate), with her last words being that her desire for vengeance would never sleep. Even in death, she would never know peace or see her kits again—she was banished to the Dark Forest for her crimes, and spent her afterlife continuing to plot her revenge. She could have been a great hero and loyal warrior like Bluestar or Sandstorm, but she was twisted into a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds by horrific tragedy and chose to bring death and destruction upon countless innocent cats.
  • Mapleshade's revenge consists of killing three cats who had played parts in getting her and her kits exiled from her Clan, one for each kit: Ravenwing, who exposed her secret, Frecklewish, who openly denounced her, and Appledusk, who rejected her. After she kills them all, she expects her kits to appear and thank her for avenging them...but she hears nothing.
  • The usually-noble ThunderClan's horrific treatment of Mapleshade's kits when they're revealed to be half-RiverClan. Ravenwing immediately exposes the truth of their heritage to the Clan, despite knowing what it will mean for them. Oakstar sentences them to exile along with their mother. Mapleshade's former mentor Bloomheart coldly agrees that they don't belong in ThunderClan. Frecklewish screeches at them, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out (especially jarring, considering how much she loved them when she thought they were her brother's kits). Not one cat speaks up for them or their mother. Not one cat stops to realize that they're just kits, that they shouldn't be held responsible for what their parents did. No matter what Mapleshade did, her kits never deserved to be punished in such a cruel way.
  • Mapleshade's subtle realization that despite promising to love only her, Appledusk was seeing both her and Reedshine at the same time.
• Bramblestar and Squirrelflight's arguments in Squirrelflight's Hope can be considered both irritating and sad. After years of building trust and being happy together, they suddenly go back to arguing because of one disagreement, showing that, despite their love for each other, their relationship isn't and never will be perfect.
• Larksong and Flickerkit's deaths in the same book are quite saddening. Sparkpelt's grief too.
• The elderly Twoleg in Graystripe's Vow. She's a cat hoarder whose cats are severely neglected...but the thing is, she thinks she only has her one cat, Petunia. The reason she has so many cats is because she mistakes them for Petunia and brings them home. The only reaon she neglects them because she doesn't realize she actually has more. She isn't malicious at all, just suffering from dementia or the like. And the worst part? Her home is absolutely filthy and nobody seems to check up on her, which suggests either her family are all dead or they don't care. And then she dies, but fortunately, a deceased Gremlin later visits Petunia and confirms the old lady is in a much happier place now.
• Leopardstar's Honor:
  • The death of Leopardfur's best friend Sunfish as she dies from sepsis brought on by infected wounds. Poor Whitepaw is the one that wakes Leopardfur up by simply muttering that his mother is dead. Stunned, Leopardfur pulls the sobbing apprentice into her nest and holds him tight, enveloped in grief herself as she tries to process the loss. You can just feel the profound despair from both of them and the hollow feeling as they try to grieve afterwards.
  • Leopardfur also becomes Whitepaw's new mentor after his first mentor, Whitefang, was killed in battle. He's distracted and disinterested in his training, and when Leopardfur confronts him about it, poor Whitepaw sorrowfully asks if she's going to give up on him and stop being his mentor. Thankfully, Leopardfur reassures him she's not going anywhere and tells him she believes he's going to grow up to be a powerful warrior, and encourages him to cherish time with his remaining kin and friends: Vixenleap, Grasswhisker, Beetlenose, and Silverstream.
  • Somewhat unrelated, but the whole situation regarding Leopardfur and Frogleap, especially after the latter's death. It's clear that Frogleap cares deeply about Leopardfur and would like to be in a relationship with her, but the career-oriented Leopardfur ultimately dismisses the possibility of them becoming mates. While disheartened, Frogleap eventually moves on and has kits with Mosspelt...but he ends up dying in a horrible fishing accident. On top of poor Leopardfur beating herself up over not cherishing her good friend more, poor Mosspelt has three very young kittens who barely understand what death means, leading to the little ones asking where their father is / whether or not he still loves them (Woodkit), crying (Robinkit), or simply being too young to comprehend that Frogleap isn't coming back (Dawnkit, as she simply asks if they can eat soon). The whole thing is just horrible, even more so when Robinkit and Woodkit drown a few chapters later. Poor, poor Mosspelt.
• In A Thief in ThunderClan, it's painful to see how hurt Brightheart is that she wasn't chosen as a mentor, especially knowing what happens in later books. She won't be getting an apprentice for a couple years, and when she does, it's Jaypaw, who is ungrateful to have her as a mentor and who ends up switching apprenticeships to become a medicine cat not long after his training starts. Firestar promises her at that point that she'll mentor one of the next kits, but sadly, she never becomes a mentor again.

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