Top five saddest warrior cat death

#2: redtail

Redtail was killed by tigerstar/claw. He his the father of sandstorm and the mate of Brindleface. Bluestar's Prophecy

Swiftbreeze gives birth to him and his sisters, Spottedkit and Willowkit. Their older siblings are Patchpelt and Leopardfoot. Redkit is seen with his littermates and mother just before the Clan meeting. He is later made an apprentice, with Sparrowpelt given as his mentor. He is trained by Thistleclaw along with his sister, Willowpaw. When Bluefur takes her kits to RiverClan, Stonekit brags that Redpaw has already shown him how to do the hunting crouch.

Near the end of the story, he is sitting with Bluestar as Redtail, now the deputy of ThunderClan. They watch the apprentices, Dustpaw, Ravenpaw, Graypaw, and his daughter Sandpaw.

In the Original Arc

Into the Wild

Redtail is the ThunderClan deputy under Bluestar's leadership, and the mentor of Dustpaw. During a fight with RiverClan over Sunningrocks, Redtail dies at the claws of Tigerclaw, an ambitious ThunderClan warrior who hopes to become the next deputy of ThunderClan. Tigerclaw lies about Redtail's death, telling the rest of ThunderClan that the RiverClan deputy, Oakheart, had killed Redtail, and that he had killed Oakheart to avenge his fallen Clanmate's death. However, Tigerclaw's apprentice, Ravenpaw, witnessed what actually had happened. Oakheart had been killed by an accidental rockfall while he and Redtail were fighting, and then Tigerclaw killed Redtail since Oakheart was dead.

Firepaw later discovers the truth in his investigations of Redtail's death. Ravenpaw describes Redtail as very brave, and Bluestar refers to him as a noble cat. Dustpaw is devastated when he hears that his mentor has died. Bluestar then chooses Lionheart as the next deputy of ThunderClan instead of Tigerclaw.

The Darkest Hour

Redtail appears as one of the cats who gives Firestar his nine lives. With his life he gives Firestar justice, and thanks Firestar for revealing the truth when no one else could, referring to Firestar exposing Tigerclaw's role in his death.

Later, Redtail is mentioned when Ravenpaw comes out of the barn the he and Barley share. It is said that Ravenpaw was the only cat besides Tigerstar that knew of Redtail's death.

During the battle against BloodClan, Firestar sees the dark fur and bushy red tail of Redtail, along with all the other StarClan cats that gave him his nine lives.

In the Omen of the Stars Arc

The Last Hope

Redtail appears when Jayfeather is going over the cats who gave Firestar his nine lives, shortly after the leader's death. Jayfeather notes that he gave Firestar courage, though Redtail actually gave him justice.

In the Field Guide Arc

Code of the Clans

Redtail briefly appears in one of the stories and is sick with greencough. He is overheard by Longtail speaking with Bluestar about hunting patrols. He orders Longtail and Darkstripe to go hunt, since they weren't sick.

Battles of the Clans

In "Dustpaw Speaks: Shadows in the Forest", Dustpaw mentions that Redtail was stuck in camp with a bellyache after eating a rotten blackbird, and so he went out training with Tigerclaw instead. Tigerclaw asked if Redtail ever taught Dustpaw how to catch prey in trees, while he was teaching him how to swing from branches. His name is mentioned when Tigerclaw, Dustpaw, Darkstripe and Longtail confuse the attacking ShadowClan patrol with multiple Lightning Strikes. Dustpaw then calls out to Redtail, to fool the ShadowClan patrol into thinking that there are more cats fighting them.

Affiliations

Current: Thunderclan

Age: Approx. 47 moons (3.5 years) at death

Cause of Death: Killed by Tigerclaw

Post-Death

Residence: StarClan

Names

Kit: redkit

Apprentice:redpaw

Deputy: Redtail

Family

Mate: brindleface

Mother: swiftbreeze

Father:adder fang

Daughter: sandstorm

Sisters: Spottedleaf, willowpelt, leopard foot

Brother: Patchpelt

Education

Mentor(s): Halftail

Apprentice(s): Dustpelt

Deputy Position

Preceded by: Bluefur

Succeeded by: Lionheart

Book Appearances

Living: Bluestar's Prophecy, Into the Wild, Code of the Clans, Battles of the Clans

Dead: The Darkest Hour, The Last Hope, The Ultimate Guide

"Redtail was a brave warrior. His loyalty to ThunderClan could never be doubted. I always relied on his judgement, for it bore witness to the needs of the Clan, and was never swayed by self-interest or pride. He would have made a fine leader."

- Bluestar in Into the Wild, page 44

Redtail

Redtail is a small, dark, dappled tortoiseshell tom with a distinctive, bushy tail as red as fox fur, and feathered ears.