Stockholm Syndrome

Stockholm Syndrome causes your cat to involuntarily move toward the source of damage whenever it takes a hit. This reactive movement pulls the cat closer to its attacker after every damage instance, which is the opposite of what most defensive strategies require. Instead of retreating from danger, the Stockholm Syndrome cat is drawn toward it, potentially ending up surrounded by enemies.

Stockholm Syndrome is heritable and can pass from parent to kitten through breeding. It can also be acquired through events or applied with a Disorder Syringe from the Organ Grinder. The movement-toward-source trigger happens on every damage instance, so multi-hit attacks can pull the cat repeatedly toward the attacker. This disorder is the opposite of Traumatophobia, which moves the cat away from damage sources.

Strategically, Stockholm Syndrome is actually useful on melee cats that want to stay close to enemies. If a ranged enemy attacks your melee cat, Stockholm Syndrome automatically closes the distance, saving movement actions. It becomes counterproductive when multiple enemies attack from different directions, pulling the cat around erratically. The disorder pairs well with melee-heavy builds that have strong on-adjacent effects like Gastritis (end-of-turn poison to adjacents) or Stinky (push adjacents away).