Withers: First New Confirmed Cataclysm Pet

We're excited to report the first confirmed new pet available in Cataclysm! Withers is the little fella's name, befitting his ragged appearance and unique idle animation. He begins as a fairly large treant (well, large for a small pet) who withers away/shrinks over time. When he gets close to water, he emotes, "Withers absorbs the water, growing back to full size!"

Withers is rewarded from a long quest chain in Lor'danel, a new Alliance city in Darkshore. He therefore appears to be an Alliance-only pet. He's awarded to players by a new NPC named Cerellean Whiteclaw for completing the final quest in the series, Remembrance of Auberdine.

We remain confident that the developers will insert a Horde-only equivalent of some sort, possibly even the same pet. We'll keep you posted as we continue to receive reports from beta testers.