1. is there a way to change what the embark skill cap is (so i could for example start with a legendary miner) i've figured how to do it with CE but its soooo monotonous
CE? You mean a Code Edit?
I'm guessing what you want is a utility like
Adjust Profile, which used
Rick's Tweak Utility. Unfortunately, this appears to have been last updated nearly 3 years ago, so it probably only works for really old versions. On the other hand, I noticed Andux's
Tweak for 0.31.19, which claims to be an updated version of Gibbed's Dwarf Fortress Tweak (which, in turn, was an updated version of Rick's Tweak Utility). However, the download says this "mainly just Tile Edit at this point". Still, you could try to contact
Andux and ask if he plans to include an update of
Adjust Profile.
Another possible solution would be a utility to alter the skill after you embark. One used to be able to do that with
Runesmith, which was like
Dwarf Therapist on
steroids. It includes the ability to edit skills. Unfortunately, it was last updated for 31.16 and it could never get updated to 31.18 because, unfortunately,
DFHack only offered
partial support for 31.18. Hopefully, it may get updated some day...
3. is there a way to change how often an breeds or the gestation or something in that area
I will assume you are starting with a cat as a base. There's are
reasons why cats breed so fast.
Cats already have the [CHILD:1] token, which means they reach adulthood (breeding age) after just one year. I'm not sure if it is possible to reduce this to less than a year. (I would guess not.)
Other domestic animals, such as the donkey, have the [MULTIPLE_LITTER_RARE] token, which slows reproduction. Cats
lack this, so they breed even faster.
The only other thing I can think of to make them breed faster is the MAXAGE token, to make sure they have a long life as breeders. Cats already have [MAXAGE:10:20] (min. of 10 years, max. of 20), so that should be plenty.
the main thought for the last two questions being dragon size cats with increased catsplossion potential
That's a scary thought!...
Your fortress certainly would not lack for meat, fat, or adequate pet defenses, though.