CAT - Rigging

FK - forward kinematics, rotation and 'children' follow. IK - inverse kinematics, the 'parents' follow, AUTO IK - follows all the way back to original 'grandparent' - spine. Deselect con (edit mode) to break the chain to the spine at that point.

Add modifier - armature, making sure at top, ob name = name of armature.

USEFUL TIPS

SHIFT E - symmetrically extrude
CTRL TAB - pose mode (armature)
ALT R - clear rotation
ALT G - clear location