Is it possible for a ranger to get a big cat as an animal companion, either through feats or archetypes?
The Beastmaster Archetype opens up the entire Druid List of Animal Companions for the Ranger.
That'll work great, thanks!
Another question: Do animal companions get their racial skill modifiers? As in, if my ranger has a tiger for an animal companion, does it get the racial bonuses to acrobatics and stealth like a normal tiger?
You can also go into Mammoth Rider later if you want a really big (huge) cat.
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Or, assuming this is not PFS, Ask the GM.
If that does not work, a dip in Druid or Hunter opens up the FULL list for you.
Opens it up for that class. If it's not on the others' class lists then you're stuck with a lvl 1 companion as it won't advance if it's not on all class lists that are progressing.
You don't need to jump through all those feat hoops. A ranger picks small cat, it becomes medium at it's fourth level advancement for free.Are you asking for a big cat as in lions, tigers, etc, or a really big housecat?
Because if you want the latter, the Iron Will > Familiar Bond > Improved Familiar Bond feat chain will get you a Cat familiar that you can equip with the Mauler archetype, and wind up with a medium Cat.
Familiars are smart though. Concievably smarter than the ranger.
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Classes that grant an animal companion all stack for levels. Thus a 1 level dip for a ranger in either of those opens up all the choices and will stack for final Class Level.
Not according to Paizo
Cavalier: Do animal companion levels from the druid class stack with cavalier mount levels?
If the animal is on the cavalier mount list and on the list of animal companions for your other class, your cavalier and druid levels stack to determine the animal's abilities. If the animal is not on the cavalier mount list, the druid levels do not stack and you must have different animals (one an animal companion, one a cavalier mount).
For example, if you are Medium druid and you choose a horse companion, levels in cavalier stack to determine the horse's abilities. If you are a Medium druid and you choose a bird companion, levels in cavalier do not stack to determine the bird's abilities, and you must choose a second creature to be your mount (or abandon the bird and select an animal companion you can use as a mount).
This same answer applies to multiclassed cavalier/rangers.
(Note that the design team discourages players from having more than one companion creature at a time, as those creatures tend to be much weaker than a single creature affected by these stacking rules, and add to the bookkeeping for playing that character.)
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You would be correct Claudekennilol, if this was a cavalier seeking a big cat.
However, this is not a cavalier, it is a ranger. Cavalier has a Mount List, not a generic Animal Companion List. Your FAQ only mentions rangers in 1 line, to the effect that ranger levels would not open up new options for a cavalier.
In the end, I still suggest ask the GM. I have never been able to find a reason for the heavy restriction on the list (even when the full list is expanded and includes animals rangers can take, see Roc). It is likely some legacy thing, and thus something a GM is more likely to remove.
To each his own, then. To me, that FAQ says that classes do not stack for animal companions unless that animal companion is on both lists. I do agree that I see no reason for the limited list, though.