Using your example, I meant it in the sense that the DM could have just as easily said 30 minutes of following as a cat instead of 40 and you would have 25% more wildshape resources, an entire box extra.
Things like Ki points can’t be fudged. You either use it or you don’t. This solution, while I enjoy the discourse, is going to end with the druid at my table saying that they’re only turning into a mouse for a few seconds while they scurry under the door. How do we handle that occurring 10+ times a session? At what point do we need too many house rules to govern this one rule change?
In the interest of discussion, I’ll offer an alternative. What if you had Wildshape Charges instead of Wildshape Minutes? Feel free to change the numbers, but let’s say you have 8 charges at level 5, and gain 1 or 2 charges per level. It takes 4 charges to transform into a CR2 animal, 2 charges for a CR 1, and a flat 1 charge for anything below CR 1. The amount of time you can Wildshape stays the same, or is a flat hourly amount. This will allow you to strategically plan out your Wildshape Charges while adding no additional rules for the DM or table. Thoughts?