New Family on the Block: The Hunger Games Kittens!

How do cats and kittens get to Miri's House?

Miri, the first mama cat fostered here.

Sometimes, we've taken in kittens from a local animal shelter, but usually, like Miri, they just find their way here. Maybe homeless cats leave invisible hobo signs pointing the way, saying "Good food, soft beds, high-potency catnip here!" Maybe not. But however they get here, we're glad these little wanderers find a safe stopping place on their way to a forever home.

Runway, the current mama cat in residence, was wandering around the neighborhood for a while. Sometimes we'd glimpse a little calico face peeking out from under cars or bushes. On a hot Fourth of July day, we got a frantic call from some neighbors. They had managed to capture the little calico, and she was very thin--AND very pregnant. Panting and terrified, she looked as if she were about to give birth immediately. But once released from the cat carrier, she calmed down and showed her true nature: a complete purr bug. With two weeks of high-quality kitten food, Mama grew ... and grew ... Finally, on July 20, she gave birth to four healthy and absolutely stunning kittens: one calico, one grey, one light orange, and one dark orange--the same number and coloring as Miri's kittens.

Runway with Peeta, Rue, Gale, and Katniss.

 Runway got her name from the cute little "landing strip" of orange under her chin, but what to call the kittens? We'd already had a "Harry Potter" family (Molly, Ginny, and Luna), so it seemed only right to honor another favorite young adult book series and name these plucky little survivors after characters in The Hunger Games. So, we have strong and determined Katniss, with the softest grey fur ever; Peeta, the fluffy ginger-blond boy with a gift for gab; sleek dark-red Gale, already a bold explorer; and sweet little Rue, the tiniest but very likely the brightest.

Right now, they still wobble when they walk, and they haven't really seen the world beyond Mama's side. But soon, they will be getting into all kinds of cute kitten trouble, the way kittens do. We'll keep you posted.