Smudge

Smudge is a soft, plump, black-and-white tom with black shoulders, a narrow face, round amber eyes, a white tail-tip, and a black nose.

Firestar's Quest

 * Smudge starts having strange dreams about a large group of cats who are fleeing something, and remembers that his friend, Firestar, had strange dreams when he left to join the cats of the forest. He heads into the forest to talk to Firestar, but is found by a patrol, consisting of two ThunderClan warriors, Ashfur and Brambleclaw. The patrol attacks the tom, thinking that he's an intruder.


 * Luckily, Firestar is nearby and able to stop the ensuing fight. He later finds out that his Twoleg nest is built on the site of the old SkyClan camp, and that his dreams were about SkyClan. While they are talking at his Twoleg nest, he introduces Firestar to Hattie, a kittypet who lives with Firestar's old housefolk. He lets Firestar spend the night in his yard, hoping to find some answers. He is soon relieved that he doesn't have to live in the forest with the other wild cats, as Firestar had done.

Into the Wild

 * Smudge is a kittypet and a good friend of Rusty. He is seen greeting Rusty while he sits on the fence of his Twoleg's nest. Smudge wonders if he will go out into the woods, and he disagrees with Rusty when Rusty says that he is. Smudge mentions how another kittypet, Henry, went into the woods and caught a robin. Rusty disagrees and refuses to believe him as he knows Henry to be fat and lazy. He claims that Henry told him of dangerous animals and wild cats in the woods, yet he gives up with trying to persuade Rusty to stay, and goes back down to his own garden, and Rusty decides to go into the woods anyway.


 * The next day, Smudge talks to Rusty again and asks him about his visit to the woods. He is shocked when Rusty tells him about fighting one of the wild cats. When Rusty decides that he is going to join ThunderClan, Smudge is upset and begs him not to leave. He later accepts that his friend will be leaving. Smudge spends the rest of the morning with Rusty, visiting their old haunts and later says goodbye to him before he leaves.


 * Later, he sees Rusty, now Firepaw, when he is having an assessment. The two of them don't recognize each other at first, but when they do, they start talking. Tigerclaw witnesses this interaction and reports the incident to Bluestar.

The Darkest Hour

 * When Firestar goes to Twolegplace to pay his old home a visit, he sees Smudge talking with an unnamed she-cat, later revealed to be Hattie, that he assumes must live at his previous home.

Dawn

 * He does not formally appear, but he is mentioned by Cody who meets Leafpaw and asks her about Clan life, talking about how Smudge lived with Rusty.

Cats of the Clans

 * Rock explains to the kits, Adderkit, Blossomkit, and Mosskit, that Smudge was Firestar's neighbor and best friend back when he was a kittypet. Rock describes Smudge as plump and lazy, and says that Smudge couldn't understand why Firestar would want to live with the supposedly dangerous Clan cats. Despite this, he was brave enough to find Firestar when he had dreams of SkyClan, which shows his loyalty to his friend, proving that not all kittypets are just fat and lazy.

Trivia
• In Firestar's Quest, Smudge refers to Firestar as Firestar, even though the last time they had seen each other, Firestar was still called Firepaw.