| "But he obviously tried to kill Shadowsight! We need to kill him before he can hurt any other cat. And if you want to prove you're really with us now, you'll go along with it." |
| — Kitescratch growling at Bristlefrost about the impostor in Veil of Shadows, page 155 |
Kitescratch is a reddish-brown tom[1] with a torn ear.[7]
Kitescratch was a SkyClan warrior under Leafstar's leadership in the lake territories. He was born as Kitekit to Reedclaw and Quailfeather alongside his sister, Turtlekit. After becoming apprenticed to Sagenose as Kitepaw, he would often tease Rootpaw about his father. Once he received his warrior name, Kitescratch assisted the rebels, and Leafstar had to exile him to keep up appearances and to dupe the imposter. Kitescratch was never truly banished for what he did, and Hawkwing was sent to fetch him the moment Bramblestar's imposter left SkyClan. Kitescratch later became mates with Needleclaw, who bore his kits, Starlingkit and Robinkit. Soon after his kits became apprentices, Kitescratch participated in a patrol to attack badgers, but was killed by one after defending Starlingpaw when Leafstar mistook the apprentice for a badger.
Quick Answers
Who was Kitescratch's mentor during his apprenticeship?
Why was Kitescratch exiled from SkyClan?
What is the significance of Kitescratch's torn ear?
Who were Kitescratch's mate and kits?
History[]
In The Broken Code arc[]
Lost Stars[]
- "Maybe the reason you're having such problems with training is that you're not meant to be a warrior. Maybe you're meant to be the kind of cat who talks to dead cats. After all, your father has his 'ways', right?"
- ―Kitepaw mocking Rootpaw about Tree Lost Stars, page 24
- Kitepaw and Turtlepaw are training, and their mentors leave to go hunting. Turtlepaw tells Rootpaw, who is having trouble with a battle move, that he is waiting too long. Before the young tom can reply, Kitepaw interrupts, with malicious eyes, that he could just decide to follow another path in life and maybe he is having trouble because he is not meant to be a warrior, maybe he is meant to be the kind of cat who talks to the dead. The two toms nearly fight, but Turtlepaw shoulders herself between them, saying they will get in trouble for fighting and sneeringly adds that it is not like Rootpaw would win anyway. Rootpaw insists he will become a strong warrior, and Kitepaw suggests that if he wants to prove himself, maybe he can help them collect herbs down by the lake. Rootpaw agrees, and once they reach the lake, the two older apprentices continue jabbing at him, and Rootpaw gets furious and charges at them. However, he ends up running out onto the ice of the lake. The ice breaks and he falls in, and when Bristlepaw and a ThunderClan patrol come to help, she sees Kitepaw and Turtlepaw running up and down along the bank, yowling in terror.
- After Bristlepaw saves Rootpaw, Kitepaw apologizes, ducking his head with shame and helps him walk to the ThunderClan camp where he recovers. Bristlepaw tells Rootpaw that he needs to stay away from Kitepaw and Turtlepaw and not listen to their ideas. As Rootpaw and Dewspring head out, he sees Leafstar speaking with the two apprentices, who have their heads bowed, and Dewspring explains that she is punishing them for putting him in danger. Rootpaw runs into the pair and asks how their punishment is going, and Kitepaw turns away with a hiss, as though he is too angry to speak. Turtlepaw tells him their punishment was to scrap the earth in the dirtplace to make it soft, and Rootpaw apologizes, but is interrupted by Kitepaw who says only a foolish cat would fall into the lake like he did, then adds he is the son of the weirdest cat in the Clan so it is no surprise he is that mouse-brained.
- Rootpaw manages to catch a massive crow for SkyClan when they have a shortage of prey due to the harsh leafbare. He expects a mocking remark from Kitepaw, but the tom only gives him a respectful nod. Rootpaw is allowed to chose some cats to share the crow with and picks Needlepaw, Kitepaw, and Turtlepaw. Kitepaw looks surprised, but gives his Clanmate a nod of thanks. As they eat, Kitepaw admits he was impressed with Rootpaw when he stood up to him that day he fell through the ice. With a gleam of amusement, he says it was stupid, but brave. Rootpaw gets along better with the older apprentices, but since he brought Bristlepaw some prey as a thank you for saving him, he sometimes catches them glancing at him resentfully over the dwindling fresh-kill pile.
The Silent Thaw[]
- "How did you fall into the lake again?"
- ―Kitescratch to Rootpaw The Silent Thaw, page 51
Veil of Shadows[]
- Kitescratch joins the rebels wishing to overthrow Bramblestar's impostor. He arrives in SkyClan's old camp with Violetshine, Tree, Rootpaw, and Needleclaw. During another rebel meeting, Kitescratch agrees with Breezepelt that they should kill Bramblestar since he almost killed Shadowsight. He also challenges Bristlefrost's loyalty to their cause and pressures to agree. Later he, Pigeonfoot, Gravelnose, and Turtlecrawl overhear Tigerstar wishing to kill Bramblestar and wants to go to ThunderClan's territory to find proof to convince Leafstar to act. Kitescratch asks Rootspring to join them, but he refuses since he has his vigil to attend that night.
- However, Kitescratch, Stemleaf, Spotfur, Dappletuft, and Conefoot launch a surprise attack on the impostor in hopes of killing him. Bristlefrost rushes off to find help for Bramblestar, but returns to find Stemleaf, Dappletuft, and Conefoot dead. Kitescratch and Spotfur stare in horror and flee. Kitescratch lies that an owl attacked him, but Shadowsight is dubious and wonders what really caused Kitescratch's numerous wounds.
- The impostor arrives in SkyClan's camp and singles out Kitescratch as the one who attempted to murder him. He demands Leafstar to banish Kitescratch, and Kitescratch admits he did participate in the attack. Leafstar exiles him and Kitescratch numbly leaves the camp. Tinycloud and several other SkyClan warriors yowl in protest. After the impostor leaves, Leafstar orders Hawkwing to fetch Kitescratch, stating that now was the time for SkyClan to confront Bramblestar.
Darkness Within[]
- Kitescratch and his sister, Turtlecrawl, are briefly seen when Rootspring scans SkyClan's camp. The pair of cats are helping do apprentice tasks, and cleaning out the elders' den, bringing them new bedding. Rootspring thinks to himself that he grew up with Kitescratch and Turtlecrawl, and tried very hard to embrace the skills he inherited from Tree in order to impress the two older cats, who had relentlessly bullied him.
The Place of No Stars[]
- Rootspring recalls how Kitepaw and Turtlepaw taunted him enough that he fell in the frozen lake as he nearly drowns in the dark lake in the Place of No Stars.
A Light in the Mist[]
- Kitescratch attends the Gathering where Bramblestar is welcomed, and glances at Rootspring when he is named a Light in the Mist. When Rootspring reveals how he would have left SkyClan for Bristlefrost, Kitescratch comments that he did not realize how much his Clanmate loved her.
In the Changing Skies arc[]
The Elders' Quest[]
- "Leafstar, I'm more than willing to go. But don't you think it would be a good idea for the six of us to relax for a while? After all, I did the dawn patrol, and so did Rootspring. And all the others have been out hunting."
- ―Kitescratch to Leafstar The Elders' Quest, chapter 8
- Leafstar announces that Kitescratch is to join a patrol to drive out a badger from SkyClan territory. Kitescratch asks Leafstar to send the patrol later, as he had been on dawn patrol and many other warriors had tired themselves doing duties.
- Once the patrol reaches the badger's territory, Kitescratch assembles alongside Gravelnose and Reedclaw on one side of the set. When the badger emerges, Reedclaw and Kitescratch put their paws into the den, delivering blows to its face. The badger bites Kitescratch's leg, trying to drag him into the set. Kitescratch escapes, but the badger follows him outside. A second badger then arrives, however Starlingpaw does as well. Kitescratch defends his son when Leafstar mistakes him for a badger and attacks. While the three cats are stunned, the second badger attacks and fatally wounds Kitescratch. He manages to run, but collapses due to blood loss. Leafstar orders her patrol to fetch herbs and the medicine cats, but it is too late, and Kitescratch dies.
- Leafstar, in her grief and rage for Kitescratch, yells at Starlingpaw, blaming the apprentice for Kitescratch's death. Later, SkyClan holds a vigil for him, with Quailfeather and Needleclaw helping Fallowfern to bury him. Leafstar falls asleep during the vigil, offending Reedclaw and causing her to remark that her idea was mouse-brained and cost Kitescratch his life. Reedclaw then tries to depose Leafstar, citing Kitescratch's death being unnecessary and a result of the leader's poor judgement. When Hawkwing interjects, saying that the Clan should focus on honoring Kitescratch, Reedclaw says that the only way to honor Kitescratch is to get rid of Leafstar. When the vote occurs, Fallowfern is the last cat to vote as she had been busy burying Kitescratch. After the vote, Leafstar apologizes to Starlingpaw for blaming him for Kitescratch's death.
- A few days later, Hawkwing alerts Leafstar of a new plan to drive out the badgers, but Leafstar cannot stop thinking about Kitescratch.
- When Reedclaw holds a second vote to depose Leafstar, she once again alludes the plan that led to Kitescratch's death as a reason to question the leader's abilities.
Hidden Moon[]
- Coming Soon
In the Super Editions[]
Squirrelflight's Hope[]
- Kitekit and Turtlekit are kits in SkyClan, born to Reedclaw. When Squirrelflight arrives in the SkyClan camp, she sees him and his sister playing in the puddles with two smaller kits. She mentions that he and Turtlekit could not be older than three moons. Tree tells the ThunderClan deputy that he and Turtlekit are Reedclaw's kits when she asks about them.
In the Novellas[]
Spotfur's Rebellion[]
- "I'm not sure we can trust her anymore. She didn't fight us, but she didn't fight for us."
- ―Kitescratch on Bristlefrost after ambushing the impostor Spotfur's Rebellion, chapter 9
Detailed description[]
Scars[]
The following is a chronological list of scars and/or major injuries that Kitescratch has gained:
- Torn ear from battling the impostor in Veil of Shadows.[7]
Character pixels[]
The pixel artwork is fanart based on the canon description; undefined traits are left to the artist's interpretation. |
Official art[]
|
Please do not edit this gallery. Kitescratch's icon on the Warriors family tree |
Kin[]
Members[]
Father:
- Quailfeather:[8] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
Mother:
Sister:
- Turtlecrawl:[5] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
Mate:
- Needleclaw:[9] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
Daughter:
Son:
- Starlingpaw:[9] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Finleap:[10] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Dewspring:[10] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Parsleyseed:[11] Living (As of Hawkwing's Journey)
Aunts:
- Sunnypelt:[12] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Pigeonfoot:[12] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Pebbleshine:[11] Deceased, verified StarClan member
Grandmothers:
- Plumwillow:[13] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Tinycloud:[12] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
Grandfathers:
- Sandynose:[13] Deceased, verified StarClan member
- Sparrowpelt:[11] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
Great-grandfathers:
- Waspwhisker:[14] Status unknown
- Patchfoot:[15] Deceased, residence unknown
- Unnamed tom:[16] Status unknown
Great-grandmothers:
- Fallowfern:[15] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Clovertail:[17] Status unknown
Great-uncles:
- Nettlesplash:[15] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Rabbitleap:[15] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Creekfeather:[15] Living (As of SkyClan's Destiny)
Great-aunts:
- Birdwing:[17] Status unknown
- Honeytail:[17] Deceased, residence unknown
- Cherrytail:[18] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
Half-great-uncles:
- Rockshade:[19] Living (As of Beyond the Code)
- Bouncefire:[19] Deceased, verified StarClan member
Half-great-aunt:
Great-great-grandmother:
- Unnamed she-cat:[20] Status unknown
First cousins:
- Beesting:[21] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Beetleshine:[21] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Twigbranch:[22] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
- Violetshine:[22] Living (As of Hidden Moon)
Tree[]
| See more | See more | See more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawkwing ♂ | Pebbleshine ♀ | Parsleyseed ♂ | Pigeonfoot ♀ | Sunnypelt ♀ | Quailfeather ♂ | Reedclaw ♀ | Dewspring ♂ | Finleap ♂ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Twigbranch ♀ | Violetshine ♀ | Tree ♂ | See more | Kitescratch ♂ | Turtlecrawl ♀ | See more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rootspring ♂ | Needleclaw ♀ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robinpaw ♀ | Starlingpaw ♂ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
= Tom
= She-cat
= Gender unknown
Appearances[]
- Spotfur's Rebellion
- Squirrelflight's Hope
- Lost Stars (First appearance)
- The Silent Thaw
- Veil of Shadows
- Darkness Within
- Graystripe's Vow (Allegiances only)
- Daisy's Kin (Allegiances only)
- The Place of No Stars (Allegiances appearance; mentioned in text)
- A Light in the Mist
- River (Allegiances only)
- Sky (Allegiances only)
- Shadow (Allegiances only)
- Thunder (Allegiances only)
- Wind (Allegiances only)
- Star (Allegiances only)
- Ivypool's Heart (Allegiances only)
- The Elders' Quest †
- Hidden Moon (Mentioned only)
Trivia[]
Interesting facts[]
- Quailfeather being the father of Reedclaw's kits was first introduced on the Warrior Cats website family tree.[23]
Quotes[]
- "You know, I was impressed by you, that day you fell through the ice. It was a brave thing to do, standing up for yourself and attacking me like that. Stupid, but brave."
- ―Kitepaw to Rootpaw Lost Stars, page 96
- "No, don't hurt him!"
- ―Kitescratch defending Starlingpaw after Leafstar mistakes him for a badger The Elders' Quest, page 98
External links[]
Exclusive! Veil of Shadows: Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Nothing But Stories on Warriors official website (backup link) (Indirect mention only)
Exclusive! Graystripe's Vow: Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! Darkness Within: Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! The Place of No Stars Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! A Warrior's Choice Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
What matters most... on Warriors official website (backup link) (Indirect mention only)
Exclusive! A Light in the Mist: Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! River: Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! Sky: Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! Shadow: Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! Thunder: Excerpt on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive: Wind chapters on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! Ivypool's Heart chapters on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
Exclusive! Star chapters on Warriors official website (backup link) (Allegiances only)
The cats of The Broken Code on Warriors official website (backup link) (Indirect mention only)
Exclusive! The Elders' Quest chapters on Warriors official website (backup link)
Changing Skies family tree updates - a sneak peek! on Warriors official website (backup link) (Mentioned only)
New chapters! Hidden Moon on Warriors official website (backup link) (Mentioned only)
Previewing Changing Skies, Book #2: Hidden Moon on Warriors official website (backup link) (Mentioned only)
Fan Content[]
A selection of Starlingpaw artwork on Warriors official website (backup link) (Indirect mention only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Revealed in Lost Stars, allegiances
- ↑ Revealed in Veil of Shadows, page 81
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Revealed in Lost Stars, page 16
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Revealed in The Elders' Quest, page 99
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Revealed in Squirrelflight's Hope, allegiances
- ↑ Revealed in The Silent Thaw, allegiances
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Revealed in Veil of Shadows, page 255
- ↑ Revealed in The Elders' Quest, page 130
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Revealed in The Elders' Quest, page 17
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Revealed in Hawkwing's Journey, page 333
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Revealed in Hawkwing's Journey, page 22
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Revealed in Tigerheart's Shadow, allegiances
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Revealed in Hawkwing's Journey, page 332
- ↑ Revealed in SkyClan's Destiny, page 15
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Revealed in SkyClan's Destiny, allegiances
- ↑ Revealed in Firestar's Quest, page 280
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Revealed in The Rescue, page 10
- ↑ Revealed in Hawkwing's Journey, page 21
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Revealed in Firestar's Quest, page 279
- ↑ Revealed in Firestar's Quest, page 363
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Revealed in Darkness Within, page 266
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Revealed in Shattered Sky, page 198
- ↑ Revealed on the Warriors website family tree (screenshot)
- ↑ Kitescratch and Turtlecrawl were revealed to have likely apprenticed a moon earlier than Rootpaw and Needlepaw in pages 43-44 of Squirrelflight's Hope, so they are likely one moon older than them. Rootpaw and Needlepaw are revealed to be six moons old at the very start of leaf-bare in Lost Stars on page 16, so Kitescratch and Turtlecrawl were likely born the newleaf the year before.[3][3]



