9 Kittens and Puppies Named Like a Menu, Including a Litter of Rescue Puppies With Potato Names

Animals
10/30/2026
9 Kittens and Puppies Named Like a Menu, Including a Litter of Rescue Puppies With Potato Names

When I volunteered at a shelter in high school, part of my job was photographing new litters for the board, and we named every one of them after whatever someone had brought for lunch. One summer the board was all orange kittens called the Nuggets. These 9 kittens and puppies came with names like that too, and their owners and fosters chose every one.

Papaya Is Half the Size of Her Siblings in the Orange Foster Litter, and the Smartest of Them

“Papaya’s crime is being half the size of the siblings in the orange foster litter, but she makes up by being the smartest!”

She needs to be in a purrito for feedings because she doesn’t have table manners yet and pushes the syringe away with her tiny paws.

Grapefruit is for scale!

A Foster Who Had Named 300 Kittens Finally Ran Out of Ideas for Two More

“For the first time in my life, after naming 300+ foster kittens, I cannot think of names for these two boys. It’s driving me nuts!”

Meet Toast, One of Seven Kittens in a Foster Litter

“Meet Toast! One of 7 kittens in the litter we’re fostering.”

From the author:

The lunch rule at our shelter had one flaw: it depended on lunch. The week somebody brought leftovers, we got a litter called the Casseroles, and nobody could agree on how to spell it on the board. The orange ones were always the easiest. Something about an orange kitten makes people think of food first and paperwork second.

Nine Rescue Puppies, Nine Potato Names, and This One Is Gnocchi

“Welcome baby Gnocchi!”

A local family surrendered mama and her littler of 9. The rescue likes to name litters in a theme. Every one of the 9 has a potato-related name.

Ham and His Sister Cheese, Who Is Always Upside Down

Ham (right side up) and his sister Cheese (upside down, always)

Two Black Cats Named Jam and Toast

From the author:
Photographing a litter for the board was mostly waiting. Kittens don’t line up, so I’d set them on a towel by the same window I used for the black cats and take whatever I got before the first one wandered off. The best shot of the Nuggets was four orange backs and one face. It stayed on the board all summer.

Three Orange Cats Named Colby, Gouda and Cheddar

Colby, Gouda & Cheddar

A Year After the Litter Was Born, the Puppies Came Back for Their First Birthday Party

“1 year ago my dog had a litter of puppies. This weekend some of them came back for their 1st birthday party!”

It was seriously SO fun. We had 10 dogs just running around in a thundering herd, it was like a dream haha. Ended the night with the dogs and their humans by a fire. The dogs all got along awesome which makes me think they do! Some of them see each other more regularly so I’m sure that played a part.

Momma did recognize them, and wanted no part in playing with them hahaha. One of the puppies’ humans made pup cakes for all of them! And they all went home with a birthday gift bag full of toys and treats haha. Way too spoiled.

A little more than half of the litter is in the local area. And we try to get them all together a couple times a year.

From the author:
When a kitten from the board went home, its lunch name usually went with it for about a week. Then the family picked a real one, and sometimes somebody brought a photo back with the new name written on the back. We pinned those under the old names, so by fall the board was half menu, half family album.

Four Littermates Met Again on Their First Birthday, and the Party Didn’t Go as Planned

“For my baby’s first birthday we reunited her with her litter mates...”

Oh how I wish we did! We were expecting a cute photo with them & all of their moms.. then all hell broke loose.

Luckily we all ended up okay, all hiss no claws.

She is 4 now. Let’s just say we never had another joint party lol.

The cats in the last story were four years old by the time anyone admitted how that party went, and nobody was calling them by litter names anymore. A litter name lasts about a week; after that, every kitten gets a name of its own and a family to go with it.

What would you name a litter after your favorite snack? Tell us in the comments.

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