Rescue cats channel their inner quarterbacks as they compete in Kitten Bowl with scratchy goalposts and litter boxes on the sidelines

  • Almost 100 rescue kittens took to the field for this year's event
  • The feline Super Bowl will air just before the main event on February 7
  • Beth Stern will host the game and Boomer Esiason is the commissioner
  • The Super Bowl will kick off at 3:30pm PST in Santa Clara, California

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Almost 100 rescue kittens ran and jumped around a miniature football field in preparation for this year's Kitten Bowl.

The feline version of the Super Bowl will air on February 7 just before the main event kicks off in Santa Clara.

Taking after the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos, the kittens tried to steal the ball from one another in a custom-made field with scratchy goalposts and plenty of cat toys.

All of the them have been adopted since the event was taped in October. Some went home with host Beth Stern, a spokeswoman for North Shore Animal League, which supplied the kittens.

Almost 100 rescue kittens jumped around a miniature football field in preparation for this year's Kitten Bowl, a feline version of the Super Bowl

Almost 100 rescue kittens jumped around a miniature football field in preparation for this year's Kitten Bowl, a feline version of the Super Bowl

The Kitten Bowl, which was taped in October last year, will air on February 7 just before the main event kicks off in Santa Clara

The Kitten Bowl, which was taped in October last year, will air on February 7 just before the main event kicks off in Santa Clara

Her husband Howard Stern is the official cat namer of their family, with six resident felines and a steady stream of fosters. 

Former quarterback Boomer Esiason acted as the Feline Football League commissioner for the second time this year.

'Sometimes we get into an issue or two. They tend to like to really delve into the catnip, and that type of thing sometimes gets a little out of control,' he said.

Esiason also brought in his own team of kittens, the Boomer Bobcats, but said his players wouldn't get preferential treatment.

'I'm not like that. I'm above all of that, and my quarterback Ben Roethlis-purrger — we like to call him Big Ben — is just so cute and cuddly. I'm telling you he's going to knock everybody's socks off this year.'

Big Ben's human doppelganger is Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.

Former quarterback Boomer Esiason acted as the Feline Football League commissioner for the second time this year and even brought in his own team, the Boomer Bobcats

Former quarterback Boomer Esiason acted as the Feline Football League commissioner for the second time this year and even brought in his own team, the Boomer Bobcats

The Kitten Bowl field had scratchy goalposts and came with many kitten toys. There were metal water bowls on the sidelines along with a few litter boxes

The Kitten Bowl field had scratchy goalposts and came with many kitten toys. There were metal water bowls on the sidelines along with a few litter boxes

Human wranglers ringed the elevated Kitten Bowl set, sending some players back on the field when they tried to escape. Hydration came in metal water bowls on the sidelines, along with a couple of litter boxes.

Esiason, an NFL most valuable player and four-time Pro Bowl quarterback, was happy to help out worthy kittens, but back home it's all about his two dogs.

He used to have a cat, a Himalayan with bright blue eyes called Frankie, named for his college roommate 

'The kitten players,' Esiason said, 'are so much easier to deal with than human players.'

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