How Explorer Firecat McLane Got His Name

Sometimes books imitate life and other times life imitates books. I’ve written before about the unusual names that Paul and Megan gave their kittens last summer. I thought it would be fun to provide an explanation of how Paul’s cat, Explorer Firecat McLane, got his name.

“Kittens love to explore.” So begins The Kitten Book (Look-Look) by Jan Pfloog. The book goes on to describe the life of a kitten. I’m not sure where we picked up this cute little book but it is a favorite read in our house. Hence the name, Explorer.

Hero Cat by Eileen Spinelli is based on the true story about a stray mother cat who rescued her five kittens one by one from a fire on Long Island in 1996. The book includes a picture of the real-life heroine Scarlett with her kittens after their rescue. “Hero Cat” gave birth to Firecat. It made perfect sense to my then three year old son.