| “ | S'all right. | „ |
| ~ Snowkit responding to Cinderpelt and Firestar, his only quote. |
Snowkit is a minor character in Warriors, a fantasy xenofiction novel series created by the Erin Hunter team. Snowkit was a deaf ThunderClan cat and the last of Speckletail's kin. Despite insistence that Snowkit was unable to become a warrior, Speckletail was determined for Snowkit to be just as good as anyone else, a dream that was unrealized with Snowkit's passing at the hands of a hawk.
Why isn't he heroic or villainous[]
- Snowkit dies before he can actually grow up to do anything, and as such has no heroic or villainous actions to speak of. While he is in StarClan, it's highly unlikely if he was in any of its conflicts, or if he's even still remembered enough to stick around, as Snowkit makes no appearances after The Prophecies Begin.
Appearance[]
Snowkit is a small, sturdy kitten with white fur and blue eyes.
Personality[]
| “ | I think there's something the matter with him. He doesn't play like the others. He doesn't seem to respond when any cat talks to him. You know kits, Fireheart—noses into everything—but Snowkit's not like that. | „ |
| ~ Brackenfur to Fireheart about Snowkit. |
With the little time that he has alive, Snowkit was described as being playful and friendly, trying to make friends with the other kits of ThunderClan by joining them in games. However, due to his deafness, Snowkit had a hard time getting along with others, leading to him becoming the victim of teasing.
Snowkit had a close relationship with his mother due to his young age, with Speckletail becoming closely attached to him as well. Due to Snowkit's lack of hearing, Speckletail started making physical movements in order to communicate with Snowkit. Snowkit was generally able to pick up on cues when his mother was around, but failed to notice when everyone else started fleeing an oncoming hawk attack.
It's unknown what kind of cat Snowkit would have grown up to become, as Snowkit died before he was able to substantially develop past kithood.
Biography[]
Although not by name, Snowkit was first introduced in Rising Storm as Speckletail's only kit, and that both had suffered from a bout of whitecough. After recovering, Snowkit has been stated to be well-grown, with Fireheart carrying him around for Speckletail, who had started to become weaker with age.
Snowkit is properly introduced in A Dangerous Path, where he was bullied by Bramblekit and Tawnykit, with the two seemingly annoyed with him for not being able to play their games right. While Fireheart and Goldenflower, mother of Bramblekit and Tawnykit, successfully break up the fight, Fireheart is unable to get Snowkit checked by Speckletail, who is extremely defensive over Snowkit.
After a brief meeting with Brackenfur, who wishes to become Snowkit's mentor but has some concerns for the kit and his development, Fireheart decides to take Snowkit to Cinderpelt, ThunderClan's medicine cat, to see if anything was wrong. With a few tests, the two realized that Snowkit only responded to physical stimuli and was unresponsive to sound alone. With the testing complete, Cinderpelt would conclude that Snowkit was deaf.
Speckletail, having raised Snowkit, already knew and is trying to give Snowkit the best life possible, but Bluestar, the leader of ThunderClan, was extremely hesitant, unwilling to even humor the idea that Snowkit could survive in the wild, her lack of compassion noted as something off. Unwilling to let Bluestar's opinion on the matter get either of them down, Speckletail decided to start informally training Snowkit to become an apprentice, despite how young he is. Brackenfur, still concerned, decided to go and watch over the two just to be sure everything went along smoothly.
However, in a cruel twist of fate, the leaves that provided shade to the ThunderClan camp had recently burned away in a forest fire, leaving ThunderClan open to attack by a rogue hawk. Upon hearing its cry, all of ThunderClan had hidden away to shelter; all except Snowkit, was too distracted playing to notice everyone going away. Right before Speckletail could turn back and reach him, Snowkit was taken by the hawk, its talons ripping into his back as he cried out in pain. Immediately, Brackenfur and Swiftpaw were sent out to try to get Snowkit back, but it was a lost cause, as the hawk flew off beyond where the cats could reach.
After Snowkit's death, Speckletail was devastated, feeling responsible for not watching Snowkit further, and decided to retire to the elder's den. Bluestar, however, saw things differently. Having already heavily lost her trust in StarClan, Bluestar took Snowkit's death as a sign that their very ancestors were at war with the living.
While not explicitly stated, it's can be inferred (and outright confirmed in the official family tree) that Snowkit would ascend to StarClan, where he would eventually reunite with his family after they inevitably pass away.
Trivia[]
- Snowkit is implied to have suffered from pleiotropy, a genetic phenomenon when a single gene interferes with the coding of other unrelated genes. This phenomenon is what causes white cats with blue eyes to have a higher chance of being deaf in real life.
- After the release of Fading Echoes, there was a semi-popular theory that Snowkit became Snowtuft, a Dark Forest cat with white fur, blue eyes, and no known backstory. The theory was eventually debunked in The Place of No Stars, where Snowtuft clarified that he was raised in ShadowClan.
- Victoria Holmes, former lead author of the series, has stated that Snowkit surviving and becoming Snowtuft was one of her favorite theories on her Facebook.
- According to Victoria Holmes in "Erin Hunter Chat 3", Snowkit's death was primarily to give a nudge for Speckletail to become an elder.
- Later on in the series, an eagle tries snatching up Marshkit, a ShadowClan kit, only to be stopped by Brackenfur. Some fans have interpreted this action as a call back to Snowkit's death, being a way to give Brackenfur a sense of closure after Snowkit's premature demise due to a bird.
- Despite how little Snowkit appeared within the series, Snowkit had gained a sizable following, with fans often wishing that he survived for a variety of reasons, with one of the more common ones being how the series would've handled a deaf character. The sentiment would only increase as other disabled characters, such as Cinderpelt, Brightheart, Jayfeather, and Briarlight all became popular, if not outright fan-favorites.
- That being said, Snowkit's portrayal in the series has been criticized by fans, specifically in regards to his lack of development and his early death.
External Links[]
- Snowkit on the Warriors Wiki