It’s Catastic! Kittens take on Puppy Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday

Bring on the kitties!

The Puppy Bowl is no longer ruling Super Bowl Sunday with the cutest, furriest critters to take the field. Hallmark Channel has unveiled the inaugural Kitten Bowl, dubbing it a three-hour “catstravaganza” that they hope will encourage viewers to “adopt, not shop” for their next pet.

Facing off at the Kitten Bowl will be some names you’re sure to recognize. Such as, Tomcat Brady, Tabby Romo, Feline Manning, Brett Furve, Jay Catler and Dan Furrino.

PHOTOS: A sneak peek at Kitten Bowl

The bowl, which begins Feb. 2 at noon Pacific and Eastern, and 11 a.m. Central, will also include some recognizable names of the two-legged sort.

The event is hosted by Beth Stern (wife of you-know-who), and will include play-by-play announcing by New York Yankees radio voice John Sterling. Stopping by will be Bob Harper, Rachael Ray, Regis Philbin, Hoda Kotb, Kelly Rutherford, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Carrie Ann Inaba and many others.

In all, 71 kittens of all sizes, stripes and colors took place in Kitten Bowl, which was shot in October. Take a look at some of the action shots above: There’s plenty of pouncing, pawing and tail flicking, and even a kitty perched atop a goal post.

By the end of the shoot, all the kittens -- who hailed from two New York shelters, the North Shore Animal League America and Last Hope Rehabilitation & Rescue -- had found their forever homes.

But there are plenty of equally cute kittens (and puppies) at local animal shelters in your town. No one knows for sure who will be the big winner on Super Bowl Sunday.

But it’s a sure bet that there’s a cute kitten (or puppy) waiting for you to walk through the door of your local shelter and take ‘em home.

Do you have a furry rescue? Tweet me a pic @renelynch

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