According to one promo, "Sunriver is not a city, or town -- it's an experience." If so, few enjoy that experience more than Ms. Kitty, a gray-tabby domestic shorthair of medium build with a black stripe down her back. For the last 10 years Ms. Kitty, aka Mallie or Momma Kitty, has made her home on or under the boardwalk that runs in front of 10 of the two-dozen-plus stores of the Sunriver Village Mall. When she first arrived at the mall, Ms. Kitty spent most of her time roaming under the boardwalk. She ventured out from time to time only to soak up the sun, which she still does every chance she gets; but in the meantime she has become more affectionate, allowing people to pet her and even permitting some of the mall employees to hold her. Yet when it comes to that lovin' spoonful, nothing tops a tummy rub.

"She loves having her stomach rubbed. She's like a dog. You can rub her stomach for hours," says Jeanne Larson, an employee at Pacific Crest Clothing Company, located in building 9 along the boardwalk.

When the weather gets cold -- the average winter temperature is 25 degrees Fahrenheit -- Ms. Kitty doesn't turn tail. Even during the winter the sun shines brightly, and Ms. Kitty, hedonist that she is, can be found sunning herself. If the weather does turn unfriendly, she finds shelter under the boardwalk; but as Larson points out, Ms. Kitty has endured the harshest winters without any problems. Nor has Ms. Kitty been hindered by the fact that she is blind in one eye.

Malls being centers for social intercourse, Ms. Kitty gave birth to eight kittens about three years ago. "She was so pregnant, she waddled," says Larson. Ms. Kitty kept her kittens under the boardwalk near Pacific Crest Clothing, and one day, about five and a half weeks after Ms. Kitty had given birth, the store employees were sitting outside having lunch when Ms. Kitty decided to show off her family.

"She came out, and they all came out with her," Larson recalls. "It was so precious."

Within a week the kittens had all found good homes with various mall employees. Meanwhile, Ms. Kitty took a trip to the Sunriver Veterinary Clinic, where she was spayed. Larson says that when Ms. Kitty returned to the mall, she cried for her kittens for a week.

The Sunriver Veterinary Clinic has a soft spot for Ms. Kitty. She was spayed free of charge, and sometime later, when she had an abscess on her eye, she was taken back to the clinic, where she remained for a few days. Mall employees took up a collection for her expenses, but once again Ms. Kitty was treated for free. The money the employees had raised was turned into a $100 gift certificate the clinic's staff put to good use at a local restaurant.

Medical care isn't the only freebie Ms. Kitty receives. "One man who lives in Sunriver comes in every day and brings her treats," says Larson. She also remembers an elderly lady who, after seeing Ms. Kitty roaming the boardwalk, bought her a toy, but Ms. Kitty prefers the do-it-yourself variety.

"She finds things to play with, little twigs and stuff, and she bats them around," says Larson.

When it comes to edible handouts, though, Ms. Kitty is in cat heaven. Employees of Pacific Crest Clothing feed her dry food every morning, and in the evening she dines on chicken, fish and shrimp leftovers from Sunriver's Village Bar and Grill, three buildings down the boardwalk. Ms. Kitty has also been known to supplement her diet with the mice and birds she enjoys stalking. On the few occasions she has been offered canned food, she turned up her nose at it.

Unlike many mall visitors, Ms. Kitty seems quite content with window shopping. "She came in our store once," says Larson, "but she ran in one door and out the other. I think she was just too scared."