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Kua stayed in a room of her own for the first day or so, then we opened the door and Miki ran in to rescue the kitten. Kua was mothered by Miki for the next 11 years.

To put it bluntly, we got Kua because Meda got kitten fever, but it turned out to be one of our all-time best decisions. We were living in a two-bedroom townhouse in Honolulu in the summer of 1987, along with Windfola, the gray tiger we bought for $2.50 as a kitten back in the fall of 1969, and Miki, who was rescued as a kitten on Christmas Day 1986 to keep the old girl company. But Windfola had trouble coping with Miki's excess energy, and Meda decided another kitten was needed. So one morning her fingers did the walking until she found a pet story in Kalihi that reported having kittens. Off we went.

This tiny calico was the runt of the litter, but an obvious match. Soon we were back in the car with a kitten, in a cardboard box, sitting on Meda's lap. It turned out to be one of those impulsive decisions that violated the accepted laws of kittens. Did the kitten have runny eyes? Did the kitten have runny, well, you know? Yes. The vet soon informed us that she had about everything from coccidia to mange, which at one point left the tip of her tail exposed and hairless . "Foodface." That's what our vet called her because, for whatever reason, Kua didn't clean herself at first and her face was a constant mosaic of meals past. Luckily, Miki took over cleaning chores until Kua was ready to proceed on her own.

She was our second calico, almost matching Miki. We named her Kua Lua, roughly translated, the second in line. Kua spent her kittenhood in a Kahala townhouse wishing that she could run outside. Here Kua and Miki sit looking out the screen door, fascinated by the rest of the world. Life was not uneventful. One day Kua climbed in the dryer and went several rounds with a load of clothes before the noise brought human intervention. The vet ordered a week of "cage rest" after the experience, but she proved unable to downshift out of ballistic gear. In 1988 she got to fulfill the outside fantasies when we moved to a house in Kaaawa.

Our cats seem to have run in pairs. At least the girls have come in pairs: Windfola and Emma, Miki and Kua, and most recently Kili and Wally. Miki and Kua had very similar coloring, although they were not related. Miki's black mask came down over her eyes, making it easy for people to tell them apart. But they were also easily distinguished in personality. Kua was always friendlier and with a sweeter disposition. One image will stick with us: It was 1988, and we had invited some friends and neighbors over to meet John Radcliffe, then a candidate in the Democratic Congressional Primary. As John tried to make his campaign pitch, Kua put on a floor show with the son of our friends Pat and Iris McGivern. Little Riley, a toddler, crying "caaaaat" and reaching towards her, while Kua splayed out full length, rolling and reaching back. Attention riveted on the two of them, leaving poor candidate Radcliffe sputtering.

Kua learned the fine art of food begging from a master. By the time Kua came into the house, Windfola was 18 years old but hadn't retreated from the simple view that her right to be at the table was as valid as any human's. Kua watched carefully and learned. Begging often turned more active as Kua would help herself during unguarded moments. If you failed to feed the kitty, that fast front paw could unerringly intercept your fork between plate and mouth. This was all pretty transparent to us, but it would always get a rise out of first-time guests. Among favorite table foods: canned asparagus, lettuce, any kind of meat. For another typical photo of Kua at meal time, click here.

Kua started life as a sickly kitten. She didn't play too actively at first, but liked to spend time being held or cuddled. This behavior was slowly shaped by Ian, leading to what became Kua's favorite pose: being cradled on her back while getting her stomach rubbed. Ian could pick her up and flip her into position in a clean swoop, and she would purr and paddle her front paws in the air in sheer pleasure. Other people tried, but Kua never really gave anyone else her approval.

Kua's other classic position has always been sitting on a favored perch with legs dangling, surveying her domain. She started during that long period of kitten illness, sitting up on the television, which was warm and also seemed to have people's attention. For several years, this would result in a "Kua leap", which involved wildly launching herself off into a high, long arc, landing easily. She aged out of the leap, unfortunately. Now that she's joined her feline ancestors, perhaps she's doing those big Kua leaps once again. We hope so.

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