You were a standout, kitto. A regal beauty full of grace...the Elizabeth Taylor of the cat world...Maggie the Cat.

You were such a cutie when I found you; just a little ball of fluff that fit in the palm of my hand with wide eyes full of the excitement of new life. You caused the vet to exclaim, "Oh, isn't she SOMEthing!
She's the kind they make movies about!" Hard to believe that someone would abandon you in the cane fields outside of Paia. But they did; and that's how you came to be sitting in a cage of the Maui Humane Society lobby on that early June morning when I stopped by on a whim.
One look at you and I was a goner.

We sure had some fun through the years, didn't we? Remember the climbing post I made for you out of old carpet after you shredded my sofa? Somewhere I have a photo of you balancing skillfully on the very tippy top. The fleas on Maui were monsters, though, weren't they? We had quite a time getting rid of them. You're the only kitty I ever had who didn't struggle when I gave you those weekly baths; it must have been such welcome relief for you. But we got through that somehow, and then made a big move to Washington State where you seemed quite happy to transition into an indoor kitty.

The fireplace was one of your favorite hangouts here, and anywhere there was a patch of sunlight. What a change from Maui, eh? I loved our evening lap time when you curled around my hand and purred yourself to sleep. And every night when I climbed into bed you would jump up and cuddle next to me. Nights just aren't the same now.

But the one thing I will never forget about you was your really remarkable talent for communication. Perhaps it was being torn from your mother and siblings too soon, but you seemed to have a very un- cat-like voice from the get go. And then when you were around 6 or 7 years old you started standing on your hind legs and waving when you wanted me to feed you. It was quite a spectacle! I'd never heard of a cat doing that before. Maybe it was the beginnings of diabetes making you desperate? That was a really clever way of getting my attention.
And I swear there were a few words of the English language that you actually understood, chief among them being the word "pet". All I had to do was say that word while patting my lap or the bed and you would jump up lickety split. Those were some good times we had.

Your old bod had started giving out on you these last few years, probably from all that lolling around sleeping off cans of Fancy Feast. I knew you were living on borrowed time, dear, but it was still a shock when I got the news. I can't imagine how frightened you must have been and I think it's terribly unfair that I couldn't be there to hold you. I was visiting your birthplace. One of my oldest and kindest friends gave me the bad news. We gathered plumeria blossoms under the full moon that night and tossed them from a bridge into the Hilo Lagoon with loving thoughts of you. You should have been there...it was a stunningly beautiful evening. Maybe you were?

Lucky, lucky me to have known you.

Elizabeth C.