Greetings Humans,

Mi-Two taught me a lot in the short time we knew each other. She loved to tell me stories about her youth.  Today, in memory of her, I want to share some of those with you all.

She was rescued by Ken’s friend, Hiroaki. Ken’s cat, Mi, had just left him so it was clear that he needed another cat to love. You can probably see by now, how Mi-Two got her name.

She was soon joined by Madara (the Japanese word for marbled because she was a torti) who also was rescued by Hiroaki. Richelle joined the family soon after that and, although it took a while, was converted from a ‘dogs only’ person to a good cat servant. Mao came to the family because Richelle wanted a cat of her own. His full name was a pretentious Mao Se Dung since she liked the way that name sounded and she wanted to name him after someone famous. Later, when they all moved to China, his name had to be officially shortened to Mao so it would not offend the locals but, ironically, that is the word for cat in Chinese, so it all worked out.

They did not move to China right away. First they went to Kuwait. Mi-Two said she hid under the bed covers for weeks after that trip. It was her first time in an airplane after all. I have never been in one myself and don’t want to really. Mi-Two said it made her kind of psycho and she regreted scratching Richelle so much at that time. Life changed a lot in Kuwait compared to Japan. They were no longer allowed to go outside for example—not even on a leash like me! It wasn’t just because of scary dogs, though. Can you believe it was scary cats that Ken and Richelle wanted to protect them from? There are so many abandoned cats living in the garbage in Kuwait that it is like wandering into gang territory wearing the wrong colour if a house cat goes outside. At least there was the balcony.

When the Second Gulf War happened and they were evacuated from Kuwait to Richelle’s home town of San Diego, they still could not go outside. Mi-Two said it is just not the custom there since there are so many bigger predators that can eat cats even in the city. Mi-Two said she was sorry that they had tried to rip the screen off the window while they stayed at Richelle’s parents’ home. It was just too tempting to smell the breeze but not be able to run in the grass. They did have a ‘catio’ and enjoyed the fresh air and cat grass on the balcony of Richelle and Ken’s condo though.

When they moved to Mexico, there was a crazy human in their neighbourhood who always tried to poison cats. Mi-Two said she and Madara accepted the protective tendencies of Ken and Richelle with good grace but Mao always tried to escape. She laughed when she told me how he would just hide in the garage under a car when he did get out though—such a big, tough boy!

In Shanghai, Madara got sick and died when Ken was trying to feed her. He felt horrible about that. Then Mao got a cancer on his face that eventually prevented him from eating. Ken and Richelle had to help him die at the vet so he would not suffer slow starvation. It was a sad time for them and Mi-Two was alone. She confessed that she liked that and was annoyed at all the kittens that Ken and Richelle rescued but she came to understand that other kittens needed a chance just like she had.

It was painful to be separated from Ken and Richelle when they came to New Zealand. She understood, though, that her own health was fragile and they did not want to put her through the long flight and the quarantine. Besides, Hiroaki got to come back into her life as if everything had come full circle. She enjoyed living with all his other cats since they treated her with such respect. I can tell you, she was a classy, well-traveled lady and she deserved it.

So, let’s remember Mi-Two with a smile. Although we miss her chatty ways and words of wisdom, she will live on in our hearts.