Malie the kitten was living in a foster home on Maui when the deadly fires forced her foster mom to evacuate, leaving her unable to care for the 10-month-old cat.
The brown-haired, hazel-eyed kitty was flown with dozens of other felines from Hawaii to the Seattle area, to be taken in by multiple organizations.
Just days after her trip, Malie is now in her new home, as are most of the Maui cats who arrived at Seattle Humane last week. All 17 were adopted over the weekend or are pending adoption, the animal organization said Tuesday.
As Maui residents fled wildfires this month that killed at least 114 people, thousands of pets went missing amid the chaos of evacuations and a fast-moving blaze. The Maui Humane Society estimates 3,000 pets are missing in the Lahaina area.
A Facebook page for lost and found Maui animals features posts with similar stories: dogs whose owners couldn’t get home before their house burned down, cats that scurried off before their owners had no choice but to escape without them.
Good Cat Network, a Hawaii nonprofit, has sent 41 cats to the Seattle area since the wildfires began. The Maui cats were already available for adoption before the wildfires, so their transfers were to make room for the displaced animals on the island who could be reunited with their owners.
Since Good Cat Network’s inception, volunteers have flown more than 550 cats off the island, and in the past 12 days have ramped up efforts, transferring 70 cats to other cities, co-founder Darlene Rayhill said.
Last week, 17 cats went to the NOAH Center in Stanwood and 17 went to Seattle Humane. Seven arrived at PAWS, Progressive Animal Welfare Society, on Monday. At PAWS, six of the seven young, healthy cats are ready for adoption.
Malie was adopted from Seattle Humane by a family with Hawaii ties, according to Good Cat Network. Over the weekend, 71 pets in total were adopted, with many potential owners initially coming in specifically for the Maui cats.
As of Tuesday morning, four cats had been adopted at the NOAH Center, according to spokesperson Sarah Caldwell. The orange 3-month-old Chucky, brown 3-year-old Senator Jasper and black 3-month-old James Bond were still available.
“We expect the rest will go quickly,” Caldwell said.
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