I met Screwball the latter half of 2017, the year my husband and I bought our first house together. As we walked around the neighborhood, introducing ourselves to the neighbors, Screwball introduced himself. He ran up to me the way one might imagine a carefree golden retriever might: with absolutely no hesitation and a look of determination and joy on his face. I crouched down to pet this dog-acting cat, and he jumped right onto my lap. He was a short-haired blond cat with eyes that seemed to be in a perpetual squint, and distinctive tail all coiled up into a ball. His “maui tail” rocked or, perhaps, wagged back and forth. You might say that Screwball welcomed us with open arms, or, allowed me to welcome him with open arms.
I have met a lot of cats in my life and haven’t met one I didn’t like. I have had cats since I was three years old besides the brief stint in Chicago where I was pet free for a few years as we planned our big move. Since moving to Maui, I’ve had over a dozen cats (let’s not talk specific numbers right now, ok?) and met an additional 750 that we’ve flown to our transfer partners through Operation Aloha Cat. Some have been very friendly, and like to snuggle or even play fetch. Some have attitudes and some are in that category of “you can look but you can’t touch.”
And then there was Screwball.
Out of probably 800+ cats that I have met or cared for in my lifetime, Screwball was the most unique. He seemed to be part dog, part hippie, part therapist. Screwball was the cat that couch-surfed in all the neighbor’s houses. He would also hitchhike in people’s cars or trucks and when he found himself in another neighborhood, he’d waltz right into doggie or cat-door and start eating the open bowl food, and then couch-surf there. Screwball would try and follow the kids on their walk to school, or anyone going for a walk, really.
He loved our dog Nana, and would give her back massages. He loved baby chicks. He would actually listen to you when you told him “no, Screwball, don’t eat the baby chick.” He loved all cats, whether they liked him or not, and would happily groom the forehead of any cat that would let him. He would run right up to any dog, going nose-to-nose with the bravery of a lion. He must have given off some kind of calming vibration, because these potentially vicious dogs just started wagging their tails when they sniffed him.
Screwball taught our cat Perry how to love and trust people. Perry Feral was a cat that showed up in our yard in late 2020, emaciated and fearful. We started to feed him and gain his trust slowly over time, but despite our efforts, we could not get close enough to touch him. Perry only learned to trust us by watching how Screwball interact with us, and eventually Perry became a lap cat. We owe Perry’s transformation to Screwball.
Screwball was an amazing foster-dad. When we moved to our house, there were several cats behind our property having kittens. I spent the first few years after moving to our property TNRing with Screwball’s family, so for a while our neighboring households were constantly fostering kittens. While my cats acted out when we had other cats in the home, Screwball would jump right in the fostering process, grooming and snuggling the kittens.
Screwball himself was found as a kitten near Pukalani pool, Aja’s family being at the right place at the right time, swooping in and adopting him. He had a wheeze and asthma since he was a kitten but it didn’t seem to dampen his zest for life. Screwball loved his family. As much as he loved his neighbors, he loved his five human siblings the most. Most cats don’t like to run around in the street playing with a bouncy ball or spend time high-energy children, but Screwball did. He loved working on cars with his dad and helping his sister raise chickens.
Since Screwball was the golden retriever of cats, we could always depend on him to show up when we needed him most. He proved to be a life-saver for our Good Cat Network photo shoots, always showing up as if to say, “You are Good Cat Network, aren’t you? You’re definitely going to need a cat in these pictures. Don’t worry, I got you.”
When Aja’s family went on their annual trip, I told them I would take care of Screwball until their return. This was a little longer than their other trips, but he was so integrated into our daily routine, lives, and cat ohana that I didn’t think twice about it. With his family gone he spent a lot more time at our house, so I got to work on my songs and nicknames: “Screwby Doo, Screwbs, Screwbo-Tax”, “Screwby Dooby Doo, where are you?”
Unfortunately, Screwball fell ill a couple of times during their trip. His asthma issues seemed to be getting worse, and as I filled him with sub-Q fluids and went to the vet and administered list of medicines, I worried that that he might not make it until their return. While the Maui Wildfires were at their peak on August 9, 2023, Aja flew home, witnessing the fires from the plane. I had Screwball in my spare room at the time, and I got word that a foster of ours needed to evacuate her fosters and her resident cats. So despite not seeing Aja for months and not having much time to even talk about all of the tragedy happening in that moment, we met in the street between our houses: I handed her sweet frail Screwball and I ran in to prepare the room for more cats in need.
As the wildfires and Good Cat Network activity escalated, time seemed to stand still and fly by at the same time. I felt almost robotic, trying to do as much as I could but pushing down my emotions. There was no time to feel. I saw Screwball in the yard from time to time and would give him a little pet, but I noticed the visits to our house became infrequent and he was sleeping more and more. I had a sick feeling that time was short, but was comforted by the fact that his family was able to spend quality time with him.
Screwball died on September 23, 2023. That morning he went to the lanai door, which meant that he wanted to go outside and be in the sun. His family put out a little blanket in the grass and gathered around him as he peacefully took his last breath. When I heard of Screwball’s death, the residual, internalized emotion from the wildfire tragedy finally came out of me. I just cried. I felt like I had permission to grieve. We were invited to Screwball’s funeral, which was filled with readings, letters sent in from family, friends and neighbors, and a compilation video made by Aja’s daughter.
As I reflect on the tragedy of this past year and the opportunity for resolutions, I started to think about Screwball and the way he lived his life:
Screwball was all-accepting, and all-loving.
He listened more than he talked.
He taught others how to love and be loved.
Despite his illness, he lived his life to the fullest.
He wasn’t afraid to let go of inhibitions and have fun.
He was nurturing, fearless, curious, generous, and all around a good cat.
So, in 2024, our resolution is to be more like Screwball 🤍 Rest in aloha, sweet boy.