Kilala from The Joy of Cats

Kilala passed away on April 8, 2019 after a three and a half year battle with thyroid disease. You can read more her last day here.

Kilala’s Details

  • Weight: around 11 lbs (before she got sick)
  • Gender: Female
  • Coloring: Calico
  • Birth Date: Last week of February 2003
  • Relationships: Sister of Lina
  • Nicknames: Princess, Superhero cat (because of dark patch on her chest)
  • Favorite Human: Heidi. When she wants attention she will choose Heidi first.
  • Health Issues: Hyperactive Thyroid since June 2015. She gets a pill twice a day for treatment. We called it the Pink Treat since the pill is pink. She also has some claws that are super thick!

Kilala’s Story

Kilala was born in a friend’s barn along with Lina during the last week of February 2003.

She was named after Kirara from Inuyasha. Ted was watching Inuyasha (it’s an anime) back then. Her name sounded like Kilala in the English dubbed version of the show and is why our cat is called Kilala.

Ted named Kilala as he choose her for his cat and Lina was to be my cat. Well, they decided differently! Kilala after only a few months of having them, it was clear that I was Kilala’s human and Lina was Ted’s.

Kilala earned the nickname Princess when she had an issue with her knee joint. She wasn’t walking as fast. We began taking treats to her wherever she was at treat time to avoid unneeded stress on knees. Well, the knee recovered and she still expected hand delivered treats!

Currently, Kilala likes to sit on my lap but not for long. She will get on my lap for 5 – 10 minutes and then get down. She doesn’t like to walk on blankets, so I move the blanket when she comes to my lap.

Kilala will often visit me when I practice the organ. I have a very old electronic organ.

Sometimes she will demand attention (imagine a cat doing that!) and put her front paws on the lower keyboard.

Other times, she will sit beside my on the bench and look out the window. Or survey the room if she is not facing the window.

On occasion, she also seems to watch me play. She will look up at me or down at the pedals as my feet are moving.

Kilala on organ bench

Kilala has slowed down a bit as she has aged. Before Violet and her kittens (Jake and Elwood), moved in she would try to sleep with me. This usually meant her marching on my pillow/hair while I was trying to sleep.

Kilala accepted Buster much more quickly than Lina. And also integrated easily with Violet, Jake, and Elwood. This seems to be because she has become more passive as she has gotten older. She didn’t indulge Jake and Elwood much when they were kittens and wanted to play.

Meet the other cats here!

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Heidi Bender is the writer and founder of the Joy of Cats. She enjoys sharing cat information and providing helpful cat tips. She considers herself a cat lady and currently cares for nine cats.

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