The Hawaiian Humane Society celebrates June as a month to focus on cats, their welfare and happiness.

For those thinking about adopting a feline, the Hawaiian Humane Society is offering cat food and a cat toy with each adoption. Included in the $55 adoption fee for any cat or kitten are a health exam, sterilization, vaccination and microchip ID.

A clue about the first cats to arrive in Hawai'i is found in "Poi Dogs & Popoki," published in 1997 by the Hawaiian Humane Society.

The first dogs and pigs arrived with the Polynesian voyagers, but cats arrived with the first Europeans.

The book offers a glimpse of what might be the arrival — and departure — of the first cat in Hawai'i.

In his journal, Capt. James Cook recounted an incident in 1778 involving a ship's cat and a native welcoming committee: "A favorite Cat had fallen overboard, & gone a great distance astern, when those in a Canoe picked it up, & brought it back to the Ship."

Cook left no shipboard cats in Hawai'i, perhaps because most of them were stolen during a stopover in Tonga, where they had been instantly coveted and successfully spirited ashore. Wrote Cook's second in command, Capt. James Clerke: "What hurt me most was, before I cou'd be at all aware of them, they stole all my Cats, which were very good ones ... I offered abundance of fine Things if they would return my Cats, but they were too fond of them, I found them irretrievable."

Cats were firmly established in the Islands by 1809 when Englishman Archibald Campbell visited and compiled a 400-word vocabulary that included the Hawaiian word for cat, which he spelled "popokee." The origin of the name in an imitative word from "poor pussy," po-po-ki.

Cats have a long history elsewhere in the world.

Our modern-day Abyssinian breed of cat most closely resembles the sacred cat of ancient Egypt. Thousands of cat mummies were buried in Egyptian tombs with their human families, cementing the bond to eternity.

"Aesop's Fables" document the rivalry between cat and mouse.

Though there are no confirmed records of domesticated cats earlier than 1500 B.C., that still leaves cats with 3,506 years to evolve into the loving pets of today.

The American Cat Fanciers Association now recognizes 46 breeds of cats.

Feline guests at the Hawaiian Humane Society's Cat House are an interesting mix of many breeds.

The Cat House allows you to play with a room full of cats or kittens. Quite a few felines select their new families during June by wiggling their way onto a comfortable lap.

The Hawaiian Humane Society will assist adopters and their new animal companions with information about the cat's history and personality. Or check Pet Care & Advice at www.hawaii anhumane.org. Consider adopting a cat this month. Above all, love your cat all year long!

ADOPTABLES

Chopper

Tag No. 94340. This fluffy year-old female is named Chopper because when she purrs, she sounds like a helicopter. Now, during Love-a-Cat month, Chopper and her buddies go home with a free cat toy, food and kitten care info from Nutro.

Loki

Tag No. 94813. Gentle Loki is shy and needs a home where she will receive extra TLC. At age 7, she is calm and already crate- trained. Her adoption fee is waived for those 60 or older through the Seniors for Seniors program.

These animals already may have found homes. The Hawaiian Humane Society and McInerny Dog Park at 2700 Wai'alae Ave. are open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekends and holidays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For directions, special events and to see more pets available for adoption, visit www.hawaiianhumane.org or call 946-2187. Call immediately to report lost or found animals, ext. 2. Tomorrow, Kamehameha Day, is a holiday at the Hawaiian Humane Society.