A black cat with a white chest patch shaped uncannily like Texas has landed a new home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area after a radio plea turned into a live, on-air rescue. The feline, dubbed a Hawaiian cat by station staff, wound up at the New Country 96.3 studio, where the morning show team helped transform a studio drop-in into a same-day adoption and a tidy feel-good moment for listeners.
As reported by WFAA, the adopter is Kim Kauakahi, who met the cat in the studio and told staff, "This is meant to be, this is my cat." Kim plans to rename him Kona. The adoption followed an on-air appeal by station personalities, and she is set to retire in a few weeks.
Mark "Hawkeye" Louis, the long-running host of "Hawkeye in the Morning," brought the cat into the Dallas studio and asked listeners to help find him a home, a turn of events documented on the New Country 96.3 podcast. Audio from the visit captures the studio chaos, the playful back-and-forth among hosts and staff, and the quick listener response that led to the adoption.
Texas Marking and Hawaiian Origin
Station staff and listeners were particularly taken with the cat’s sharply defined white "Texas" patch on his chest, set against his black coat, a marking that made him the instant star of the studio visit. WFAA reports that the cat was found in Hawaii and transported to Dallas, and that the story drew attention to ongoing concerns about cat overpopulation on the islands.
On-Air Rescue and Community Reach
Hawkeye and the New Country 96.3 team have a long track record of turning on-air campaigns into real-world community action, which helped this particular plea reach a big audience in a hurry. A Cumulus Media release details the show’s local reach and fundraising history, a context that helps explain how listeners were able to mobilize so quickly for one very photogenic cat.
