Eureka (Oz)

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Eureka is a white kitten found by Dorothy Gale's Uncle Henry, that he gives to her telling her that the name means "I have found it!". She is introduced in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

Dorothy carries Eureka in a small cage on a train with her to San Francisco to visit her relatives on Hugson farm. While riding with Bill Hugson's nephew Zeb, an earthquake opens a large chasm in the ground, and Eureka falls with Dorothy, Zeb, and Jim the Cab-Horse into the land of the Mangaboos, people made of vegetable. During the fall, the odd lights that the Magaboos use to light the cavern create all sorts of odd colors, and Eureka looks pink. Thereafter, perhaps in part due to the title of the chapter being "The Pink Kitten", Eureka is often referred to as a "pink kitten", or sometimes, as in, Glinda of Oz, as a "purple kitten." No other color change from this time appears to have been made permanent, and explanations for why Eureka continued to be described as such is often found in fan fiction.

Eureka is somewhat of a stereotype of a cat. The last third of the book presents her as very dishonest, and she is placed on trial for having eaten one of the Nine Tiny Piglets--the smallest one that was given to Princess Ozma as a pet. She has said throughout the novel that "it was always his fault," but she stubbornly refused to explain what she meant by "it." The trial is quite vicious and Eureka is threatened with execution until the piglet is found. Indeed, Eureka tells them where the piglet is, but is amused at being tried for something she attempted to do because it is in her nature to attempt. Throughout, John R. Neill portrays her in ridiculous clothing, including a tailed coat and feather cap, though these are not mentioned in the text.

Eureka later lives in Oz, but she returned with Dorothy on that first trip, and how she got back there is another unexplained mystery. The fact that she lives in Oz, and the first statement that she is pink, comes from a statement by the Shaggy Man in The Patchwork Girl of Oz.