ENCINITAS -- City officials competing in a triathlon last week in their sister city in Japan were disqualified and later apologized after Mayor Maggie Houlihan left the race to rescue a starving kitten.

Ten miles into the bicycle portion of the Amaskusa Triathlon, Houlihan abandoned her bicycle to help a kitten she said was emaciated.

"I wouldn't have done it if it weren't a dire situation," Houlihan said Monday.

The June 20 competition was part of a larger visit by Encinitas officials to Hondo, Japan, Encinitas' sister city since 1988. The delegation of 19 members included past and present city leaders and some of their friends and family members.

Four of them -- Houlihan, Councilwoman Christy Guerin, fire Chief Don Heiser and management analyst Chris Hazeltine -- received subsidies of $1,300 each to pay for their trip.

Officials from Encinitas and Hondo formed two teams with members from each city for the triathlon.

One team of elected leaders included Houlihan and Hondo's mayor, Kunijiro Yasuda. Houlihan was to pass a relay baton to Yasuda, but as the Japanese mayor awaited his American counterpart, Houlihan was busy tending to the cat.

Guerin, who often sides with Houlihan on the dais, was critical Monday of her colleague's behavior during the triathlon.

In an interview, Guerin said she, Heiser, Councilman Jerome Stocks and former city Councilman Rick Shea "did a lot of damage" control and offered many apologies after the race.

Part of that damage control was to convince Houlihan not to insist upon bringing the animal back to Encinitas as she had hoped, Guerin said.

Through translators, the visitors made arrangements for Houlihan to apologize to the triathlon committee and to Yasuda.

Houlihan said she apologized to Yasuda privately.

Heiser apologized to Japanese firefighters who had been positioned along the bicycle route to keep an eye on Houlihan, Guerin said.

"I was in tears Sunday night (after the event)," Guerin said.

The recent trip was Guerin's second to Hondo as an Encinitas representative.

The Japanese hosts would do anything for their guests, she said, "short of throwing themselves in front of a bus."

"That's how they operate," Guerin said. "(The incident) was very embarrassing for them, too."

With the help of Shea and interpreters, the Encinitas delegation made an ample apology, Houlihan said.

According to Guerin, however, a translator purposefully altered the testimony Houlihan gave to a Japanese reporter after the race, saying Houlihan quit the race because she was exhausted.

"The translator said she could not let the story out," Guerin said, "because it would dishonor the city and the triathlon."

Guerin said their hosts considered exhaustion -- but not the rescue of a feral cat -- as an acceptable excuse to quit the race.

In addition to the elected leaders' team, a team comprised of staffers from the two cities also was disqualified because Houlihan had told Hazeltine to help her with the cat.

Guerin said Monday that Houlihan still owes apologies to her teammates. Houlihan said she has apologized to Stocks.

"Knowing what I know now, I probably would have handed the kitten off to somebody and asked them to hold it," Houlihan said. "It was a serious situation."

The Amaskusa Triathlon drew competitors from across the world, Stocks said. Race day started with typhoon warnings and was hot, muggy and windy, he said.

The names Hondo and Encinitas appeared together on the jerseys of the sister-city teams, and the participation of the teams was "played up" during opening ceremonies and speeches by Yasuda, Stocks said.

Encinitas visitors have made amends and the sister city program has not been compromised, Houlihan said.

"I do believe (the Japanese hosts) saw mutual respect from us and love in terms of speeches given," Houlihan said.

Guerin felt the face-saving was less than complete.

"I think we'll be invited back to Hondo," Guerin said, "but we won't be invited to do a triathlon."

Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 943-2312 or akaye@nctimes.com.