Learn Italian: Il gatto è qua, ma il cane è là. - The cat is here, but the dog is over there.

Yes! Qua and qui both mean 'here', while là and lì both mean 'there'. While qua and là can sometimes imply a slightly wider general area than qui and lì, they are practically interchangeable in everyday Italian.

Why does là have an accent mark, but qua doesn't?

The accent mark on là is a distinguishing accent. It exists solely to tell it apart from the feminine word for 'the' (la). Since there is no other Italian word spelled qua, it doesn't need an accent mark to avoid confusion. You can also see this with è (is) and e (and).

Since we are learning about quello (that), how do these location words relate to it?

They pair up perfectly! You use the adjective questo (this) for things that are qua or qui (close to you). You use quello (that) for things that are là or lì (far away from you).

The word cane ends in '-e'. How do I know it is masculine?