STRATHAM — Like Cher or Madonna, a cat at the Exeter Veterinary Hospital has come to be known solely by its name — Ugly. Ugly, full name Ugly Bat Boy, has caught the nation’s attention recently when news of the hairless cat — except for a patch around his chest — began spreading. His picture and story have been posted on Web sites around the country and there have even been inquiries from talk shows. Receptionist Melissa LaRoche said the clinic received a call from Ellen Degeneres’ show, but that the hospital hasn’t heard anything since.
During a visit on Wednesday, Uggs — as he is affectionately nicknamed — seemed to be tired of all the attention. He could barely keep his eyes open for the camera.
“He has ‘cat-itude,’” receptionist Tracey Wentworth said.
Since news of Uggs got out, Wentworth said the hospital has received many calls from clients and people wanting to say “hi” to the ugly cat.
“People have been calling and they just want to say, ‘We’ve seen Ugly on TV. Ugly’s famous,’” she said. “But he’s our cat, that’s the funniest thing. That’s how we feel.”
Veterinarian Stephen Bassett, who owns Ugly and keeps him at the office with three other cats, said his family doesn’t look at the cat as “ugly.”
“We think he’s quite aristocratic,” he said. “We’ve had this cat for eight years and he’s managed to live in relative obscurity, and now he’s a national media star. It’s really strange.”
The hospital staff and Bassett are taking Uggs' sudden popularity in stride, but Bassett said he’s not sure how the cat would do as a celebrity.
“He’s pretty noisy just in the car, so I’m not sure how traveling on a plane would go,” he said.
Clients have been caught off guard by their first look at Uggs since he came to the hospital eight years ago, some even wondering if he was a real cat. The clinic had so many questions about Uggs that they created a write-up posted on the walls that describes that he is, in fact, real, was born that way and feels a little like oily leather.
But client Linda Warnock said she’s very fond of Ugly Bat Boy.
“He’s so interesting. He’s a beauty. He’s exotic, beautiful and sweet,” she said. “Every (cat) is beautiful in a different way.”
Warnock said she loves coming to the veterinary clinic and seeing how its four resident cats simply fit in. The one named Moggot sprawls out on a desk chair, Nippy lies covering an appointment book, Tate rests in the back of the office and Uggs rests on top of his usual computer.
“They get such love here,” she said. “These guys are wonderful. They have such a heart and they are so good to these cats. This is a wonderful home for them.”
Uggs' favorite spot in the office is the building’s back hallway where the sun filters in.
“He just bakes there and he loves it,” LaRoche said.
Uggs loves the warmth of the sun and atop office computers, LaRoche said. The staff tried to warm him up with sweaters and other clothing, but Uggs wouldn’t have any of it.
“His back arches in the air and he crouches his front feet,” she said. “He looks so uncomfortable and irritated. He looked really cute in them though.”
The four cats have come to the veterinary hospital in different ways. Nippy was found as a kitten behind the old Shaw’s on Portsmouth Avenue, Tate came from the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Moggot and Uggs came from Basset’s home.
Basset inherited Uggs eight years ago after a client brought in a litter of four kittens, with a sister born just like him who died shortly after. While the owner was disturbed by Uggs, Bassett said he marveled at him.
One day, the owner left Uggs sitting in a cage at the hospital waiting for Bassett. The vet said his daughter originally named the cat Bat Boy after a character from the Exeter News-Letter’s Weekly World News. Ugly followed.
The hospital staff said Uggs is a friendly, affectionate cat, who chases the other cats around the office when he’s bored.
LaRoche said because Uggs was born with a stray litter, they don’t know what breed he is, what his parents looked like or why he only has hair on his chest. They assume it is a genetic defect and say he is healthy and normal in every other way.
They just call him “a one-of-a-kind cat.”
Bassett said every once in a while Uggs will grow a little tuft of hair at the tip of his tail, but that it goes away just as quickly as it grew.
Each office cat has their own quirks. LaRoche said Nippy broke a tooth and now gets the “Elvis lip curl,” Moggot is a “close sitter,” 20-pound Tate is the hospital clown who drinks from the faucet and talks all the time, and Uggs has his looks, or maybe lack thereof.
Hospital staffers said they don’t think Uggs has a complex because of his name or that the other cats judge him by his appearance.
“Cats are not that catty,” Donna Harned said. “I don’t think he would care if his name was Fred. Cats respond to care and love, and they are cared and loved for here. That’s all they care about.”
And the staff wants to keep on giving that care. Staff members said they want to make it clear that Uggs is not looking for a home.
“He has a home. He lives here,” LaRoche said
During a visit on Wednesday, Uggs — as he is affectionately nicknamed — seemed to be tired of all the attention. He could barely keep his eyes open for the camera.
“He has ‘cat-itude,’” receptionist Tracey Wentworth said.
Since news of Uggs got out, Wentworth said the hospital has received many calls from clients and people wanting to say “hi” to the ugly cat.
“People have been calling and they just want to say, ‘We’ve seen Ugly on TV. Ugly’s famous,’” she said. “But he’s our cat, that’s the funniest thing. That’s how we feel.”
Veterinarian Stephen Bassett, who owns Ugly and keeps him at the office with three other cats, said his family doesn’t look at the cat as “ugly.”
“We think he’s quite aristocratic,” he said. “We’ve had this cat for eight years and he’s managed to live in relative obscurity, and now he’s a national media star. It’s really strange.”
The hospital staff and Bassett are taking Uggs' sudden popularity in stride, but Bassett said he’s not sure how the cat would do as a celebrity.
“He’s pretty noisy just in the car, so I’m not sure how traveling on a plane would go,” he said.
Clients have been caught off guard by their first look at Uggs since he came to the hospital eight years ago, some even wondering if he was a real cat. The clinic had so many questions about Uggs that they created a write-up posted on the walls that describes that he is, in fact, real, was born that way and feels a little like oily leather.
But client Linda Warnock said she’s very fond of Ugly Bat Boy.
“He’s so interesting. He’s a beauty. He’s exotic, beautiful and sweet,” she said. “Every (cat) is beautiful in a different way.”
Warnock said she loves coming to the veterinary clinic and seeing how its four resident cats simply fit in. The one named Moggot sprawls out on a desk chair, Nippy lies covering an appointment book, Tate rests in the back of the office and Uggs rests on top of his usual computer.
“They get such love here,” she said. “These guys are wonderful. They have such a heart and they are so good to these cats. This is a wonderful home for them.”
Uggs' favorite spot in the office is the building’s back hallway where the sun filters in.
“He just bakes there and he loves it,” LaRoche said.
Uggs loves the warmth of the sun and atop office computers, LaRoche said. The staff tried to warm him up with sweaters and other clothing, but Uggs wouldn’t have any of it.
“His back arches in the air and he crouches his front feet,” she said. “He looks so uncomfortable and irritated. He looked really cute in them though.”
The four cats have come to the veterinary hospital in different ways. Nippy was found as a kitten behind the old Shaw’s on Portsmouth Avenue, Tate came from the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Moggot and Uggs came from Basset’s home.
Basset inherited Uggs eight years ago after a client brought in a litter of four kittens, with a sister born just like him who died shortly after. While the owner was disturbed by Uggs, Bassett said he marveled at him.
One day, the owner left Uggs sitting in a cage at the hospital waiting for Bassett. The vet said his daughter originally named the cat Bat Boy after a character from the Exeter News-Letter’s Weekly World News. Ugly followed.
The hospital staff said Uggs is a friendly, affectionate cat, who chases the other cats around the office when he’s bored.
LaRoche said because Uggs was born with a stray litter, they don’t know what breed he is, what his parents looked like or why he only has hair on his chest. They assume it is a genetic defect and say he is healthy and normal in every other way.
They just call him “a one-of-a-kind cat.”
Bassett said every once in a while Uggs will grow a little tuft of hair at the tip of his tail, but that it goes away just as quickly as it grew.
Each office cat has their own quirks. LaRoche said Nippy broke a tooth and now gets the “Elvis lip curl,” Moggot is a “close sitter,” 20-pound Tate is the hospital clown who drinks from the faucet and talks all the time, and Uggs has his looks, or maybe lack thereof.
Hospital staffers said they don’t think Uggs has a complex because of his name or that the other cats judge him by his appearance.
“Cats are not that catty,” Donna Harned said. “I don’t think he would care if his name was Fred. Cats respond to care and love, and they are cared and loved for here. That’s all they care about.”
And the staff wants to keep on giving that care. Staff members said they want to make it clear that Uggs is not looking for a home.
“He has a home. He lives here,” LaRoche said
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