My Uglys



All alone.



I suppose sometime I should write a note on how I go about naming cats. Usually I will wait until the “right” name comes to me. I have not always kept with this as is evident with Girl. The one I get the most response to is Ugly. When I took her into the vet they said that she is not ugly but that she is pretty, I had to tell them that was her sister not her. Here I hope to explain how and why I came up with the name.




In her box.



Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines ugly as 1. very unattractive; offensive to the sense of beauty, and beauty as 1. quality present that gives intense pleasure. Many things are considered ugly such as a mole. Often depicted with a hair or two growing out of it. For a while they were all the fashion called a “Beauty Mark”. Women used to put fake ones on as part of their makeup, but they had to be flat, not protrude out. Mostly though they are considered just plain ugly.



See the "mole" under her left eye?



As a boy I remember mom making me throw out my faded ugly t-shirts. Old faded clothes, paint jobs on cars & houses are considered by many to be ugly. Old pieces of junk sitting in the sun are faded, falling apart and ugly. After all who wants something that is faded out and ugly. Growing up witches were considered ugly (much unlike the modern sexy ones of today) especially at Halloween. Most often depicted in a sickly faded green color with a wart on the nose and a mole on the chin or cheek. Think Witch Hazel from Bugs Bunny, or in the Wizard of Oz. Most all witches were portrayed as ugly people in charter as well as looks with few exceptions. Lastly cats are not exactly the most favored of pets. More people fear and hate them than they do other pets, unfortunately.

Faded coloring.

So what did I learn from society while growing up? That moles along with faded items are ugly, that ugly items are unwanted, disliked. When I look at her what do I see? Faded coloring on this Calico, I see what appears as a mole under her left eye, and she is a cat. Being a long haired cat, when she first showed up she had mats in her hair, was unkempt and dirty. Over all looking unwanted and uncared for, immediately my heart went out for her. Feeling sorry for this poor rejected kitty, I soon befriended her. She and her twin Pretty were inseparable, until I started spending so much time with her. (I have sense corrected this, both are back together. Although Pretty's name was given with out much consideration.)



Faded compared to her sister.



On the surface this may seem cruel and mean, to name her ugly. By societies definition she fit the bill. I figured she was unwanted because of that. I later learned from the boy that lives next door, she was one that they were “unable to get rid of”. Which proved I was right she was unwanted.



In another box.



You need to know that in many ways I am a contrary type person. I named her ugly because society deemed her so, but I did it to throw it into the face of societies preconceived notions. “Be careful its not polite to say that” is what many say but not what they think. Well they may have deemed her ugly, but I set out to prove that really she is not. I feel a special bond with her, for being different from what is considered acceptable.



My beautiful Uglys.



I don't care what everyone else may think. She is very loving, sleeps with me every night without being called to bed, plus she rarely ventures far from my yard. Ugly is beautiful!! After all she is my Uglys, and I love her.