‘Uɢʟʏ’, ‘What the ʜᴇʟʟ is that?’ These are the first things people tend to say when they meet Ugli , an unusual-looking cat with covered in sᴏʀᴇs, ᴅɪsɢᴜɪsɪɴɢ his tabby fur. He’s also ᴍɪssɪɴɢ one eye his ear on the same side, his left foot has appeared to have been ʙᴀᴅʟʏ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ at one time. His tail has long since been ʟᴏsᴛ, leaving a tiny stump which he would constantly jerk and twist. This ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ little kitten named Ugli was found wandering the streets, and every time people saw him they’d to shy ᴀᴡᴀʏ from him because he looked Ugli and sɪᴄᴋ. One man took pity on the poor thing and shared his love with Uɢʟʏ before he ᴅɪᴇᴅ in his arms.
The kitten called Uɢʟʏ loved ɴᴏᴛhing more than eat, ғɪɢʜᴛ, and love. Ugli spent his whole life outside and his colorful life took more than its toll. He loved three things in this world: ғɪɢʜᴛing, eating garbage, and shall we say, love. Every time someone saw Uɢʟʏ there was the same reaction. ‘That’s one Uɢʟʏ cat!!’ All the children were ᴡᴀʀɴᴇᴅ ɴᴏᴛ to touch him, the adults ᴛʜʀᴇᴡ rocks at him, ʜᴏsᴇᴅ ʜɪᴍ ᴅᴏᴡɴ, sǫᴜɪʀᴛᴇᴅ him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would ɴᴏᴛ leave. But Uɢʟʏ never ғᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ʙᴀᴄᴋ. He just stood there and looked at everyone with his tiny eye. He would curl up on people’s shoes and ask to be pet.
Whenever he saw children, he would come running meowing and bump his head against their hands, begging for their love. If you picked him up, he immediately began suckling on your shirt, or ears, whatever he could find. One day Ugli shared his love with the neighbor’s huskies. They did ɴᴏᴛ respond kindly, and Ugli was ʙᴀᴅʟʏ ᴍᴜʟᴇᴅ. From my apartment, I could hear his ʙᴀᴅʟʏ sᴄʀᴇᴀᴍs, and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was apparent Ugli’s sᴀᴅ ʟɪғᴇ was almost at an end.
He lay in a ᴡᴇᴛ ᴄɪʀᴄʟᴇ, his back legs and lower back twisted ɢʀᴏssʟʏ out of shape, a ɢᴀᴘɪɴɢ ᴛᴇᴀʀ in the white strip of fur that ran down his front. I could hear him ɢᴀsᴘɪɴɢ and sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟɪɴɢ but then then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear . I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. At that moment I thought Uɢʟʏ was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Even though he was in so much ᴘᴀɪɴ, ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴡᴏᴜɴᴅs, the battle-scarred cat was only asking for one thing: a little bit of affection. Never once did he try to ʙɪᴛᴇ ᴏʀ sᴄʀᴀᴛᴄʜ me, or run ᴀᴡᴀʏ from me. Uɢʟʏ just looked up at me, trusting me to relieve his ᴘᴀɪɴ. Uɢʟʏ ᴅɪᴇᴅ in my arms before I could bring him inside but I sat there and held him for a long time. Ugli taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books ever could.