I am naked and in need of clothes
To keep me warm, affection I chose
I dwell in a hammock and hunt the crows
With fur on the ears, nose, tail and toes
A creature so striking, my audience grows.
I am different from the pet that everyone knows.
What am I?
Students have spotted hairless cats in the Sawbuck apartment building across Salmon Street.
Lounging in window hammocks on the fifth floor of the Sawbuck building, the cats have become a huge draw for students in north-facing classrooms.
The watching goes both ways.
“Their absolute favorite thing is to lay in the window,” said Zach Hughes, the owner of the cats. Hughes said the cats enjoy looking out the window from their vantage point in the hammocks. “Recently [they] discovered there are crows on top of the school.”
Hughes got the cats during the pandemic.
“I was losing it like everyone else. I was gonna get one [cat],” Hughes said. “It turned out they were the last two in the litter, and I just couldn’t separate them.”
The cat brothers are named after rappers Mac Miller and Little Peep. Although they look identical from the window, Hughes says they are quite different,
“Peep has got a full-blown rat tail and Mac, he’s a hairy man,” Hughes said.
Though the cats lack a fur coat, their downy hair makes them feel like velvet. Some hairless cats, like Mac, have patches of longer hair on their ears, nose, tail and toes.
The cat’s stepmom is Angelica Beltran.
“[Mac’s] got his shoes,” said Beltman in reference to Mac’s ginger fur booties.
Hughes wanted a hairless cat because they’re known to be very affectionate. They love attention and often climb up Hughes’ shoulders when they are in the kitchen or find a space between Hughes and Beltman on the couch.
“Peep is literally on top of me. To the point where it’s like, I gotta tell him to chill out,” Hughes said.
Many scientists believe that hairless cats’ affection is due to their need for warmth. Some owners try to remedy this with clothes, but Mac and Peep aren’t the biggest fans of getting dressed
“They’re very good at getting out of their clothes,” according to Hughes.
Their unique appearance not only puts a smile on people’s faces but students and staff have started to connect with them in different ways.
History teacher Chris Buehler, whose room faces the cats, says he relates to them on a more spiritual level.
“I view these hairless cats as a distant relative… as a bald person,” said Buehler.
Peep and Mac’s parents, Huges and Beltran celebrated their third birthday on October 30, 2023.
“They’re the loves of our lives,” said Huges. “We really love them a lot.”
