Everyone wants to see this naked cat. “Bug Naked” is her name, a sphinx cat. She is probably the only one of her kind that constantly goes on a cruise. In winter, the animal sails through the Caribbean, cruising between Mexico, the Bahamas and Florida. In the summer I like to go to Europe. A cat’s life on the high seas. There are worse fates for cats, one might think at first glance.
“Bug Naked” belongs to American cruise captain Kate McCue, who has been at the helm of the new luxury ship “Celebrity Beyond” since 2022. For a few years she has been allowed to take the animal with her anywhere on board Celebrity Cruises ships. To do this, she had to obtain the shipping company’s approval and also ask the port authorities each time she arrived.
Of course, there were a few reservations at first, after all, when you think of board cats, you inevitably think of mouse hunting. And that on a luxury passenger ship? But “Bug Naked”, this strange hairless cat, a Canadian breed of mutated animals, only likes stuffed mice anyway.
This breed of cat is both peculiar and fascinating to look at. Big ears, big eyes, almost hairless. The animals often tremble, appear frozen and that is perhaps why they are so cuddly.
Incidentally, in Germany they have been banned as torture for a few years, since the animals no longer even have whiskers. Even the claws are hollow due to the genetic defect.
One disgusting quirk is that they constantly secrete brown sebum, which is why Captain Kate McCue has to bathe her cat once a week. The sun is also dangerous for the animals: because naked cats tend to sunburn. That’s why they always wear coats.
“Bug Naked” also has a closet full of clothes: suits, pullovers, jackets, skirts, matching jewelery such as a diamond necklace. Almost every day she is dressed in new clothes and carried around or driven in a handcart.
It quickly became apparent that “Bug Naked” was a hit for the US shipping company. Because the popular cat is considered a unique selling point and is really good for business. Ever since cruise captain Kate McCue took her out to sea as a mascot, passengers have been crazy about the cat.
The animal is allowed on the bridge during port times when the ship is anchored. It sits on the balcony, can sometimes appear as a show at festivals and, just for fun, can sometimes be present at sea rescues with its own life jacket.
Many passengers want to see them, cat fans want to pet them: the skin of naked cats looks hotter than normal because the lack of fur means that body heat is released directly through the skin, which makes touching the animals feel like touching a hot water bottle .
The only naked cat at sea is somehow reminiscent of a pirate captain’s trained monkey. Like the funny “Mr. Nilsson” from the old Pippi Longstocking films. Whether all this is animal-friendly remains questionable. Anyway, “Bug Naked” is famous and has her own Instagram account with more than 62,000 followers.
In the past, however, on-board cats were not only there to eat mice and rats, but also for entertainment. They were also considered lucky charms in seafaring. Until the 1970s, they were welcome on merchant ships and in the Navy. In the Royal Navy, for example, a black cat on board was good luck, while two black cats were bad luck.
By the way, superstition at sea says that you always have to treat a cat well, otherwise the ship could go bad. This should also apply to naked cats on the oceans.
