A tail of victory: Meet Bug, voted the cutest cat in the Sacramento region
After over 200 submissions, thousands of votes and weeks of polls, one cat has come out on top in The Sacramento Bee’s cutest cat competition.
Bug, a 3-year-old domestic longhair cat from River Park, received 27,278 votes in the final round, scratching his way to a win with 57% of the votes.
His three final opponents — Spidercat, Pickles and Matilda — received 18,848, 1,839 and 233 votes in the final poll, respectively.
Bug came into his family’s life as a stray cat when he was only 3 weeks old, said owner Ella Bump. One of Bump’s neighbors had found Bug through a friend and took him in before giving him to her family.
After being a stray, Bug was sick and needed to be taken to the vet, Bump said.
“We took him to the vet and we got him some medication, and over the course of a few weeks, he was able to get stronger and get all better,” Bump said. “We’re very happy to have him.”
At the vet, they decided on the name Bug.
“We hadn’t picked one out yet, and we just looked at him and said, ‘He kind of looks like a bug,’ Bump said. “He had very big eyes.”
Bug has three cat brothers and two dog brothers, making it “a full house” with all the animals playing together, Bump said.
When he’s not playing with his siblings, Bug likes to look out the window and people-watch through the family’s living room window — or dog, cat, bird, insect and people-watch. Really, anything that’s moving. He also loves to lick various things around the house, like sofas, cardboard and anything plastic.
Although he likes to watch the action from the window, Bump said Bug is skittish with new people and even takes a second to recognize her when she gets home from college at Johns Hopkins University. That hesitation doesn’t last long, though, a testament to their friendship.
“He’ll run out to the door and sniff me and sniff all my bags,” Bump said. “When he recognizes my scent, he’s very sweet, and he gives me a lot of attention.”
Bump said the family feels lucky to have him in their house and said Bug is “honored and thrilled” to be crowned the cutest cat in Sacramento.
“I think he’s adorable. Obviously, I’m very biased,” Bump said. “I think he’s got some personality in his look. I think his name also fits him, and it sort of goes with the whole vibe of Bug.”
This story was originally published September 17, 2024 at 9:19 AM.
