Cat a study in stardom at museum
At the world-class Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, everyone wants to see the cat.
And it’s not a painting by Andy Warhol.
It’s Hamish, whom the museum calls its “resident cat” and “official unofficial spokescat.” Hamish is quite the ham.
The buff-colored feline, adopted in February 2016 from Springdale Animal Services by Cara and Michael Upton, who live nearby, has himself adopted the museum as his domain.
He’s often outside, welcoming guests and posing for selfies, and he’s often inside, riding the elevator and stopping for a bite. (Cara says: “The staff have bowls of food for him — this is their pet at the office. I’m like, ‘Dude, why do you come home and eat so much food then?’ The boy can eat.”)
In September, the museum shared a short video of the cat they called Truffles, the name on his tag. But Hamish, an adventurer who kept losing collars, was temporarily wearing the collar of another pet. The video went viral, the name tag was replaced and Hamish was a star.
No one was more surprised than the Uptons. Cara says, “We didn’t even know how popular our cat was.”
Hamish follows the couple on walks with their 4-year-old daughter Amelia, so, Cara says, “We knew that he liked to be on the trails … but we had no idea that he was going into the museum or hanging out at the different statues and being super friendly.”
The museum featured Hamish in its seasonal video released earlier this month (tinyurl.com/ hamishcat). In it, he “mews-es” about the visitors: “They all love art. And, of course, they love cats. Well, one cat. OK, it’s me. Everybody loves me.”
And they do. Cara is amazed by the social media comments: “People are saying, ‘We came to Crystal Bridges just to find (Hamish),’ and I’m like, ‘What?’” Hamish started his own Facebook page: Hamish the Museum Advo(cat)e.
At home, Cara says, Hamish is a typical cat: “He tries to steal chicken off the plate. … He’s fighting with his little fur brother, Nigel, but yet he’s been over there being Mr. High Class.”
And Mr. Popular. Concerned museum visitors regularly call the number on his tag to alert his owners. Says Michael: “I get at least one every day of the week. I’ve gotten five calls in a day.” His voice mail message says: “If you’re calling about finding Hamish on the Crystal Bridges trail, he is an outside cat; he is right where he enjoys being.”
Hamish and his owners recently participated in a museum photo shoot. Cara says: “All the staff members were gushing about [Hamish], and they’re all going, ‘Thank you so much for allowing us to do this with him.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean allowing you?’”
She says with a laugh, “I’m just glad you haven’t called animal control or sued me for my cat being inside your museum.”