Hoover, who is often described as Oriental’s unofficial mayor, lost an eye in a fight with a blue jay. (Photo by Bill Hand)
Here is the latest tale — or should we say tail — of Oriental’s mayor, who got his eye pecked out by a blue jay, went missing for six weeks, and was found loitering in another town ridiculously far away.
Oriental, the little coastal hamlet, held a grand celebration for the mayor’s return, but he refused to attend. Then he got evicted from his home at the marina, forcing him to move in with a lady on the other end of town.
This mayor, by the way, is a cat. (And is not Sally Belangia, the elected official who presides over the town.)
Hoover — named after the president, not the vacuum cleaner — is, beyond a doubt, the most famous and beloved cat in Oriental. He is a big, orange tabby with a lot of street cred, a sometimes-resident of the Oriental Marina & Inn though his current caretaker, Amy Dish, said his territory has covered many of the charming little businesses that make up the downtown.
Dish has worked at the hotel since 2020 and has known Hoover since.
Hoover was evicted from his hotel home when new ownership declared Oriental Marina & Inn a cat-free zone. He now resides with hotel employee Amy Dish. (Photo by Bill Hand)
“We used to have another cat named Eisenhower,” she said. “They were both sort of Marina cats. Eisenhower passed away in 2021. He’s buried somewhere on the property underneath a tree.”
With a legend like Hoover, it’s hard to know his true beginnings.
No one knows for sure how old he is. Estimates range from 6 to 12.
He allegedly started as a house cat, but his owner died and he found himself on the street. As friendly but abandoned cats are wont to do, he began showing up at various doors, and people began giving him scraps. He took a special liking to Dish.
“I used to not care for cats,” she said. But he grew on her and she became his unofficial handler.
Another origin story says Hoover lived at Fulcher’s House behind the marina. One of their kids tried to take him home and he ran away, then adopted the folks at the marina.
As Hoover’s fame grew, residents began calling him the mayor.
Hoover shows off his one-eyed stare. (Photo by Bill Hand)
It was a year or so ago that, great hunter that he was, Hoover snagged a blue jay. The bird lost the battle but he hammered Hoover in the eye during their struggle. Dish and the town came together with the vet and tried to save his eye. But Hoover now has a pirate-like battle scar that seems fitting in a seafaring town.
In December, Hoover up and disappeared. Nobody knew where he went.
No one’s quite sure how Hoover wound up in Chapel Hill. (Photo by Bill Hand)
“He was thought dead,” said Christopher Siren, a local musician. Siren thought he had discovered Hoover’s corpse at one point, but it turned out to be another unfortunate cat whose sad story we will never know.
Happily for his admirers, Hoover had at least one more life to live: He was found wandering aimlessly down the road from an animal shelter — in Chapel Hill, 170 miles away.
Here, his tale took another weird turn: When the shelter scanned his chip, it identified him as Squeaky, owned by Pamlico County’s Berkley Hill.
Animal control officer Berkley Hill realized who the orange cat with his dog’s chip had to be. (Photo by Andrea Bruce)
“They called me,” Hill said. “They said, ‘We got your cat.’ I said, ‘I got no cats.’”
He does, however, have a chihuahua named — you guessed it — Squeaky. Hill thought a moment and remembered that he’d been told Oriental was missing its cat-mayor. Some quick research revealed that Squeaky and Hoover had been chipped the same day at the Craven-Pamlico Animal Shelter. Somehow their chips got recorded wrong.
Hill said cats turning up miles from home is unusual but not unheard of. He once handled the case of a lost Pamlico cat that showed up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and of a dog who found his way to Indiana.
Hill thinks Hoover may have climbed up inside a vehicle or a boat on a trailer and inadvertently taken a long ride.
“Cats do that,” he said. “It’s why it’s important to chip your cat.”
Hoover gives his best presidential pose. (Photo by Bill Hand)
Of course, the town was thrilled to learn that Hoover was coming back. A resident traveling in that direction picked him up and the town organized a big party to celebrate his return.
“We love Hoover,” Siren said. “My girlfriend is just nuts about him.”
She designed a special poster announcing the big shindig, dressing him appropriately in leather with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. “Mayor Hoover Welcome Back,” the poster declared. “One-Eyed Orange Badass.”
Jenn Bass designed a poster to promote Hoover’s welcome back party. (Photo courtesy of Jenn Bass)
The party took place Jan. 20 at the Toucan Grill and Fresh Bar. It featured music, including Siren tickling the ivories, and 25 pounds of fresh shrimp cocktail. “It was very well-attended,” Dish said. Just not by Hoover.
“He scooted as soon as people started arriving,” Dish said. But she cut up some shrimp and shared it with him later.
The Oriental Marina & Inn no longer allows cats to live on the property. (Photo by Bill Hand)
Hoover no longer resides at the Marina and Inn. New owners recently declared a no-cat policy.
But don’t feel too bad for Hoover. Dish took him home to live with her and he continues to be spoiled and cared for. He still wanders the town on occasion and will show up at the marina and other old haunts. And he still holds everyone’s love.
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