A Pretty Pair of Playful Parlor Panthers

One of the defining traits of a Card-Carrying Crazy Cat Lady as stated in the club guidelines is "sharing your home with cats in spite of your severe allergy to pet dander". It turns out this is a common trait shared by Cat Lads and Feline Fellas also.

Take Feline Fella Chris, for example. Wife Sharon tells us: "My husband is very allergic to cats but fell in love with a neighborhood black cat who adopted us. After she passed away, he set out to find the perfect black cat that was hypo-allergenic. He determined that to be an American Bombay cat and that we had to have two!"

Meet Kaldi and Bica, also known as "Daddy's girls".

American Bombays, often called "Parlor Panthers", are known for their round, copper-gold eyes. They are small (7 lbs.) with very sleek, short fur coats. But as Sharon continues, "Of course they didn't turn out to be as allergy-free as he thought, but it's too late now. They rule him and the house.

"They LOVE people and are cuddlers. They climb all over Chris and try to fall asleep before he sneezes so much that he has to put them down. Bombays are heat seekers. If you aren't moving around, chances are they're sitting on you soaking up the warmth. They are also burrowers... Ours will heat-soak under the covers for a few hours until they're finally too warm and then come out and cool down by stretching their entire length on the floor. Once they're cool enough they go back into the oven under the covers. It's hysterical.

"The other really funny thing they do is they play fetch. Not only do ours follow you around all day, they will bring in a toy [such as the favored mouse in the portrait], put it down at your feet, look up and meow loudly until you throw it for them. Then just like any puppy would do, they chase it, throw it around and bring it back for you to throw again and again and again. They are great jumpers and can sit upright on their haunches as they wait for a toy to be thrown. They look like little prairie dogs when they do that. The ball with the feather gets this kind of 'anticipation pose' when we throw it to Kaldi."

For more information about the Bombay breed, including shelters that currently have Bombays for adoption, visit this link: Bombays on Petfinder

Thanks for visiting!

Prototypes Galore (And a Giveaway Too!)

Here is a peek at what my friend Necchi
and I have been up to:

The ancient sewing machine and I have been abuzz making prototypes for sachets and scented mini pillows with Spring and Mothers Day in mind! I'm told I am in the midst of R and D (research and development)--who knew R and D could be so much fun?

Each kitty is filled with one of my favorite flowers--lavender--and I found great little heart charms to add to each collar. The lavender is heavenly--my art studio smells like Spring!

And now for the GIVEAWAY part!

I need your very important input
as a part of R and D:

If you had to choose, would you prefer a FANCIFUL cat like the one on the left, or a FUR-REAL cat that looked more like an actual cat that you know and love?

Please leave your answer in the Comments section of this post. The giveaway will end Monday night at 7 p.m. I will choose 6 names (that's SIX lucky winners folks, the odds are in your favor) at random from this post and my Facebook page and each winner will receive one of these prototypes! Bear in mind that there are slight variations in the prototypes and they may vary slightly from the photos...

Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are the winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address included in the comment.

Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, please contact me by e-mail at art--you'll find a link under my Profile

Thanks for participating!!!

Featured Art Auctions....Cats That Sound Delicious

Whether you describe your tabby as red, orange, ginger, marmalade, cinnamon, apricot, pumpkin or peach, there is no doubt that these lovable redheads of the cat world have a special place in the hearts of their Cat Ladies...
















Pictured here are 10 miniature watercolor paintings of ginger cats and their loving cat ladies -- just a few of the 365 Cat Ladies featured in this blog during 2009. All ten are being auctioned off this week on Ebay...it's a great opportunity to collect original artwork at affordable prices, plus you will own a little piece of 365 Cat Lady history! Place your bid today at:

http://myworld.ebay.com/whimsysu

Sneak Peek

With spring just around the corner, I've had a sudden burst of creative energy. I've dusted off my vintage 1951 Necchi sewing machine (the Italian version of Singer) and I am cooking up some new ideas.

I originally bought the Necchi second-hand from a sewing machine repair shop 30 years ago (yes, I was 7 at the time); the former owner was a Mrs. Buster of Sacramento, as her name is neatly penciled into the instruction manual. The machine is a workhorse--solidly built with METAL everything (not a plastic part to be found) and it weighs at least a ton.

Recently I've been experimenting with printing my designs onto fabric. Thirty years ago I had a line of soft sculpture cats that I HAND-silk-screened onto muslin--extremely labor intensive, but quite successful. They were sold in handcrafts shops across the country, and one item--a white cat soft sculpture refrigerator magnet--was included in a Tender Vittles giveaway promotion. I can't tell you how many times I visited the cat food aisle that year to pick up a box of Tender Vittles and gaze at my little creation looking back at me from the back of the box!

Now, instead of building separate screens for each color, using photo emulsion, getting each layer perfectly registered and hand-printing each of hundreds of panels, I can simply send the image to my inkjet printer or to an online print-on-demand fabric printer. Sheesh. How times have changed!

Here is a sneak peek at what I printed up yesterday. Any guesses as to what me and my old pal Necchi are going to make with these?

Spay Day USA

Don't delay--neuter or spay! Don't wind up like this Cat Lady who delayed having her she-kitty spayed. These kittens will be adorable for a few weeks until it's time to find homes for them. And, if they in turn are not neutered or spayed, the problem becomes exponential .

Today is Spay Day USA and the Humane Society of the United States would like to raise awareness and help you become a part of the solution to pet overpopulation.

Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year. Spay/neuter is the only permanent, 100-percent effective method of birth control for dogs and cats and a proven way to reduce the vast numbers of animals who are born only to die prematurely and without a family who loves them. Learn more about why you should spay or neuter your pet.

Visit the Spay Day website today to learn about local events, low-cost spay clinics, trap-neuter-release programs for feral cats and a photo contest.

You can find this design on an assortment of note cards, gifts, and t-shirts in my Cafepress online shop:
CAT MOM No. 1

All Together Now...Addendum

When there are Cat Ladies in the room, look out--it's not often that a Feline Fella/Dog Dude can get a word in edgewise. But Mike has some fascinating facts to add about his beloved brood:

"George Morris [orange cat on guitar] is so skinny, I believe,because when he was x-rayed at the vet they found two beebees and one pellet in his chest. He had been shot three times. He is my purple heart cat."

"Jenna and Abby came from the humane society in Lancaster, PA, though we live in Maryland."

"Gerald [tabby on Ursula's shoulders] was going to end up in the belly of some King Snake in Missouri. When we visited my friend on his farm, a dog named Elvis chased Gerald about 20 feet into a tree. Her name is Gerald because the farm is in Gerald, MO.

"Abby [in Ursula's lap] likes to butt heads with people. Ursula, being German, uses a phrase, dietze Bock, (it means "bonk the Ram") and Abby bonks us every time.

"Jenna is an aristocat...I think she is really a Russian Blue...from the Tsar's court."

"Blah blah blah... I should stop now. "

Actually, Michael, you may not know this, but there's nothing that makes Cat Ladies swoon more that a Feline Fella or Dog Dude lovingly going on and on about his pets. In fact, legions of Cat Ladies across the country, and perhaps around the world are thinking right now: "That Ursula is one lucky Cat Lady!"

So here's to an inspiring pair of pet people! Thank you to both of you for a happy story full of so many happy endings for some very special friends!

All Together Now...!

It's good to have interesting pastimes. Like reading. And guitar playing. Cat Lady Ursula enjoys non-fiction such as veterinary text books and classic cook books (James Beard, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin), and mystery novels too. Feline Fella Mike enjoys playing the songs of his youth on both electric and acoustic guitar, mostly the Beatles, Neil Young, Bob Dylan.

Then there are pastimes like volunteering at the local animal shelter and fostering homeless kitties. The kind of pastimes that can lead to new friends to keep you company while enjoying your other interesting pastimes... Warm, purring, and grateful friends...

Grateful friends Abby and Jenna have been with Ursula and Mike the longest, adopted from a local shelter. Gerald came next. "We found Gerald as a tiny kitten on a friend's farm and took her home," Ursula tells us.

She continues the story: "About two years ago I started fostering cats and kittens for the Harford County Humane Society (Maryland). George Morris, the orange tabby, was my first foster cat. He was very skinny and his coat was in poor condition. He didn't do well in a shelter environment, so needless to say he grew on us and we adopted him.

"One year and many foster kittens later, Estelle the black kitten came along. I raised her litter of four. The other three were perfect angels and got adopted right away. Estelle is an independent spirit and doesn't like to be carried around. Week after week she resisted adoption until it was clear that she would be ours to keep."

Then there is the story of Sergio, one of 75 dogs seized from a hoarder and then cared for at the shelter where Ursula volunteers. Mike wasn't ready for a dog, wanting to wait until he retired to get one. Ursula continues the story: "The animals had lived in small crates in a filthy house. All the volunteers at the shelter took turns walking the dogs and nursing them back to health. Sergio was the one that stood out to me, because of her terrier pluckiness. She tried hard to hold her own among the mostly bigger dogs. We were not prepared for a dog, I never even had my own dog, but I filled out the paper work for Sergio. My husband couldn't believe it, but he was quickly won over and now the two are inseparable...She's been with us for 3 1/2 years."

May all of YOUR pastimes have such happy endings! Thanks for visiting!