Every Artist Needs A Studio Cat

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece."  - Leonardo da Vinci

Color theory a la the cat: orange and blue are compliments, orange and pink are not.

There were so many great cat quotes I could have chosen for this post! But being a huge fan of da Vinci kind of tilted the scales that way.

As you may have already guessed, Paul and I have a new family member. We finally felt that we had mourned our beloved Madeleine long enough and it was time for a new cat. I searched the websites of all the area shelters looking for suitable cats. We knew we wanted an adult cat as we didn't have the time or energy to deal with a kitten, and adult cats have a much harder time finding new homes. We went to this one particular shelter with two cats in mind but a different cat chose Paul the minute we walked in. She sat on his lap for 40 minutes, waiting for me to realize that the choice had already been made.

The poor thing had a two hour car ride home in one of those lobster boxes (that I lined with a soft blanket), but she dealt with it without a peep. She'd start purring in the box if we talked to her. In fact, she doesn't ever seem to stop purring and her paws never stop kneading. Even as she's falling asleep, her paws will be slowly flexing. She has an amazing range of little vocalizations too, one of which sounds just like a Tribble from the original Star Trek TV series.

Here's the new arrival, on the futon chair in my studio.

A few sketches I've managed to make when she's not demanding ear "skritches".

We are having trouble choosing a name for her, though. We thought of Tangerine Clementine - Tiny for short, since she is so petite. We considered Bisquick, and Tribble, and Clio (Greek goddess of History, for my husband's profession). I'm leaning towards Ruby, my husband really likes Tikka (pronounced Teak-ah). If you want to add your voice to the mix, give us your vote or, if you want to confuse us further, suggest a name we haven't thought of. Meanwhile, I'm being called back to cat servant duty - and I love it!