Pretty Patches is Looking for a New Home
Posted: March 5, 2012 Filed under: adopting a cat, cats, cats for adoption | Tags: calico cat, cat for adoption, cats, rescue cats 8 CommentsA friend put out this message about a cat her family had adopted for her mother in a time of need. Now the beautiful long-haired calico Patches needs to find a new home where she can bring comfort to her people. No one in the family can adopt her so they hope to find a good home with someone who will love her just as much. Patches is young and has many years to spend with a new family.
She writes:
Patches is a petite, sweet-tempered lap cat. We rescued her from Animal Friends for my mother 2 years ago when my mother was fighting cancer.
Since losing my mom last summer, Patches is a little lost and my dad can’t take care of her. We are hoping to find her a good home. She is a little shy at first, but snuggles with my children and myself whenever we visit. She is a bit of a puffball, and she has amazing markings. She has only been an indoor cat and she is about 3 to 4 years old. She will make a great addition to any family.
Patches is in Zelienople, north of Pittsburgh, PA. Please call 724-719-2229.
Animals helping people heal
What a wonderful idea for the family to choose a feline companion for a family member fighting illness, and to choose a rescue kitty as well. Often when illness strikes people are advised to or choose to give up their pets because their care is too much on top of the illness. There are times when this is very true, as we’ve seen with a few rescue stories here on The Creative Cat, such as Dorothy’s Pets. But this family knew that a feline companion could help this woman by providing the companionship and unconditional love that is the gift of any animal companion. Read about actual studies into this in Pet Therapy: How Animals And Humans Heal Each Other and Research says cats have healing powers.
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Images used in this article were provided by Patches’ family.
All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.
Meet Georgie
Posted: September 15, 2011 Filed under: animal artwork, cat artwork, cat painting, cats, commissioned portrait, current portrait, feline artwork, pastel painting, pet portrait, portrait, senior cats | Tags: calico cat, cat artwork, commissioned pet portrait, maine coon cat, pastel portrait, pastel portrait of cat 9 Comments
Portrait of Georgie, first proof
One of my newest portraits is Georgie, decidedly the princess of her household!
This is the result of my first session, and I just love the energy of these early portraits with loose details and big strokes; it’s also my first session with my new Sennelier pastels and I largely attribute my satisfaction with this proof compared to past portraits at this point to the colors, texture and quality of my new pastels—more on those in another article.

Portrait of Georgie, detail of her face.
But at this point I can tell if the portrait is on its way if I can see the finished work my customer and I discussed and, more importantly, feel the subject in it at this early stage, and I definitely feel Georgie here. So did her mom when she saw this proof. I have a number of things to adjust, like her eye color, details in her face and the rest of her fur, and ultimately add the all-important whiskers and ear hair, but I’ll work those out as I go along.

Georgie on the Easel, ready for her closeup.
Georgie is 19 years old, and though she was adopted from a shelter all those years ago she is apparently either fully or predominantly of Maine Coon cat breed with those extra large features and lush tabby fur.
And her personality is just as big with lots of conversation and direction for her human, and very particular requirements for her toys.
A Pretty Tri-color Needs a Home
Posted: November 2, 2010 Filed under: adopting a cat, cats | Tags: calico cat, cat for adoption, cat needs a home, tortie cat, tri-color cat 10 Comments
Callie in autumn leaves.
I’d noticed a new kitty around the neighborhood over the summer, a very unique tri-color I hadn’t seen before. After some investigation (asking the neighbor kids who know everyone’s pets) I discovered she actually lived in the duplex next door to me.
I haven’t had much opportunity to talk to these people, a young couple with a son in first grade and a newborn and a visiting daughter on the weekend, plus a bunch of jobs between the two. It turns out the kitty’s name is Callie, and while she’d always been an indoor cat, the older son racing in and out the door with his friends had given her the idea she could go out, too, and then she began racing out the door all the time. They tried keeping her upstairs, and downstairs, anywhere away from the door, and they tried to warn the kids not to let her out, but she still managed to get outside.

Callie in the grass.
They had actually fallen on some hard times from job loss and, when they found they were expecting, gave up their house knowing it would be too expensive with a new baby. The half duplex was a little crowded so a friend offered to rent them a small house for less than the duplex, and Callie was invited too—that wasn’t the problem.
They didn’t realize until they were at the house painting how much traffic passed the house, and how fast it moved, and the road is pretty close to the front door. Even if they managed to keep Callie contained most of the time, it would only take one time…
The woman came over to talk to me about how frightened she was and that she didn’t want anything to happen to her Callie, but she was afraid to take the risk, and I felt she was sincere—believe me, I’ve been delivered every line there is when someone simply wants to get rid of their cat, but I know with two adults and three kids and four jobs and caring for an infant, no one can keep their eye on everything.They’ll take her with them, they won’t abandon her, but I’d even be afraid to risk it.
Several years ago I fostered two cats for a friend who had lost her house and rented another, then realized her old house had had a vestibule and her cats never got outside. In the new house, because she is slightly disabled and can’t quickly get in and out the door, they could get right past her, headed right for another busy road. She felt she couldn’t risk taking them back, so I helped find new homes for them through one of the shelters.

Callie can't decide if I'm friend or foe.
So Callie is looking for a home! She’s about five years old and spayed and has the typical tri-color personality: “Hello! Hisssss…….”, just can’t decide if she’s happy to see you or should keep you at bay.
And her markings are really unusual—her head, legs and tail are calico, but her torso is tortie. Is she a calitort? A tortico? Not sure, but once you get under the tri-color crust she’s a sweet girl. She also has four white paws and a white tip on her tail. Snowshoe calitort?And a white chest and belly. Tuxedo snowshoe tortico?
If you or anyone you know is interested in her, please let me know. I’d hate to see anything happen to her. I’d love to help, but it’s just not time yet for me to take in another kitty, and my spare cat room is completely out of commission for fostering right now.
Yes, she would make a great photo subject. It’s not time for me to take in another kitty, even as a foster unless it’s only for a day or two.