Ink sketch: relaxing with Ming the Merciless.
Ming The Merciless is a small fluffy tortoiseshell [calico] cat who tolerates us and shares her home with us. Because she is so fluffy, she needs to be combed, especially at this time of year when the kitties are moulting off their winter coat. Honestly, you’d think we were murdering her. It took husb and myself and a giant bath towel, a lot of courage and sheer foolhardiness to tackle her. I know that people say that if you train cats to be combed since they were kittens, they’ll be OK but I’ve never found this to be true and I’ve had five longhaired cats over the years. They all turned into psychokitties at the sight of a comb. We managed to comb her all over but very little fur came out with the comb. It manages to appear all over the house, enough to knit into a jumper, but after all that effort – and injury – we only had a few wisps off her. And then we had to put up with her being in a huff all day. And the puncture wounds. Ouch.
She looked lovely and sleek though, but she went storming off to the kitchen and deliberately scratched herself all over to scruff up her fur – just to spite us! This is her last night, snuggled up to my slipper on the footstool. My feet were perched on the edge while she hogged the stool and the blanket. This is the way of the world when you share your life with cats.
My Naughty Tortie ran away, tragically but i have 5 other cats. My friend Sally and i have initiated a drawing club – just the two of us – along the lines of alcoholic sponsors, we are sponsoring eachother against Not drawing, if that makes sense? Laziness and talent-wasting being equivalent to substance abuse in this analogy. Both ex-art students, we’re starting very gently, having a subject a month (taking turns to choose), and February is Cats. She has a long haired Calico too. Inspired by your drawings and devotion to it, i have bought myself a couple of Pitt pens – i love Rotrings but they do play up.
Really enjoying your blog, Rosie!
Thank you Rowan, so glad to hear that you’re drawing so much – it’s good to have someone to do it with you. I’m lucky that my husb is also an artist who draws. Hope to see your February cat drawings 🙂
They shall be blogged! (probably on other blog: the-turret-process.blogspot.com)
You’re kidding, but actually there is a friend of mine who collected for some time the lost pieces of old fur from her 5 sled dogs and then give them to a talented handspinner who spun and dyed them, for an excellent yarn result!
mmmmm maybe I shoud do the same with the fur lost by my young tomcat Leonardo…?
I’m sure I could collect enough over a year lol
As the owner of two cats, one a calico, I have to breathe a sigh of relief that neither of them have long hair. Regardless, they do manage to coat the floor daily with a fluffy layer of no longer needed fur. They both enjoy being brushed (have never tried a comb) but I find brushing just loosens even more hair! Perhaps we can find a way to integrate cat hair into an art piece?
haha good idea. Spinning and knitting might work. My other cat is a short-haired calico – in Britain we call them Naughty Torties lol.