Cats and their Artists

The other day, I came across this collection of photos of famous artists posing with their feline friends.

We’ve already been over how much I love tea, but I also have always loved cats. Not that I don’t love dogs too. It’s just that I think my childhood dog, Coyote, was just so perfect she ruined me for all other dogs. So, I can’t bring myself to have another dog, but I’ve had lots of cats over the years.

I’m nowhere close to famous, but I’d like to add to the awesome collection of artist-cat photos.

With photos of my own Maine coon cats!

This is Aurora. We call her Aurorie. Or simply Rorie. Or even more simply, sometimes just Ror (sounds like roar). Or Blinkie (she blinks a lot). Blink-a-thon 2000 is one of my favorite names for her. She has exotic, golden eyes.

Aurorie likes to sleep next to me in bed, up by my shoulder, in a way that our backs are touching at least a little bit. If I shift in bed and her back isn’t touching mine anymore, she will scoot backwards to make contact again. She has extra toes and her front feet look like little lobster claws. Cats are notoriously self-centered and oppositional, but Aurorie is the only cat I’ve ever known with the capacity to sacrifice.

This is Orion. Also O-boy. Or Sweet Baby Boy, and yes I am aware of the irony of that nickname. I mean, just look at him! He’s massive! He is also my Precious O-boy. His eyes are yellow with green around the pupil.

Orion likes to chew plastic because he knows I can’t stand it. He does things that annoy me because it’s a game to him. Of course, the fact that sometimes I’ll choose to laugh and chase him around the house instead of being mad at him just reinforces that behavior. When he gets in the right mood, he’ll ask to be held, then he’ll wrap his arms around my neck (literally) and give my cheek a love-bite because he can’t contain his love. Also because cats can’t kiss.

Kittenage is a nickname we use on both of them, as well as Fluffykins. And Loaf. You know, for when they’re bein’ a Loaf. They’re 8 years old, brother and sister from the same litter, and they weigh over 15 pounds apiece. Half of that is probably the weight of their fur.

Aurora’s full name is Aurora Trinket Sparklebelly. Orion’s full name is Orion Kingston Furmaster.

Why yes, I am insane, what makes you ask that?

Here’s a baby photo!

They came to us 8 years ago when they were just kittens. A friend, J, had found a litter of kittens that had been dumped near his house, and he brought them over in pairs to tempt me. We had another cat at the time and didn’t want any other cats. I stood strong through the orange tabbies J brought over, but one look at these babies and my heart was spoken for. Well, who can blame me? They ARE my all-time favorite type of cat!

From the Artists with their Cats photo collection, my favorite photos are Salvador Dalí, (older) Picasso, Paul Klee (typical cat, using me as a jungle gym), Edward Gorey, and Georgia O’Keeffe (I love how they have the same facial expression!). Also the NSFW Frida Kahlo photo mentioned at the end of the article is fantastic.

You may be asking yourself which photo from the Famous Artists with their Cats collection is most like my life?

Definitely the Edward Gorey photo. :p