Last month, a member posted this in my Singapura Facebook group: ⭐️ Looking for models! ⭐️ Hi, thanks for the add! I’m Cloris, a cat mom, animal artist, and small biz owner! I’m looking for people who’d be interested in taking a photo of their cat with their matching sticker (see photos) in exchange for a Singapura sticker bundle ❤️ Bonus points if you can post to social media since I’ll be sharing the photos there too! Preferably US-based but open to shipping worldwide too. Comment/message for more info and thanks for your time!
Well, of course I contacted her! The envelope arrived on Wednesday. As soon as I opened it, Izaak had to see what I was doing.
And…of course he had to play with his Singa sticker.
Zak likes to bite paper things, and I worried he would try to bite his sticker…
…but he couldn’t manage to pick it up.
Zak is so adorable when he’s frustrated.
Dashiell, however, was not as excited about his Aby sticker.
He wouldn’t even jump up on the sofa to look at it.
I put it on the coffee table, and Lorelai took an interest.
She managed to knock it onto the floor, where Dash finally took some interest. They are nice, thick, shiny stickers, and cats like shiny things.
With the stickers, she sent me a little thank you card for helping her with her sticker promotion.
Cloris has stickers of almost every breed of cat (and dog, and some other animals) available in her Cloris Creates Etsy shop, and if she doesn’t, she can make it for you. They are very awesome and very cut.
When Emma was visiting, we watched Raya and the Last Dragon again, and this time I was reminded of the Serlots from the region of Fang. Their name is apparently a portmanteau of “Serval” and “Ocelot,” but they look more like Caracals. Watching the movie for the third time, I thought that Dashiell would make an excellent Serlot.
So I started with the sketch and the ink layers.
Then I needed a break from detail work, so I switched to creating the background. I played around with different textures to create the landscape.
After the background, I went back to the undercolour later, which I also did a bit differently than the way I usually do it; I used fur brushes rather than airbrushes.
I didn’t spend as much time on the fur layer as usual, probably because of my using fur brushes for the undercolour.
And here’s the finished Dasherlot. It’s different from some of my other works, but I kind of like it.
As usual, here’s the Procreate video in Flickr. It’s a little different from the other videos, because I exported it after two different drawing sessions and then edited it back together, but you get the idea.
Dashiell really loves to sit on the elliptical and bask in the afternoon sun.
His fur is so shiny and bright, too.
Lorelai tried to get some of Dash’s sun puddle, but he was not giving it up.
Good for you, Dash!
The moral of the story: never relinquish your sunshine.
This is a scene that happens most days.
The three boys love to hang out together on our bed.
Dashiell and Izaak have always been best friends since Dash came to live with us. Zak was Dash’s first friend, and they eat all their meals together, especially since we haven’t been going to cat shows. Dash hasn’t been without Zak in his life in Sweden.
Alfred often joins them, but he doesn’t always cuddle with them.
Freddy does cuddle with Zak and Dash in the morning when we’re all in bed, but for some reason, he gives the younger boys their space in the afternoon and evening.
Maybe he remembers his best friend Logan, and he doesn’t want to intrude. I really do wonder if Freddy thinks about Logan.
The only downside to having Emma stay with us was the fact that she occupied the spare bedroom, where Alfred and Lorelai eat their daily chicken necks.
There is a very good reason for this.
Rory and Freddy eat their necks wicked fast. Sometimes, Freddy will be finished with his neck before I can get the door shut!
Dashiell and Izaak, however, eat their necks at a more leisurely pace.
Which is somewhat ironic, considering Zak is the entire reason we have the evening neck ritual at all. But he’ll look at his neck, and then try to follow me out of the room. It’s like, dude…eat your damn neck! You wait all day for it and yell at me until I give it to you!
It’s arrangement that works well. Freddy and Rory scarf their necks down, growl at each other if one tries to steal the other’s neck, and can pretty much defend their necks from one another. Dash and Zak respect each other’s boundaries and generally don’t try to poach the other’s neck (although sometimes they do trade).
So you can see the problem. Dash and Zak aren’t accustomed to competition. Meanwhile, Rory…
…and Freddy are hovering like vultures, just waiting for an opening to swoop in and snatch a neck away from one of the boys.
Rory…NO!
“Whattaya mean, ‘no,’ Mom? He’s not eating it!”
Finally, Dash ate about half his neck, and I gave up and let Rory have the rest. Better her than Freddy; she needs the calories more than he does. And I needed to go eat dinner with Björn, Kalle and Emma.
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"Thanks, Mom!"
Yeah, I'm glad we can go back to the two-room system.
Björn’s daughter Emma is visiting us this weekend! She’s here for her birthday, which was last Friday, but as Björn’s holiday started today, here’s here from today until Wednesday morning.
Tonight, we had options for dinner, and Emma chose ribs.
So, we had ribs.
And when we had finished, we let the cats gnaw the meat of said ribs.
Emma doesn’t have a cat at home in Stockholm, so she was quite amused to watch the feeding frenzy that ensued.
After the cats had their ribs, Emma had her cake.
She also mentioned that she didn’t like wearing a mask, so I gave her my two cat-face masks. I mean, if you don’t like wearing a mask, it’s easier to wear a fun one, amirite?
The other day, Dashiell was sitting in the window and he looked so handsome and photogenic, I had to capture him.
I mean, just look at him!
His coat is so very shiny. All of the cats have great fur (I think it’s the raw/Bozita diet), but none of them are as shiny as he is. It’s like he has special reflective hair.
“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful…”
Dashiell is a very beautiful and graceful cat.
As long as he’s standing still.
As handsome as Dash is, he has a very…awkward way of walking.
Standing: Gorgeous.
Walking…not so much.
When we go outside with the cats, I do try to get Angel to come outside, too. But the last time we went out, Angel was happily ensconced on one of the chairs on the balcony. So, I let her be.
That didn’t stop her from joining us in her own way.
What was really adorable, though, was that Dashiell noticed her sitting on the railing watching us.
He was like, “Hey! Angel!”
Not sure if Angel is Juliet, Rapunzel, or Roxanne in this scenario.
Dash was the only cat who really noticed her. Alfred only saw her because he wanted to know what Dash was so interested in.
“Wait! No! Angel, come back!”
Good news, everyone! Last Wednesday, I got my first Covid vaccination (#teampfizer)! However, it also kicked my butt for a few days; today is the first day my arm doesn’t feel like I was hit by a stick. So, here: have some random Hipstasnaps taken around the house. First we have Alfred and Izaak cuddled up next to Jacoby on my leg.
It’s interesting to see the pair-ups that occur amongst the cats. Dashiell and Alfred hang out together quite a bit.
So do Angel and Zak. Sometimes, it’s Angel’s choice…
…other times, not so much.
I wonder if I should be concerned about what Dash and Freddy are plotting…
Not quite sure what’s going on here. Moving on…
Lorelai looking at me hopefully. She always wants to go outside to run.
This was taken today. Zak was looking particularly smexy this afternoon.
The other day, we took the cats out. I was trying to capture the differences in their gaits.
I kind of managed to capture it on “film.”
Went we went out, I took the big camera with the long lens, and I captured all of them walking and running outside.
Here they are outside. I know, it’s 18 minutes long…but it’s interesting if you want to see their different movements outside
As I mentioned the other day, Dashiell is gradually becoming more comforatble outside.
You can see it in his eyes and in his gait.
He’s getting much braver. We still have to catch him and bring him outside – he doesn’t eagerly race out like the other three – but once he IS out, he enjoys it.
But look how incredibly shiny his coat is! I don’t remember Jacoby being quite this shiny. I think it’s because Dash eats more raw food. Jake refused to eat it. He would eat his other food and leave just the raw behind (kind of like Izaak in reverse). I can’t wait to take him to a cat show!
As you may remember, Dashiell isn’t as confident about being outside.
But he does seem more comfortable when he’s with the other cats.
So when Alfred started to run down the hill, Dash kind of followed him.
I mean, okay…Dash walked down the hill, he didn’t run.
But the fact that he went on the hill at all is a huge step for him!
The Daily Abyssinian...and Singapura 