Illustration Friday: Cats

Well, this was a topic I can get into! I have always had a fondness for cats. Having four cats, you sort of have to like cats. I do have a new fondness for dogs but cats and I have a long history. An odd history at times. When I was a child my dad didn't allow us to have cats and dogs. He'd heard somewhere they had disease. However, we were not petless as I had lots of rabbits, guinea pigs, pigeons, countless fish and parakeets and even a pet crow over the years. It's one of the idiosyncrasies of my dad, I suppose.

Of course, my girls are surrounded by my pets; cats and dogs and even rats (which they love) are every where in the house. I like that my kids love to have animals around them.

The above illustration is actually something I did because an on-line friend told me there are no cards with boys and cats. Or rather very, very few cards and usually in somber colors or cutified (tough cat, etc). So, I thought I'd do something sweet and with a boy. Why does the publishing company think boys and girls have to be divided and made into a commodity? Well, obviously that's because they can sell it to us all the better. But we don't have to buy it. Boys and girls, we all have tenderness and thought. We all have the ability to be cruel and mean and harsh. One of my favorite posters is this one:



I remember once when my bestfriend's father read a poem to his wife and children. He does this every year for their anniversary and everyone was moved deeply. I think that needs to be expressed more in life. There is a mentality that somehow showing you care and are kind is not macho. Strange and so wrong. It's not balanced and makes people act cruel, regardless of their sex.

Anyway, my illo is titled "For a mama and her boys".