Happy National Cat Day

Today is National Cat Day here in the States. I had no idea until someone on Facebook mentioned it. It's a day to bring attention to homeless cats. There are 4 homeless cats who live in my house. Well, formerly homeless. All were strays: discarded animals who wound up abandoned and unloved. All of them -- Sam, Fergus, Dexter and Dropcloth -- are the sweetest, gentlest cats. They are all beloved pets.

Here's the story of Dexter, who was rescued after many months, just before Christmas in 2009. 

And below are a few cat-oriented drawings I've done.

Bad kitty! The cat below looks like our sweet Rufus, a big orange homeless cat from Brooklyn that loved his life as a New England house cat when we traded our city apartment for a home in the foothills of the White Mountains. He is sorely missed, even 4 years after his death.

Dropcloth the cat, who follows me around like a sweet puppy.  He does have one ear that got chewed on in some way before I knew him.

The cartoon below appeared in Prospect Magazine. Some people "get" this cartoon, but others don't. I freehand drew that John Tenniel inspired Cheshire cat floating in the sky. 

A self-portrait of me and Dropcloth at my standing desk that I use for my business card:

I thought of another lovely orange cat named Opie when drawing this one:

Some sketches of a fat cat for the above "three calling birds, etc." cartoon. These are all exaggerated versions of Rufus the cat. He was hefty, but never this big:

And I even managed to stick three cats in to this cover of our Raconteur mini-comic:

An old cartoon that still resonates:

An unsold one from years ago that I had, until now, forgotten about: