Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Happy Early Valentine's Day in Polymer Clay to Cat Lovers and a Tribute to Cats!


As an early Valentine's Day celebration today we are paying tribute to cats and their adoptive "parents". Many years ago when I designed the very first cat in my Cat Collection it was just a whimsical cat pendant necklace (no wings or halo) intended to pay tribute to all the cats and cat angels who were important members of our family over the years, especially the departed and much loved black cat named Stormy.

Stormy in mom's loving arms

Then, several years ago, I needed an angel for the top of a cat themed Christmas tree for our local animal shelter, so I embellished the existing at cat pendant necklace with wings and a halo and it become the prototype for the "Angel Cats" hanging ornaments that eventually became part of my Cat Collection. Since then I've been so gratified to find that Angel Cats have brought comfort to dozens of grieving "cat parents" who hang them as a remembrance of their beloved kitties who have passed over the Rainbow Bridge to Catnip Heaven. Customers have written that they have hung them on Christmas trees, on houseplants, in windows, suspended them over computers, hung them on special metal ornament stands on their desks and one was even included in a special "remembrance shrine", all in memory of their special feline friends and the love of their lives.

The following are three stories of my Angel Cats ornaments that I especially treasure; stories of REAL angel cats and their "people".

Bonnie shared her life with a VERY handsome gold tiger cat named Booboo who had been her best friend for almost 20 years. He talked to her non-stop all day, especially when Bonnie was talking on the phone trying to carry on a conversation.

He always had to sit on her desk whenever she was working on the computer and Booboo would hold Bonnie's thumb when she was using the mouse.

Bonnie adopted Booboo on Halloween and her Angel Cat ornament is symbolically black and orange. She handmade this lovely "remembrance shrine" for him from polymer clay, complete with his favorite rubber toy balls. If you look at the top right you'll see his Angel Cat.

Jay had a beloved cat and constant companion named Blackie. Jay was actually the person who bestowed the name of "Angel Cat" to the ornaments and he was the first person to request a custom made Angel Cat to honor his Blackie. His black and white Angel Cat is suspended over his desk where it grins at him constantly reminding him of his much loved departed companion who is now, "resting off the edge of the patio with a marker of an angel with a cat in her lap that says, "Always in our Hearts".

Of Blackie Jay writes, "Blackie would sleep beside me until he discovered my pillow. I had to buy king size pillows so he would be comfortable. Many times I would wake up with a paw on my face with him still sound asleep. If I was still sleeping when he got hungry in the morning(6AM), he would tap me on the cheek as if to say,"Wat cha gotta do to get some grub in this joint?Animal abuse. SPCA."After breakfast it was like, "Not bad if that was all you had." I still wake up sometimes and check the pillow to see where he is. He would sit behind my head on the recliner to watch TV. Many times he would put his paw on my shoulder or play with my ear. Got bored watching TV. I miss him so much. I'm glad he let me live with him. He's out of this life but still very much in my heart."

Sara designed and created this lovely Christmas tree decorated with different colors of Angel Cats for her sister who had recently lost two of her beloved cats. I was told that her sister liked it so much that, " She kept it on the whole time she was here." I can see why!

The Valentine Angel Cat hanging ornament and a Valentine Cat pendant necklace that converts to a brooch are both available for purchase at MelodyODesigns at Etsy


The angel cat ornament was featured at: Jillys Handmade Heaven

FYI: Our cat, Stormy, (pictured in my arms near the top of the blog post) wrote a book with assistance from my husband, Sy, called "Life Is a Hammock". All the profits from the book sales benefit the Kreutz Creek Library (PA) and the Adopt For Life Center for Animals in Cottonwood (AZ). It is illustrated with photo cartoons that make for delightful light reading and is the perfect gift for any animal lover. The book can be purchased at MelodyODesigns at Etsy


Sy has made the book available on consignment at cost to animal shelters around the country to use as a fundraiser. For information on the consignment program please click on Life is a Hammock and read the info down the right side of the home page.

7 comments:

  1. I love your Kitty designs Anita, and I love the story of how your Kitty Angels evolved, so special!

    They are a wonderful way to pay tribute to and remember our beloved kitty's who are no longer with us! Placed near the computer, hanging on a houseplant, window or any other special place, they bring smiles and fond memories to those who walk by!

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  2. Anita, thank you for the beautiful remembrance of Booboo and Stormy. This brought tears to my eyes. I love the story of Blackie on the pillow. My new cat "Buster" waits till I'm almost asleep and then comes flying up on the bed and crashes into me, turns a couple circles and then lays down as close as he can get. Booboo just slept on my feet. They truly are amazing.
    Thanks for the memories.

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  3. Hi Anita,
    Thank you for posting my rememberance of Blackie. His CatAngel is hanging near me now and he is grinning about it. As in life, he still has a cattitude. Your kitty Stormy looks very much like him. I'm sure they are getting along fine together in the CatNipHeaven. Thank you for including us.

    Jay

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  4. It is so wonderful that people find comfort in you cat ornaments. That is a precious gift.

    Your tribute to the cats that have passed has me in tears remembering my own. I lost my orange cat "pumpkin" in December. Over the years, I have lost many other wonderful companions including two black beauties, but happily I still have many here to keep me company!

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  5. Love your Kitties, Anita!

    Sammy, our first cat, was adopted from a pregnant co-worker of my hubby's who just couldn't keep him. We told our kids it was just temporary, to see if they could take care of a cat - and he was so timid. He was 6 years old, as was our oldest daughter. Once he got used to us as his new family he was my lap-warmer (after he gave me a good kneading), my companion in the garden, and loved to talk. He would barge in on me in the bathroom, not liking a closed door between us, and would stretch up and put both paws up on me when I was standing in the kitchen in order to get his loving, of which he could never get enough! He would often purr so much that he would drool.

    The funniest memory of him was when he caught a cicada in his mouth and it kept buzzing and buzzing in there!

    We got Kitty-kins when she was a 3 month old kitty to keep Sammy, who was about 12 years old, company. He was always the dignified one, barely tolerating her antics, but having her around did make him more active. (She still is the climber, and if I let her, she will jump up on my back while I’m standing in order to sit on my shoulders! Not good if I am wearing a top with no sleeves.) It was so cute when they cuddled with each other. When Kitty came Sammy no longer wanted to go outside, since she wouldn’t go outside (she is very afraid of the outdoors) and perhaps he thought he’d lose his territory to her. He no longer ate grass from outside like he used to, and he soon developed what we were told was breast cancer.

    We now have come to realize that grass, like many seeds (apricot, apple, almonds etc.), has Laetrile in it, which is kind of like cyanide, but the cyanide is only released when in contact with a certain enzyme, and that enzyme is only found in a cancer cell! It is true that we as people have gotten out of eating the whole
    fruit, seeds and all, and now they have modified so many foods, like grapes and watermelon, to not have seeds, and almonds to not be as bitter (the bitterness is the taste of the vitamin B17, or the Laetril), so when Sammy stopped eating the grass his body was no longer fighting the cancer cells that they say each of us can
    develop. Anyway, our natural remedies for him were too little, too late.

    We now have Angus, who is solid black, to keep blue-eyed, creamy colored Kitty-kins company, and he is very much like Sammy in that he is big, but a big softy. He sleeps on the end of our bed and we sometimes call him Mr. MacFurson since he is so furry, and has the fluffiest tail, like a fox - nearly 4 or 5 times the size (in width) compared to Kitty-kins.

    So, I plan to get an angel cat or two soon, probably for my sister-in-law who lost one of their feline family members last year.

    Anita, many thanks also to you for posting on my blogs at Artfire, and for my first sale!

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  6. I can see that I am going to LOVE reading your blogs Anita! A house just isn't a home without a furry child in it! I have lost 3 furry girls. Puss, Wizzie and Tiggie...all around 14 yrs....all resting in our back garden in their favourite spots. I talk to them frequently, as they were all very special to me...more than my kids! Hubby and I now only have 'little Puss' ( Puppee for short). She has out lived the other 3...she just turned 15 in December. She is a burmeseX Tort...has been bitten by a snake 3 times and survived,flown up to Brisbane Qld and back by plane twice,has a wonky whisker on her right eye, bits out of her ear, sleep with me every night,stays by hubbys side while he watches TV...and is such an important member of our lives....just love her furry paws to bits!! Thank you for posting this...With gratitude
    Hazel

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  7. Hi Hazel, I enjoyed reading about your Puss, Wizzie and Tiggie and Puppee. Puppee does sound like a deary, and quite the survivor!

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