Cats

Cats

I looked at my latest drawing of a cat. I’d been drawing cats for weeks, big ones, small ones, cute ones and scruffy ones. I wanted ten for my stickers. I make stickers for kids.

Kids love sticking stickers on everything. I make stickers, drawings really, that I print onto stickers and I like to have ten different drawings per item. I’d already done dogs, birds, houses, flowers, lots of things, just fun, for kids.

Cats were a pain. I had tried them before and given up, but was determined this time because my niece, Tracy, kept asking for cats. I had trouble with their fur, if I made it smooth they didn’t look right, if I made it fluffy, they looked scary. This one looked downright evil. I wanted to pull my hair out. I love cats! I have two cats of my own that I adore! Why can’t I draw cats!

Frustrated, I went back to my drawing, perhaps I could draw my frustration away. I added an eye patch, and a three cornered pirate hat. It made me smile. I added a scabbard with a long thin sword. I named him Captain Claws! He needed a gun, I added a large, old fashioned pistol, drawing it into his paw, aimed directly at me.

Suddenly I noticed my own cats, sitting on both sides of my drawing pad looking at the drawing. Mittens looked up at me, he didn’t look happy, he opened his mouth and yelled “Fire!”

Captain Claws pulled the trigger! I jumped as the bullet hit me, falling out of my chair, scattering pens, papers and cats, I’d been asleep. Or had I?

As I looked back at my latest drawing, now ruined with spilled tea, I thought, lions are cats, right? Tracy likes lions…