The dark side of the mew-n

Dearest Bold Soul,

You know I paint and lino print heaps of cats; I love cats – they make great muses [mewses? – haha!]

I know you treasure your cats, too.

This is my hidden secret: Sometimes I’m ambivalent towards cats/our cats. Moggies aren’t all comfort and inspiration. There’s a ‘dark’ side. Today I venture boldly out from behind Orange Cat and his fluffy pantaloons, and share some doodlings I made in response to the prompt: What’s your hidden secret?

So, here goes:

Following the peaceful demise of Stripey Cat, it’s all Orange Cats food now. Issue solved.

Cats being an introduced species to Australia, are horrible for the environment here, with no respect for native birds and other creatures.

Oh yes, the scratching up the furniture thing. My husband brought a wonderful huge red sofa to our place, and when Orange Cat is not getting his wishes met, that’s where he makes his displeasure known. The curtains near the back door were reduced to shreds.

I have pieces of mesh (plastic or metal) that I put over areas where I’ve been planting, or burying bokashi, so that’s not a temptation/possibility any more!

Cats are cats. That’s why we like ’em and that’s why we have ’em. They behave as their innate cat-ness dictates, and it is us who choose to live with them.
I specifically chose cat/s not dog/s for our house animal for my years as a single parent, precisely because I know cats take care of their own exercise/self. I know of many who take great solace (hehe, not just a quantum) from their cats and dogs and birds and other pets. I guess this gift of mental health is one of the reasons we introduce them – as well as their inspiring looks when they make themselves comfortable on patterned rugs, cushions & beds, and in gardens!

Let me know where you stand, Bold Soul – either below in the comments section, or on my Facebook page. By the way, did you know Facebook has changed the way they bring posts to people? To make sure you get sent my Facebook statuses: go to your Facebook wall, make an “interests” list, and add my Tangerine Meg Visual Artist page to the list. Thanks, in advance!

See you soon.
Loads of love,
Meg x o