“Who would believe such pleasure from a wee ball o’ fur?” – Irish Saying
It was fun making my pet, Cali, look beautiful for Christmas. She obliged for just a short while and I was able to take these images. With the lovely colors of her coat of hair and the red ribbon, she makes a striking picture.
Cali is a calico cat. We adopted her four years ago from a family who couldn’t take care of her any longer. At that time she was already four years old. Cali loves Christmas. She loves tissue paper, gift wrap, and bags, and has lots of fun when we are opening the presents Christmas Day.
For her first Christmas with us, I bought this beautiful, soft pink – almost furry material to put in her cat bed. A good friend sewed the ends up and also made a little pillow for her head. I thought she would love the warmth and feel of this fabric and that this would be the perfect present for her. I was wrong. She was scared by the texture as she thought it was another animal. I was able to drape it around her once and took a beautiful picture of her which is in one of my earlier collages. So much for giving Cali Christmas presents!
While I got Cali because I wanted a pet, I didn’t know that I would love her so much that I would want to dress her up. I had seen people with their pets and had visited pet stores before so I knew that there were all kinds of “toys” out there for cats and dogs. At the time though, I didn’t understand the deep bond that grows between a pet owner and their pet. On occasion in conversation, I even berated pet owners for spending so much money on animals when people didn’t have food to eat.
Little did I know that this little ball of fur would worm her way into my heart and that I too would delight in doing nice things for her. This is also a good reminder to myself to not make judgement calls on the actions and behaviours of others.
In fact, many people spend Christmas far away from friends and loved ones. Their only companion for the holidays is their pet. They would love this quote: “If there is no one at home at Christmastime, my cat would hold the energy of home and make every day into a holiday.”
For all you cat-lovers out there, hope you like this Christmas Cat collage. Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! Here’s a nice poem too for you:
The Cat of All Cats
My Cat is the cat of all cats
For she is like a beautiful Painting
She sleeps and awakes in the early morning
To demand her requests for the day.
My Cat is the cat of all cats
She is royal and dignified.
Poets and Writers have long been inspired
She is admired by all who encounter her
My Cat is the cat of all cats
And shall remain so, until the end of her nine lives.
Kim Day
