The Basics First

Starting at the beginning, there are a number of solid colors, their coats are made up of only one hair color. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as we started researching we realized just how deep the proverbial rabbit hole goes.

In the coming weeks we’ll go through the many patterns & dilutions that affect these colors in detail.

From blue to red to chocolate, solid colors are more interesting than you may think.

Coloriffic

There is plenty more to come, these solic colors are pretty self explanatory, but the patterns are more specific.

It’s not hard to imagine why artists are drawn to subjects like lions. There is something quite regal about them and their slightly sneering nonchalance makes them seem larger than life.

We’ve visited lions in art before and we are going to do it again.

There is a surprising amount of art out there depicting these felines and it’s all varied enough to be worth a look.

Loving Lions

We’ll always call tigers our favorites, but lions come in a close second. That is, until we start in on the spotted cat art – it’s all coming soon. For go check out part one of Lions in Art.

Image from John Morton

The origins of this breed are a mystery, however physically they resemble cats found in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. It is believed that the modern Abyssinian is a descendant of those cats.

Africa Natives

The two main breeds of cat native to that part of Africa are the Jungle Cat and the African Wildcat. In appearance the Abyssinian has many physical traits associated with the Wildcat.

An Interesting Twist

Over the centuries feline blood from many different walks of life contributed to this breeds development. In fact, today’s Abyssinian breed was largely influenced by English breeders who brought the breed to the UK in the mid 19th century.

Although everyone has a theory about where this lovely breed came from, no one knows for sure.

Semantics

The name Abyssinian doesn’t indicate that the breed originated in Abyssinia (which is now Ethiopia). The first ‘Abyssinian’ cats that were shown in England were said to have been imported from there.

Abyssinian is an incredibly intelligent and inquisitive cat. They are interested in people and have very strong personalities.

A Colorful Breed

Today the breed can be found in a ridiculous amount of colors. This is obviously due to English breeding as primitive ruddy colors & striped patterns are dominant in cat genetics. After a few generations in the wild, they will always revert back to coloring that provides them camouflage.

Ancient Cats

We’ve got more ancient cat breed profiles on the way. For now, why not learn more about the Egyptian Mau?

Out of all the panthers out there, the Pink Panther is probably the coolest. Accompanied by smooth jazz music and a knowing gaze, he just oozes kitty cat cool.

Graffiti artists seem to agree because we were able to find quite a few shots of this panther spray painted onto walls. Some of the art is better than others, but they all convey the slick cat vibes of our pink friend.

Like Cats & Graffiti?

You are in luck, we do too be sure to check out Cat Graffiti | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4. Then there is always the Tigers. If cartoon cats is more your style, check out a big long list of them.

While it’s true that tigers are probably our favorite big cat, the lion is pretty amazing too. The king of the jungle deserves everyone’s respect.

Out of the whole felidae family, lions are perhaps the most represented in the art world. Their regal bearing and immense size implies massive strength & an impressive will. No doubt this is what inspired many of these artists to paint them.

While tigers may be the largest of the big cat species, lions are by far the most stately.

We Aren’t Lion

There is more to come and our collection is nowhere near complete so stay tuned in the coming weeks for more lion art. Until then you can always check out some of our lovable domesticated felines in art.

Cats have always been an online favorite, so it’s no surprise that there are tons of photoshopped cat images out there.

As we look through a lot of cat images anyway, the manipulated images are always a fun treat (if they are well done of course). Here are some artistic souls who love kitties enough to deform, misshape and change them into all sorts of strange things.

If you haven’t some of our other photoshop collections be sure to check them out.

Inspired?

We hope this will get your fingers itching to dabble in a little photoshop manipulation of your favorite feline. Or if you need more inspiration, here is a whole bunch:

Funny Cats | Cat Creatures | Creepy Cats | Cat World

It’s no secret that cats have a sense of humor, the problem is that most of the time they are laughing at our expense.

No, it’s true, cats tend to find humans hilarious. But today we get to turn the tables a little and enjoy a few images of cats being silly…and caught on film doing it.

Silly Kitty

Cats can be total clowns, the trick is catching them in the act with a camera. If you liked these, be sure to check out part 1 & part 2.

Our readers know we have a thing for tigers, there is just something so big and wild about them.

Even with all of that big wildness, there is also something quite intelligent & playful in their nature, these animals clearly have a sense of humor. It’s the kind of goofiness that only the most perfect of predators can express. And seriously, swimming tigers are almost as cute as sleeping tigers.

They call the lion king of the jungle, but we say tigers are bigger & badder – we’ll call them overlord of the jungle.

How Could You Not Love Them?

Be sure to learn more about this magnificent creature, and don’t worry, we are sure to find more pics of our fav cat looking cool doing cute things.

Cats have long played a part in artistic inspiration, and since their days of domestication they have become an essential part of who we are.

A few weeks ago we took a look at some cats in art and today we present part 2 of the collection.

Enjoy some cat art from a variety of cultures and artists.

Not Quite All Of It

We’ve searched the web for artistic impressions of all kinds of cat art. Be sure to check out part 1 & stay tuned because there is one more part in this collection and then we move on to the big cats.

Image from Muffet

There is a long list of domestic cat breeds that exist today, but in ancient times things were a little different. In ancient Egypt cats were known as the mau and played an important part in society.

Mau = Cat

The two breeds of cat that are native to Egypt are the Jungle Cat and the African Wildcat. The wildcat proved to be friendlier with people and contributed more to domestication. However both cats were interbred & eventually fused to create a new breed, the animal we call the Egyptian Mau.

Not actually a breed, the Mau was what Egyptians called all cats, regardless of what type of feline they were.

Initially they were found valuable for ridding crops of vermin (including cobras) and soon a symbiotic relationship formed between feline & humans.

To Infinity & Beyond

The Egyptians came to appreciate their cats on another level, & it wasn’t long before they became a symbol of grace & poise. From popular symbols the feline was catapulted into Godlike status as they were associated with the goddess Bast.

The Egyptian Mau is the only naturally occurring spotted breed of domestic cat. However their best feature is their eyes, they are large with a slight slant and come in the most arresting shades of green.

Not The Oldest

Althought the Egyptian Mau is an ancient cat, it isn’t the oldest. In the coming weeks we will meet other ancient cat breeds and learn more about where your domesticated cat comes from.