Happy Caturday: Doot (Australia's Funniest Cat)

A very special cat indeed

 

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My mother's birthday is coming up shortly, so I did these pictures in honour of a cat that she owned.

The cat's name was Doot.  I am not sure how we came up with that name exactly, but my father bought him from the RSPCA at Yagoona (South West of Sydney).  At the time, we were living in Brighton Le Sands (Botany Bay area in Sydney and pretty much the 'birthplace' of the nation).  Anyway, Doot was intended originally as a birthday present for my mother.  However, he was pretty much the 'gift that kept on giving', as he provided the family and friends with hours of fun, joy and entertainment.

So, anyway, if you buy a pet, do you choose the pet?  Or does the pet choose you?  I personally think it is the other way around.  If you are after 'designer' or pedigree animals, then yes, you may well choose the pet, but you are mostly making a decision on the breed itself, or the appearance of the animal, not the temperament of the animal or any other factor or what the animal is good for. 

So, when my father went into the animal shelter to choose a cat or kitten, he saw all the other cats asleep, except for that particular kitten, a grey and white tabby that was begging for us to get him out of there.  In other words, he 'chose' his human.  Well, this is what he told me.

Hence, when I came home from school that afternoon, I saw my father sitting in the armchair, saying, 'Look what I have for Mum'.  Resting on his abdomen was a tiny grey and white kitten with the biggest blue-green eyes and endearing facial expression, like he was the 'baby' of the family.

And after that, he was like a baby, you always had to feed him first etc, and if you were eating before him, or preparing food, he would always stand around and meow very loudly.  It was certainly the morning after that day, when I was awoken by his meows.   From then on, it was to be a regular occurrence, as were late nights, when you either came in late from work, or from doing 'fun things', or you were up during the wee hours and you were fixing yourself a snack, that's when he would come in through the door or wake up or whatever, and would want to eat as well.

Anyway, here are some earlier drawings or paintings that I had done of him.

Colleen Sedgwick (c) 1990: Doot Sleeping

1986 (c) Colleen Sedgwick: Cat proportions

2011 (c) Colleen Sedgwick: Pussy Magnet (feat Doot sleeping)