Caturday Art

Today we have for you the doodle that was meant to be shared for the previous Caturday Art Blog Hop. It wasn't shared last weekend, though, because I didn't realize until last minute that I didn't have one of the colors I needed to complete the doodle. So, the necessary marker was ordered, it arrived this week, and I finished the doodle for today.

How about a bit of backstory? This doodle is based off of one of my parents' kitties, a 4-year-old calico who is one of the fuzziest cats I've ever met in my life. Her name is Gilly, and she's a sweet and silly little girl. Remember when we shared these photos of Gilly a number of months ago?

Where am I going with this post about Gilly? Well, there's is a bright green tunnel toy for the cats at my parents' house, and Gilly loves this tunnel. Sometimes, Gilly's head will peek out of one end while her insanely fuzzy tail protrudes from the other end. Given the bright green color of the tunnel, my mom often comments that Gilly looks like a caterpillar when she's in the tunnel. That led us to start referring to Gilly in her green tunnel as none other than Caterpilly. Recently, when I found Gilly in her tunnel when visiting my parents, I felt compelled to doodle up Caterpilly in my sketchbook, and so that's what we have for you today. Meet Caterpilly.

In case you're curious, the marker I had to order for this doodle was the lime green one. I already had this marker in my stash, but I rarely use it and so it had dried up. I have multiple other hues of green markers in my stash, but Gilly's tunnel is distinctly lime green, which is why it reminds us so much of a caterpillar. Though I tested out a couple of my other green markers, I really wanted to get that lime green aspect to it, and so that's why I had to wait to receive the marker to finish this doodle.

Now, as I mentioned yesterday, this will very likely be our last summery doodle. It's September now, which obviously means it's time for autumn to invade my sketchbook. I've been sharing extra flashback doodles these past couple of weeks as I work to prepare lots of new autumn and Halloween doodles for the upcoming weeks. We'll start sharing all of these new autumn and Halloween doodles this upcoming week. Some of them have a bit of backstory to them, so we'll have some fun facts to go with some of them.

Is that enough rambling for this post? Yes? I thought so, too. Happy Caturday to all!

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Did you know?

We're guessing a lot of you cat lovers out there can guess why kitties love tunnel toys. There are a variety of reasons, one simple one being that cats often like to tuck themselves into hidden spaces. In the wild, cats will often find concealed places to sleep, because this offers them a sense of safety and security. Especially in a house with multiple cats or lots of foot traffic, cats might enjoy tunnels to duck into when they need space to themselves. Another aspect of tunnels that cats might very well appreciate is the fact that both ends are open. In the wild, cats often try not to tuck themselves into spaces with only one entrance, because that can get them cornered and trapped. A tunnel offers two open ends, and so a cat can escape either end if needed, such as if a furry sibling is chasing them. Some cats even like the tunnels that have a third hole on the top, for an extra escape route as well as another vantage point. So, if you have the space and you think your cat will enjoy it, try to offer your kitty a tunnel or two in your home. They might very well enjoy playing in it, hiding in it, napping in it, or all of the above.