Mancat Monday with Evan, a Belated Q, and R

I again failed to get a post up this weekend, which means I'm behind on the April A to Z Challenge.

Let's of course start with our usual alphabetical prologue, that being that some of my favorite things in life are cats, drawing, writing, and the fantasy genre. And so, my A to Z posts this year will be illustrations for a weird and wacky fantasy story I'm currently writing. This story co-stars a hind limb paralyzed orange tabby cat named Hobo, and this month you'll get to go along on some of his adventures.

The letter we missed on Saturday was Q. That's not an easy one whatsoever, but luckily I once saw a roster that included someone with the last name Quisenberry. That sounded like a fun one, so I decided to use that surname in my story. Specifically, today you're meeting the Quisenberry twins.

I call those two Caleb and Pippa, and drawing them was heavily inspired by the fact that I'd just gotten a variety of markers in brown hues I'd never had before, and so I decided to test them out on hair and eyes. Just like I said when you met Hobo's human Munroe, who became a redhead also because of some new markers I'd obtained, I'll reiterate that drawing humans is neither my forte nor something I enjoy all that much. The reason those two above have half a face each is because at the moment I decided to draw them, I legitimately did not want to tackle human faces in their entirety. The thought alone stressed me out, and so they each got half a face. Oh, and you've already met Bunny the corgi, who happens to be quite fond of Caleb.

Now, today's letter is R, which quite plainly stands for all things rocky. As in, you know, stone. After all, Hobo and his human's weird little journey lands them somewhere heavily built from none other than rock and stone.

I'll admit that's a rather boring doodle. Despite R being a common letter, I still couldn't manage to come up with anything else for it. So, that there is what you get.

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Now, of course, it's time for the Mancat Monday part of this post. And today, mancat Evan wanted to share two of his favorite places to sleep. He loves them both so much that sometimes he simply can't choose between the two.

On the left is one of Evan's favorite "blankets". I've shown and explained it before, but it's actually an old sleeping bag I had as a kid, starring none other than Barney the purple dinosaur. It used to be much brighter in color and far less shredded. If I remember, next week I'll show before and after photos of that well-loved, used and abused "blanket".

Oh, and on the right is the bed Evan has loved nearly to death. It's lost a lot of its original softness, not to mention its losing a lot of its stuffing. That there bed's slow and steady death is why I got Evan a brand new bed for his birthday last week. He has multiple other beds, but he loves the especially cushy ones, understandably so.

Happy Monday, friends!

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Tip of the Day

As part of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, we're reiterating some tips regarding this topic. Today, we are giving some brief tips on what to do if you do witness animal cruelty.

First and foremost, if you witness animal cruelty, report it as soon as possible. You can report it to the police, including calling 911 if you believe it is an emergency at hand. You can also call your local animal control, humane society, or other organization that can offer help in the face of animal cruelty. If your local area does not offer help for animal cruelty, then call the Humane Society of the United States or other similar organization to see what can possibly be done.

What's more, if you do have animal cruelty to report, make sure that you have all the details and any evidence possible. Knowing the location, date, time, and of course the nature of the witnessed cruelty can be important for expediting the report and actions taken by police or other organizations. Try to tell them what types of animals and how many are involved, as well as details on any perpetrators you've seen. If possible, use that cell phone of yours to grab photos or video of any cruelty you are witnessing. Evidence in this form can really help to expedite the resolution of the issue.

When it comes to reporting animal cruelty, be persistent. Animals do not have the voice with which to speak up for themselves, so we must do it for them. If you are witnessing cruelty, be persistent in contacting those who can help, and follow up to ensure that there is resolution. Give the police, animal control, the humane society, or whoever is helping your contact information, so that they can contact you if needed. All in all, we must be the voice for the voiceless, so if you witness any form of animal cruelty or neglect, do all that you can to safely seek aid for the victim(s).