Illustration Friday - Return

The word of the week on Illustration Friday is return. I chose to illustrate my first cat, who I loved very much. We called her Garfield because I loved the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. I suppose this is not the best name for a cat who is all black in color, but it stuck. Anyways, I will tell you some about this kitty. Someone dumped her in the cemetery near my home in Pennsylvania. We took her in, but she was really shy and skittish at first. I think it took my family about six months to coax little Garfield inside the house. She finally came in when it got cold outside, and she was an indoor/outdoor cat her whole life. One day my mom took Garfield to the Humane Society to get her shots. My mom did not know to maybe try to put the cat in a carrier box, so she used a harness. Well, Garfield squeezed her way out of the harness and ran into the woods near the Beaver County Humane Society! I was about seven years old at the time, and I was super attached to the cat at this point, and I cried and cried when I heard this news. That evening, my family and I took some of Garfield's favorite food (Friskies in the purple box) and placed it near the woods and called "Garfield! Garfield!" in hopes to get our beloved kitty to return home. We did this a few nights in a row. We would put Friskies, we would put hamburger bits, we would call "Garfield! Garfield!"

Then, one evening, my mom, dad, and two brothers all were calling for Garfield. We put down the food and called out into the woods. All of a sudden, out came Garfield for a bite of food! My mom immediately grabbed her and we all went home as a happy family. I was overjoyed to have my cat return home!

We had Garfield for sixteen years. I still think about that cat and how much I love her. And how much I miss her! Here are some of my pictures of Garfield.




Plus, Garfield graced the cover of my zine, Pocket! I love this photo of her!