Jake and Riley

I used the photograph I have in my Flickr account to paint this acrylic painting for my sister's birthday that was the 11th. She will keep the original in a nice frame, but I am going to edit this scanned copy, edit it, and post it on my portfolio website. This is one of the better acrylic paintings that I have made.


These two cats are Riley and Jake (Riley is the one on the left and Jake is the one on the right with white on his face). My family has had these cats for nearly 11 years. We got them from a shelter in Sterling not long after 911. We were looking over the cats they had and found these two in a cage together, about 6 months old at the time. The shelter claimed they weren't from the same litter, but these two seemed like they belong together. We also got these cats together because we wanted them to help keep each other company when we were gone for hours on end. My mom was the one to give them names, which is weird since she had allergies to cats and prefers dogs.

Riley was considered the "fat cat." He always acted like he was king of the house. He usually meowed more for attention because when it came to food, he'd eat from his bowl and Jake's. If he really liked you, he would jump onto your lap, but he would have to be laying along your leg with his head at your knee. He would often dig his claws into your leg despite the fact that you are giving him affection he really likes. Forget about carrying him because he would melt right out of your grasp. Riley would also climb onto the bookshelf downstairs, and when the panel to the ceiling was open he would climb up into the ceiling and run about like a rat. Unfortunately in recent months, Riley had a urinary infection. He got outside and never came home like he had always before. It was devastating to lose him since these two pets were the longest lasting pets we have ever had. We hope Riley is in a better place now.

Jake is still with us thankfully. He has never quite grown to a full sized cat and remains a more petite size. Jake was always the cute, shy, petite one. He didn't meow for attention, he always wanted food because he was always hungry He often puked because of his small intestines being too small for his hairballs. For a while, we gave him hairball medicine that he loved. Jake would sometimes tap you with your paw when you are eating something he thinks smells really good, but he hasn't done that much anymore. He even jumped onto my lap sometimes because there was enough room and tried to climb onto the table. It was so funny to see Jake's head pop up from under the table and he would try to climb towards my food so anxiously. When he does want attention, he'll act cute, but he doesn't do that with everyone. I seem to be the only one who can pick him up and he won't panic. Jake has always been the fragile one, but he does love to play with something small and bouncy like a twist tie.

Together these cats played rough, snuggled, and cleaned each other. So if you ever decide to get a cat, I suggest getting two young ones so that they can become close friends.