The hunting cat: immediately no!

For a while now Diego (haven’t a clue what his real name is) comes in our garden. He is a young active cat that looks absolutely stunning. At first I would go out whenever he came around, to scare him off as to not piss Amber off. Then I realised she couldn’t care less and I let him be.

Stress in the garden

It was quite beneficial as well! Diego kept the domesticated pigeons some loser let loose (no pun intended) in check a bit. During the almost two years they are visiting now, these five fat birds have managed to behave like a locust plague; eating all the food before the house sparrows and Eurasian collared doves could even land. They have a tendency to stay here all day long, pooping more in that one year that all other birds together had managed in the 7 years prior.

Enter: Diego!

That’s why, when Diego came roadrunning through the yard, at first I thought that was quite the idea. The domesticated pigeons were scared shitless (win-win!), Diego had a fun time and for me things got calmer. Until one day this beautiful, black cat grabbed one of the domesticated pigeons… Oops 😳 I ran after him to see if there was anything left to save, but unfortunately Diego had an ‘immediately no’ attitude… all I could see was his fox-like tail swaying as he turned the corner in the distance.

Immediately no #2

Last time he came visiting, I made some photos and a video. Alas…. I waited until he was on the fence, behind the (still leafy) branches of the apple tree… I chose a still from that video to paint Diego. Because, you know, waiting for his next visit wasn’t my forte. 😬 Still, to create a study oil painting of this cheeky little cat was quite fun! 😊

Diego at home

And now… you can have your very own canvas version of Diego. 😻 A cat portrait with a large story! Who wouldn’t want to brighten up their home with this mischievous yet delightful kitty? He is available as a canvas print right here!