Kitten Update, and a Famous Animal Artist

Catcher, just awake from one of his many naps.

Nameless in a rare still nano-second.

Well, we've had the kittens for a week now and, though still quite wary of the dogs, they are beginning to realize that the back bedroom is not the sum and total of the world. Right now I hear them upstairs, rolling a marble along the floor, and from time to time they go rocketing up and down the staircase. Yesterday they took a foray into the yard during a brief sunny spell.

I'm chagrined to admit I have not yet named the white-pawed kitten; we've been trying out various monikers for him, but so far none of them has been just right. He's definitely the more daring and active of the two, and I want a name to suit him. I wish I could name him after the Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, known for his brilliant lightning-fast cavalry attacks, but "Here, Nathan Bedford Forrest! Here, Nathan Bedford Forrest!" doesn't have quite the lilting ring to it that "Here, kitty-kitty-kitty!" does. So I'm still stuck. But I'll keep you posted.

Catcher, meanwhile, while more fearful of the poms, is dear, sweet, and affectionate. Perhaps that because he has no identity crisis, having been named within seconds of being acquired.

Okay,  on another subject, I've been posting new shop listings like a fiend this week. One of those is this charming art print by artist Carl Reichert, a Victorian-era painter who specialized in dog and cat pictures. 

www.etsy.com/listing/400392725/playful-kittens-vintage-carl-reichert

I think this artist would have been a likable fellow to know. Anyone who was this enamored with mischievous animals had to have had a kind heart and a ready sense of humor. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, he must have been sort of a 19th century Albert Staehle.* 

Here are some other works by Reichert:

 

You can find lots more online, and there are beautiful pet portraits in a more conventional vein, as well, like this:

Wonderful!



*For more about Albert Staehle, please see these older posts:
http://sheertrashroadshow.blogspot.com/2014/03/sheer-trash-roadshow-fridays-solitary.html
http://sheertrashroadshow.blogspot.com/2014/07/more-butch.html