We’ve all heard our share of cat puns – and yes, we’re guilty of using them all the time. Imagine how happy we were to find someone who has taken them to the next level. From the printed word to visually captivating, hilarious and clever hand drawn illustrations! We’re not kitten!
Introducing Katie Ruby – self proclaimed crazy cat lady and illustrator extraordinaire of the cat pun! >^..^<
Katie just launched her new Cativity Book which features coloring, puzzles, DIY, word searches and more. In Katie’s own words, “The Cativity Book is purrfect for cat lovers for when they’re feline bored!” More details below.
Instead of our traditional introduction and bio, we thought it would be more fun to simply have Katie describe herself and her work through a Q&A discussion we had with her.
Q: You describe yourself as a Freelance Illustrator & Designer with a passion for cats…but are you really a crazy cat lady with a talent for drawing?
I grew up in a household where we always had cats. I think that this was a major contribution to my love of felines, to me a house without a cat is definitely not a home! As for my drawing abilities, I would spend a lot of time doodling as a small child, though when I first started to draw it was always Turtles, so I’ve been told! ( I was a little bit obsessed with Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles)
Q: How did you get into illustrating cats?
As far as I can think back I have always drawn cats. A couple of my projects at University were based around Cats, and this is where I began to develop my own style of drawing cats. As for my punny cat Illustrations, they began life as a bit of escapism of an evening from my job as a Greetings Card Designer. I had to draw in a number of styles that wasn’t a true representation of my actual illustration style for 40 hours a week so I needed to draw for myself, and keep personal spark of creativity going.
Q: What are your 2-3 favorite illustrations and why?
With the Punderful World of Cats its always about capturing the character of the personality/imagery that I am reinventing. It’s hard to pick favourites as I have drawn so many now.
I really enjoyed illustrating Freddie Purrcury. He had so many great poses to choose from and he has his infamous yellow jacket which I love. One of the best received Illustrations I have worked on is Downton Tabby, so it has to be one of my favourites.
Plus 3 of my cats have been Tabby’s so I am a little bias about this one. I also had a fun time working on my 12 Puns of Christmas and out of these I really like my version of the Pogues Furrytail of New York as I had to work in black and white and also draw a piano, which was a bit of a challenge.
Q: Tell us about your new Cativity book…is there a target age group? What inspired it?
I began drawing colouring in pages that are available to download for free from my website as a bit of a treat for my followers. I ended up printing out quite a few and taking them along to craft fairs where I would give them away to small children and adults. It was here that I was inspired to produce an activity book as everybody was loving my colouring in pages.
The Cativity Book features the colouring in pages plus puzzles, things to make and do, word searches and more. Although the activities and content is child friendly the humour is aimed at adults. The Cativity Book is purrfect for cat lovers for when they’re feline bored!
[clickToTweet tweet=”Paw-some Illustrated Cat Puns like you’ve never seen before!” quote=”Paw-some Illustrated Cat Puns like you’ve never seen before!”]
Q: Why should all our readers rush to their web browsers and immediately buy Cativity?
There are tonnes of colouring in books out there in the market, however there is nothing like the Cativity Book. It is totally puntastic and the perfect size for any handbag!
I am currently offering free shipping on all orders of the Cativity Book when you type in the coupon “clawsome” on checkout. I am also offering a further discount to Purrington Post readers when they add the coupon “purrington” at checkout. This offer will only be available until 30th June 2017 so take advantage of this whilst you can! Buy the Cativity book here.
Q: How many cats do you have? Names? Do they appear in your illustrations?
I have two cats, both boys. One Tabby called Nibbler who will be 6 this summer and also Rufus who is black and white and turned 3 on St Patricks Day. Both Nibbler and Rufus appear in the header Illustrations on my website, but the cat featured in the Punderful World of Cat is a fictional cat called Furrgus, who enjoys a bit of dress up!
Q: Any new projects on the horizon that our readers may be interested in?
As always I will continue to create a new pun each week for my viewers, though the next project on the agenda is to work on my 2018 Calendar. I would love to one day have a wide range of products within my shop including cards, coasters, badges and key rings.
We’ll certainly be watching Katie’s site and keeping you posted on any exciting new developments. If you haven’t already – go check out Katie’s website – it’s such fun to navigate and you’ll find it purrfectly delightful.
Katie would love for you to be social with her…you can follow Katie Ruby at:
Twitter: @KatieRubyMiller
Facebook: @thepunderfulworldofcats
Instagram: @katierubyillustration
Got a favorite cat pun? Let us know by dropping a comment in the “Leave a Reply” box below.
such cute designs <3
You are right, I’ve never laughed at these cat puns, thanks for sharing with us.