By Zulay Regalado, 26, reporting from Miami on a Kickstarter book project featuring the cutest black cats (maybe yours!)
If I had the ability to transform into any animal, I’d choose to live my life—or lives—as a black cat. They’re pretty much the royal family of the feline populace: effortlessly fluent in their movements, all dark and shiny, flawless fur with their fancy seafood diets and marathon naps.
While no amount of next-life grace could cure my decades of clumsiness and love for aquatic activities, I’d still like to think I’d be one cool cat. That’s the essential allure of black cats—that they, like humans, are all unique. All Black Cats Are Not Alike is a book-in-the-making that playfully pays homage to this one-of-a-kind quality. Through hand-drawn and absolutely adorable illustrations with hand-lettered captions of black cats in all their individual, black-cat glory, Peter Arkle and Amy Goldwasser of Studio Goldsparkle (Amy is also the editor of our RED Hearts blog, of course) are bringing them to life.
Their Kickstarter campaign is rallying 50 black cats to star in the book—and for just $24, you can nominate yours to be one of them! Already secured a place in the project is Mimi (pictured on cover), a celebrity in the feline community who lets Peter and Amy live with her. Her diva-like persona is just so over being compared to less fabulous black kitty counterparts.
There are a lot of ways to donate to the campaign, from joining the All Black Cats Club to being the first to reserve your personalized artist’s book to signed prints and custom pet portraits. You’ll think twice before comparing the adventurous, neighborhood roamer to the slightly annoyed, hefty house cat who turns a whisker to generic canned tuna.