Gifts for Cat Lovers - Find that Purr-fect Feline Purr-resent!!!

Anyone who has a cat lover on their holiday gift list knows that it is not an easy task to come up with new or unique feline-inspired gifts. Ah, yes, the bookstore has a whole section of cute kitty calendars. There are note cards a la tabby cat, and a variety of little ceramic cats in numerous cute poses. But if it's available in a store, most true cat lovers will buy these things for themselves anytime they run across them, leaving us gift givers with few new and exciting options. UNTIL NOW!!!

There is a great new online store called Etsy.com that specializes in handcrafted items ranging from tiny $1.00 buttons to $1000 pieces of art. There are some magnificent artisans on this website, but for this article, I am focusing on a few who carry a line of cat gifts that are sure to please the most finicky of cat lovers.

Janreesman The first Etsy artist that I would like to showcase is Jan Reesman. Jan is an artist, who works primarily in oils and pastels, an animal lover and animal activist, who especially loves cats. She is also a photographer. Her Etsy shop currently carries her line of note cards inspired by some of her paintings, including my favorite card featuring a tuxedo cat which resembles my own little feline buddy, Sylvester. But if cards are not really what you had in mind, check out her beautiful collection of cat paintings (and a few other animals as well) at her website.

LuckyMonkey If you would like to find an adorable pottery piece for your cat loving friend, check out LuckyMonkey's Etsy shop. LuckyMonkey's owner is Maddy Macedo, a sculptor and potter whose creates her functional pottery line in a big old victorian house near Providence, Rhode Island. There are mugs and pitchers and bowls and planters in a variety of animal themes, including this sweet little covered mug.

Cathy's Sweet Shop Perhaps you would prefer a tee shirt, a button or one of a variety of watercolor or oil paintings of the cat persuasion, which can be found at Cathy's Sweet Shop. Cathy Peng is "an artist, illustrator, and cat lover living in Toronto." Her "Good Kitty/Bad Kitty" line of gifts (based on her own cat Suki) is precious, and my favorite is the orange Bad Kitty tee. If you don't see what you're looking for on Etsy, check out her website for information about her commissioned paintings
and more.

Each time I researched Etsy for items to showcase in this article, I have found new favorites, some of which I just must share with you here:

~ The tiny kitten pendants made from lampwork cat face beads at NightsWork

~ The rainbow inspired paintings by Hawaiian artist Holly Kitaura which can be seen in her Etsy shop Hollyvision

~ The funny prints and magnets at KittyButt … now who can resist a shop title like that? This line is the work of artist Cathy Dailey, who lives in Athens, GA and uses her own two cats (or at least their butts!!) as her inspiration.

~ Or perhaps the beautiful ACEO art cards and original 5" by 7" drawings for sale by Cdingo?. ACEOs (art cards editions and original), are baseball sized (2 1/2" by 3 1/2") cards which people either frame or collect in albums. Carol's love of cats is evident in her lifelike drawings of cats of every kind, from the common tabby to the Japanese bobtail. Cdingo also has an ebay store called cdingo art and collectibles, where she sells cat art, vintage cat collectibles, and vintage Garfield the cat items

Please visit the shops of all of the Etsy artists above. If you don't find what you are looking for there (and that's hard to believe!), you will find dozens of other shops on Etsy that also feature cat gifts galore … and that includes actual GIFTS FOR CATS!! … like catnip toys and pillows.

Just type in "cat" in the Etsy search box and off you go on an endless array of meow-velous choices!