Feline Picassos

Contributed by:
San Francisco SPCA
2500 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
http://www.sfspca.org

Selected felines in the Cat Behavior Program create paintings, or “masterpusses,” which are for sale at the San Francisco SPCA. Proceeds benefit the shelter cats, and the program attracts attention to adoptable cats while raising the visibility of the Cat Behavior and Adoption programs.

What You’ll Do

Cat Behavior staff carefully select outgoing, active cats who enjoy painting. Two or three times a year they schedule a painting day, allowing 10 or more cats to express their creativity with paint (non-toxic and washable), paws and tails. Each painting day yields about 150 to 200 works of art.

Acting as a “curator,” a member of the Cat Behavior staff writes style notes and artist bios for the painters, who are dubbed with suitable feline artist-in-residence names, such as Newton Pawlick, Tori Degas and Simba Dali.

Cost

Expenses are approximately $250 for paint, paper and mats to produce 200 paintings. The paintings sell for $15. Greeting cards, featuring small painting samples, sell for $3.50. With all the pieces selling, the gross intake is $3,000 with a 92% profit.

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Idea Number 99 from 101 Great Shelter Ideas compiled by the ASPCA and American Humane Association, ©2000