Happy National Siamese Cat Day!!!

In 2010, we were blessed enough to adopt a beautiful Siamese kitten from our local Anchorage, AK animal shelter. I couldn't believe this gorgeous creature could be up for adoption. Please, if you can, Adopt, don't shop. So many wonderful and loving kittens, cats, puppies and dogs are just waiting for a new home at your local shelter.

Above is a pet portrait I painted of Uma using watercolors and ink.

'Uma in Blue'

Uma had a LOT of personality and she was very chatty. She was also polydactyl.

'A polydactyl cat is a cat with a congenital physical anomaly called polydactyly, which causes the cat to be born with more than the usual number of toes on one or more of its paws. Cats with this genetically inherited trait are most commonly found along the East Coast.' 'Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway became a famous aficionado of polydactyl cats after a ship captain gave him a six-toed cat that he named Snow White.'*

Uma had an extra 2 toes on both of her front paws, and an extra toe on both of her back paws. She had 6 extra toes altogether.

So, today, we celebrate Uma Bizzle Boo Sherry. We lost Uma in late 2021, but she lived her life with a badass personality and had an impact on everyone she met. RIP Gorgeous Girl.

*Excerpts from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyl_cat

For more info on National Siamese Cat Day, visit: https://nationaltoday.com/national-siamese-cat-day/