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Artist Makes Funny Comics About What It’s Like Living With A Cat, And Cat Owners Can Relate (30 New Pics)
Interview With ArtistWhen living with a feisty cat, life is never boring, and comic artist Nick Filippou and his cat Minnie are a good example of that. Nick makes comics based on his everyday life with his cat and captures funny moments that most cat owners can relate to.
We previously featured Nick’s comics here on Bored Panda and you can find them by clicking here for part 1!
In an older interview, Nick explained the full context of his comics to us: "So, the comics star my real-life rescue cat, Minnie. I adopted Minnie 5 years ago from a shelter in Baltimore. She was a former stray and part of a TNR program (trap neuter release) that spent most of her life living outside. The clipped ear in the comics is real, and is from her being a part of the TNR program. My first comic came from a Christmas poem I wrote about the cat’s perspective of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and have been drawing them ever since. Minnie is always the inspiration."
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Bored Panda reached out to Nick with even more questions regarding him and his work! First, we asked if the artist perhaps was working on some new projects we could be looking forward to.
"There’s a few! A big thing that’s happening in my personal life is that my wife and I are expecting! I have a lot of ideas of Minnie and the baby going on adventures… and driving their human dad nuts…
A larger project I’ve been working on is a collection of short stories starring Minnie and other cat adventures. I have no idea how long this will take me but it is something I’m having fun with!"
Upvoted b/c it's also "pet o'clock", and "play o'clock" and "zoomies o'clock"....
We also wanted to know if the artist had a comic he was proud of, and we thought it was only fair if he'd share his thoughts with us!
"That’s a hard one… I really like the 'Alone Together' comic where Minnie decides to be 'alone' with the human and it’s exactly what he needed. I’ve also enjoyed making all the Halloween comics like the 'Monster Under The Bed' and the Christmas comics. My favorite series has to be The Tuna Chronicles. I had a lot of fun making those."
Oh I see it, no mere mortal being could exude that level of contempt and superiority, cats always rule.
Artists go through a few art phases trying to find the art style they could call their own, however, it seems like Filippou is pretty settled in that area, however, that doesn't mean the artist wouldn't like to try something new.
"I’d like to experiment with animation at some point! I haven’t started down that path yet but am interested. I also have some more ambitious stories and comics in my head that I don’t really know how to create yet… but like with everything, it just takes practice and some trial and error."
Starting out with comics (or art in general) isn't easy, so we asked the artist if he had any tips to share.
"There’s a great comic by The Oatmeal called 'The Eight Marvelous And Melancholy Things I’ve Learned About Creativity.' It nails the highs and lows and the overall journey of creating in general. I highly suggest reading that. That said, my biggest advice is to just go ahead and start creating. Whether it’s on a piece of paper, a sketchbook, or a digital pad. Just start. That’s half the battle. Everything else falls into place after that. Don’t wait for the right time or think your art isn’t good enough yet. There are always going to be other artists who are more talented, more liked, more established, can work faster, etc. Who cares? Create because you want to create. Don’t worry about pleasing an audience or competing against other artists."
When it comes to people having opinions on his comics, here's what the artist thinks, "I just hope that my comics can bring people joy. There’s a lot going on in this world, and if a comic about Minnie plotting to murder a house plant gives you a chuckle, that’s a win for me."
Each artist has different plans for the future, and here's what Nick's ideal future would look like.
"Id like to put together more books and collections! I’d really love to see my comics physically in a book store like Barnes and Noble someday. That’s always been a dream of mine."
Artists tend to receive various comments on their work, and sometimes one negative comment can affect one's thoughts quite significantly.
"There’s been a few over the years of similar comments of where a particular comic has helped them laugh during a tough time they were going through in their lives. The fact they took the time to let me know that meant a lot.
There have also been plenty of negative ones! And sometimes the negative ones you can take as an opportunity to improve, and some other negative comments you need to just learn to ignore. When you share things on the internet, you’re going to get plenty of both. (Mostly positive, though!)"
They leave a bloody, mangled, half eaten corpse for you to clean up and doubts about keeping such a ruthless devourer of wildlife in your home start to creep in but then they jump on your lap and purr and everything is fine.
That's why it feels like being knighted when a cat comes to you for pets and cuddles.
For some people, art is not only a hobby, but something way more, something that helps them to cope with whatever life might throw at them.
"Art is expression. Most of my comics are inspired by real events. These comics are an outlet of what I’m feeling and it’s helped me with all the highs and lows of real life."
Yes! If they kill any unwanted critters while indoors, then they’re a hero. I’ve been lucky that the cats I’ve rescued and adopted have all been skilled at hunting and killing rodents and/or bugs. We don’t need to set traps. We have our little fuzzy army protecting us from invaders.
Load More Replies...Domestic cats live in colonies. Even when not hungry, they hunt for the old, young, sick, and weak. It's not just for "fun". Domestic cats are not and were never meant to be wild. Keep them indoors at all times.
Mildly less impressive when you consider most of those critter kills are small helpless animals and not something large like a lion, wolf or bear would kill and eat haha.
Less impressive but more damaging to the environment
Load More Replies...But in the jungle the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight
Load More Replies...This is my least favorite, so many people ignore the horrendous things cats do to nature. They can go outside but shouldn't be allowed to freeroam or kill things any more than my dog is allowed to
My vote is for serval. they have a 48% rate and can high jump better than our best athletes.
I feed birds in the bush outside the window with the cat ledge on it. Someday my cat will finally scratch through the glass window and show those birds who's boss!
Even indoors my kitties are excellent hunters, catching the bugs and occasional skink that creep into my basement apartment. The skinks I try to rescue if I can, but I let 'em have the bugs. 😄
We have a kitty (5M) who kills any and everything he can get his paws on (I'm serious I've had to pock him up to prevent his from killing a variety of squirrel and chipmunks) and another (10M) who doesn't even want to go outside.
During the witch trials cats were declared to be in cahoots with the devil and therefore killed bthe thousands, which led to a surge in the rodent population which led to the spread of the literal plague.
My cats over the last 16 years... cat 1: loved boxes until she was about 5y/o... cats 2&3 (current ages 5 and 1) have never so much as jumped in a box despite having plenty of opportunities to do so. (Cat 2 does love a good nap in the little garbage can in the bedroom tho.) Has every cat I've owned been broken? Lol
Note: this post originally had 51 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I have a former feral house panther and he's a total love bug. <3
Load More Replies...as a cat owner, all of these are spot on, also, my cat is currently trapped in my closet because he shut the door on himself.
Come on man these are always funny but where are the ones about living with dogs? I enjoy them but they always seem to be about cats and relationships Minnie was adorable though!
I have a former feral house panther and he's a total love bug. <3
Load More Replies...as a cat owner, all of these are spot on, also, my cat is currently trapped in my closet because he shut the door on himself.
Come on man these are always funny but where are the ones about living with dogs? I enjoy them but they always seem to be about cats and relationships Minnie was adorable though!