Animal Sympathy Cards

You can read more about the inspiration and creation of these cards in a post on The Creative Cat, “Pet Love and Loss and How it Gave Me My Art, but I wanted to include a few notes about the images and the cards here, too. I had had this idea from my first loss, but waited until I felt I could put my grief in images and design animal sympathy cards with more universal messages, not my own personal ideas. Of all cats, Namir doesn’t appear here except for his pawprints in “I’ll always walk beside you”. But I wanted to make sure I memorialized Lucy, the little black kitty you see twice below, who I lost at 15 months to FIP, right after I had lost my four oldest friends.

No other eyes will look at you in quite the same way again.

The sweetest memories often come in quiet moments.

Remember the best moments with love and joy.

While I am a fine artist, I have actually worked as a graphic designer for more years than I want to tell. Designing everything from letterhead to websites every day, the task of designing these cards was second nature to me. I was glad, for once, to use my commercial art skills to create something for my offering of animal art, especially since my poor neglected cats could just expire all over my desk before I took my eyes off the computer.

always in your heart They find a comfortable spot in your heart to live in forever and ever.

They find a comfortable spot in your heart to live in forever and ever.

I’ve found, to my surprise, that these cards are sometimes purchased for the loss of a human, or even a “thinking of you” card for persons who like animals—I never considered this. Using the images of my own cats for these cards, especially ones who had passed, was a little frightening; if one of the designs was not at all popular it could feel like a rejection of that kitty, who I loved so much. I am so glad I waited until my sentiments and designs were more universal, not so personal, to create these cards. Some are more popular than others, but I have reprinted all of them so no one has been left behind.

I will always walk with you.

Remember the beautiful moments with love and joy.

No other eyes will look at you in quite the same way again.

I intentionally chose to use photos rather than paintings for most of the designs. I like the softness and little bit of fiction I can work into a painting, but somehow I felt the realism of a photo was needed when expressing deep and sincere emotions of these cards.

Remember the beautiful moments from all those years together.

No other eyes will look at you in quite the same way again.

They leave their mark on us, don't they?

Each of the cats depicted here was or is one of mine and the dogs are ones I’ve come to know through friends and art customers. I am currently working on more dog images as well as images of home and nature where we remember our animal companions best. There are more cats than dogs because I live with cats and have lots of material, but more than that I am careful with the images I use, not only that they are easily recognized and accepted, but that I know the animal well enough to use its image for this purpose. They are conveying a heavy thought, and I don’t take the relationship with my subject matter lightly.

All animal sympathy cards can be found in my Marketplace under Animal Sympathy Cards.

Other images used for sympathy

And in addition to the intentionally-designed sympathy cards are the blank greeting and note cards I have available portraying a special moment of one of my cats I’ll always remember.

Afternoon Nap

Winter Window

Warm Winter Sun

These cards can be found on my website in “Fine Art and Portraiture” under “My Cats“, and in my “Marketplace Online Store“, under Notecards, look for “Cats“.

Sleeping Beauty, my Sally, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski

Stanley's Stripes

Don't Wake Me Up

These cards can be found on my website in “Fine Art and Portraiture” under “My Cats” but click on the icon for “Pencil Works“, and in my “Marketplace Online Store“, under Notecards, look for “Cats“.