Custom Cat Portraits

Every style we make works for cats

Cats are half of what we do and the reason we render every style on two of them before it ships. Upload one photo of your cat, choose a style and a backdrop, add their name if you like, and we send you a free digital proof. Nothing is printed until you approve it. Revisions are free until it looks like your cat, and then it is printed museum-grade on archival paper, framed in real wood, and shipped ready to hang.

Seven ways to draw a cat

The row above shows Willow, a British Shorthair, and Mochi, a Maine Coon, in all seven styles. The Modern Pet Portrait keeps every whisker in a clean illustration on a flat gallery colour. The Line Art Pet Portrait is made for cats: the shape of a sitting cat is a few lines already, and this style makes the most of it. The Painted Pet Portrait gives a long-haired cat the brushwork its coat deserves. The Geometric Pet Portrait turns markings into bold facets, which suits tabbies and tortoiseshells. The Carved Wood Pet Portrait is warm and calm. The 3D Cartoon Pet Portrait makes a cat look like the star of an animated film. And The Day Jobs puts your cat in a profession, which is funnier with a cat than with anything else, because the cat is not amused.

If you want a longer walk through each style, our styles guide covers all seven and the rooms they suit.

The photo, for cats specifically

Cats are harder to photograph than dogs and easier to draw from a good photo. Get down to their eye level rather than shooting from above, use daylight rather than a flash, and wait for the moment they look at you. A photo that fills the frame with the head and chest gives the artwork the eyes and the ear shape, which is where a cat's likeness lives. Our photo guidelines show what works. If the best photo you have is an older one, send it anyway; a real person looks at every photo before any artwork is made, and we will tell you early if it is not going to work.

Sizes, frames and files

Portraits come in 8x10, 12x16 and 18x24 inches, framed in black, white, wood or dark wood, as an unframed print, or as a digital file. Every style comes in six backdrop colours, so the portrait can match the room it will hang in rather than fight it. Each portrait features one cat; for two cats together, get in touch before you order.

Where a cat portrait hangs

Cats are photographed sitting more often than dogs, so their portraits tend to be taller in feeling even in the same frame, and they hang well in narrower spots: the wall at the end of a hallway, beside a bookshelf, above the chair the cat has claimed. The 8x10 suits a shelf or a desk, the 12x16 is the size most people hang alone, and the 18x24 holds a wall on its own. Two cats in two matching frames, same style and same backdrop, hang as a pair; keep them in the same family so they read as a set rather than two decisions.

Cats as gifts

A portrait of someone's cat says you noticed who actually runs their house. Our gift page covers the occasions, and a gift card lets the cat's person choose the photo and the style themselves, which with cats is often the wiser route. The same artwork goes on hoodies, sweatshirts and t-shirts too, printed or embroidered from the photo you send, and around a mug, for the person who would rather wear their cat than frame them, or start the morning looking at them.

Common questions

Do all seven styles really work for cats?

Yes. Every style is rendered on two cats before it ships, and the row on this page is those renders. The likeness holds in all of them.

Can I see the portrait before it prints?

Always. Every order includes a free digital proof with unlimited revisions, and nothing prints until you approve it.

What about a cat with a collar?

By default the artwork shows your cat without a collar so the portrait reads as a portrait. If you would like it kept, tell us when you order or when you see your proof.

What if I only have an old or blurry photo?

Send it. A real person looks at every photo before any artwork is made, and if it is not going to work we will tell you early rather than after you have paid.