A nearly two-decades long tradition in Catskill brings money in for local charities and community projects.
“So, this cat is painted and does not have any enhancements on it. It's just painted. But most of them were like that in the beginning, in the first year, and then we started. And we can go right across the street, and we can look at Frida Kahlo…”
Tina Annese is the coordinator for Cat'n Around Catskill. She’s describing one of 70 cat statues dotting the town and village. For the last two decades, through the Heart of Catskill Association, the cats have been decorated and placed outside of businesses.
Businesses like Shook Insurance. On the corner of Main and Bridge Streets, the building houses a dozen-ish cats. President John Shook says he has been sponsoring cats for more than a decade.
“Just to help, just everything they're about the money raised in the community,” Shook said. “I'm a big community guy.”
On pedestals, the cats are eye-level.
To sponsor a cat, people, businesses, or organizations can pay into one of two sponshorship categories, the Tabby CATegory or the Calico CATegory.
The cats are typically sponsored by any business that wants to partake and painted by someone within the business or a regional artist.
Melanie Argoff is the Assistant Manager at Stinging Nettle Botanics. By way of disclosure, Stinging Nettle is an underwriter for WAMC.
After the plaster cats are decorated, they go for a clear coat bath at nearby Quality Auto to ensure they will hold up against New York’s elements. Argoff says this is the business’s first year sponsoring a cat.
“This is sometimes maybe considered offbeat, but very interesting and wonderful part of our town, where people sponsor these artists who put a lot of time and effort into making these beautiful statues that can go up and down the street. People love it. We love it, and we're just so happy to be part of the community,” Argoff said.
Other cats are a bit more intricate than your standard paint job.
Christie Hicks, a volunteer with the organization, described the Frida Kahlo kitty.
“So instead of just paint to make it 3d we use a two-part epoxy clay, so it comes in two pieces, and you make sure they're the same size, and you mix them together really well. And then you make your 3d elements, like this,” Hicks said. “Has this lovely sunflower, and she's got all the flowers in her hair and a pretty braid, which just makes it pop a little bit more. And then once it dries overnight, it becomes very hard, and it's just like the fiberglass underneath it. It's really hard to get off unless they're very extended. But, you know, people can break pedals or something, but they're easy to fix at the end, so it just gives that extra pop.”
Others have some personality and are inspired by others, says Hicks, who has also decorated a number of cats over the years.
“I like a pun. You know, that's why we did ‘Clawed’ Monet. And I guess we did one for an Italian restaurant, and I named it on top of ‘Spa-kitty,’ spaghetti,” Hicks said.
The cats will be auctioned off at the Cat’s Meow Auction on September 21. Proceeds from last year’s auction went to organizations like the Greene County Women’s League, Catskill Food Pantry, Cultivate Catskill, and more.
