In Loving Memory: Meet Virginia and Woolf

Two cats who walked across my desk and into my heart.

I wasn’t planning to adopt any cats.

I had gone to the shelter with my mom, who was looking for a new friend for her cat Nikki. I was just tagging along. But then I saw Woolf. He was sitting at the very top of a cat tree—handsome, quiet, a little removed. Something about him stayed with me. When I asked about him, a volunteer explained that he came as a pair. His companion, Virginia, was currently in the medical ward recovering from an illness. I smiled, nodded, and moved on. But I couldn’t stop thinking about them.

A week or so later, I came back. This time, Virginia was out. She rubbed against my leg, looked up at me, and stood by the door as I turned to leave—as if to say, “You’re coming back for us, right?”

I did.

It felt like a leap. Woolf had anxiety that led to accidents around the house. Virginia had a chronic skin condition that would end up costing $150 a month in medication. But sending them back was never on the table. We figured it out. We made it work. And somewhere between the vet visits and trial-and-error routines, we became a family.

They were there as Clowder Creative slowly took shape—curling up on my sketchbooks, nudging my hands mid-brushstroke, walking through my paint, reminding me when it was time to take a break.

Eventually, I lost them both.

Woolf passed away from a mass of cancer. Virginia’s health slowly declined due to diabetes and pancreatic failure. It was heartbreaking. But it also felt right to honor them the only way I knew how—through art.

I created several illustrations of them over time—quiet portraits, journal sketches, small moments that captured their quirks and companionship. Those drawings weren’t meant for anything in particular, but they became a way to process, to honor, and to remember. Without realizing it, those pieces laid the emotional foundation for everything that would become Clowder Creative.

This brand, this journey—it wouldn’t exist without them.

They were complicated, wonderful, and endlessly inspiring. I still think of them often. And if you ever see a slightly worried or slightly clever cat in one of my illustrations, lounging in a patch of sun or peeking from behind a pumpkin… there’s a little bit of Woolf or Virginia in there.

Thanks for reading their story.

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