The Story of…Astronaut Kitty Cat

For those that don’t know, I live on what is known as Florida’s Space Coast. The reason Brevard County is called the Space Coast is because Kennedy Space Center is located here.

Now, my brain tends to lean more towards the creative side rather than the scientific. However, I feel very lucky to have the Kennedy Space Center near by. Not only is it a fun place to visit and truly has a little something for everyone, I’ve been able to see shuttles and rockets go off while sitting on my own front lawn!

A photograph of Final flight of Discovery February 2011

Final flight of Discovery February 2011
Photo Credits: ©Valerie Waters

In addition, I was lucky enough to be selected for the GRAIL tweetup at KSC. (If you ever have a chance to attend a NASA tweetup, do it!) At the tweetup I got a behind the scenes tour, to see a shuttle up close, to see old friends and meet new people and got to hear talks by people like Nichelle Nichols and Neil deGrasse Tyson! Plus, I also got to see the Grail launch.

iphone picture of sign at NASA Grail Tweet Up

Sign welcoming fellow tweetupers to the Grail Tweet Up
Photo credit: ©Valerie Waters

Also, for those of you that don’t know, I have two cats. One is a black and white one named Oreo and the other is a gray tabby named Olivia. For one reason or another, they tend to inspire a lot of my art work.

Around the time that Astronaut Kitty was born, there was a lot of talk about NASA’s budget, the shuttle program ending and various missions and such. Also, it’s impossible to live in Brevard County and not know someone who works at the space center. Even businesses that aren’t directly related to space are affected by what happens at Kennedy Space Center. So its safe, especially around that time, to say that a lot of people had space on the brains.

So in short, NASA and space on people’s minds + my cats as inspiration = Astronaut Kitty being created!

Did You Know:

  • Astronaut Kitty Cat was originally going to be called Catronaut
  •  Astronaut Kitty’s patches are as follows:

-one that says CATS
-A rocket ship
-Molecules
-Planets

  • I wore my Astronaut Kitty shirt to the Grail Tweetup
  • The cat part of Astronaut Cat is based on my gray tabby cat, Olivia
A photograph of a tabby cat perring down from a cat perch

Olivia the tabby peers down from her perch
Photo Credits: ©Valerie Waters

Have you ever been inspired by space, animals or current events? Let us know in the comments!

A huge thanks to Abundance Love Trip for giving my Five Orange Birds in a Tree Poster an awesome art award! Check out her blog Val Creates!

Another huge thanks to Bebops for featuring my Better in the Morning Tote Bag on the blog, The Daily Rainbow.

Astronaut Kitty Cat not your thing? That’s okay! Here’s some other space and cat art to inspire you:

Astronaut 5th Birthday card by Lori DeLeonardis-Aman

We’ve Adopted, Photo Card, Announcement, Pet, Cat card by
Sharon Fernleaf

Take Me To Your Birthday Cake Alien Spaceship card by Tamara Dawn Adams

It’s your birthday, cute Persian kitten illustration with red balloon. card by Micklyn Le Feuvre

Birthday Party Invitation with alien and rocket for boys custom text card by

© Cheryl M Hall